Event

Silvia Saccardo: Behavioral Economics, Ethics and Self-Deception

Monday
December 14, 2015

Location

MIT Media Lab, E14-493

Description

Unethical behavior such as corruption or dishonesty is widespread and comes with efficiency and fairness costs. While some people are willing to engage in unethical actions to maximize their personal gains, for others behaving unethically comes with self-image costs. Insights from behavioral economics can help understanding the factors that affect choice and judgment when individuals’ ethical standards conflict with profit maximization motives. In this talk, Saccardo will discuss the role of self-deception in distorting judgment, and present experimental evidence suggesting that individuals are more likely to behave unethically when able to convince themselves that their decisions are ethical.

Biographies

Silvia Saccardo just obtained her PhD from the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego, and next January 2016 she will join the department of Social and Decision Science, Carnegie Mellon University as an assistant professor. Her work lies at the intersection of behavioral economics and psychology. She focuses on behavioral ethics, and uses experimental methods to investigate phenomena such as corruption, dishonesty, and discrimination. Previously, she received her BA and MA in psychology from the University of Padova, Italy.

Host/Chair: Iyad Rahwan

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