Stealing in the Name of Justice: Informational and Interpersonal Moderators of Theft Reactions to Underpayment Inequity

Abstract

In a laboratory study, 102 undergraduate students performed a clerical task for which they were either equitably paid or underpaid. The payment was explained using either high or low valid information in either a high or low interpersonally sensitive manner. Subjects then took their own pay and were led to believe the experimenter would not be able to determine exactly how much they actually took. It was found that equitably paid subjects took precisely the amounts they were allowed to take, whereas underpaid subjects took more than they were permitted (i.e., they stole). The degree of stealing was moderated by the validity of the information given (high valid information reduced stealing more than low valid information) and the degree of interpersonal sensitivity shown (high sensitivity reduced stealing more than low sensitivity). These effects combined additively, such that theft was greatest in the low valid information/low sensitivity condition and least in the high valid information/high sensitivity condition (in which the mean amount taken was not significantly higher than the permitted amount). The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.