Washington: People are more likely to condemn the bad behavior of others when they sense someone else may be watching, according to a new study.
An international team has confirmed the prediction that participants who believed they were being watched, though possibly not conscious of that thought, would express greater disapproval of moral transgressions, than those did not.
The increased expression of disapproval is attributed to people's sensitivity to perceptions of their own reputation, says the team.
The research was led by Pierrick Bourrat from the University of Sydney together with colleagues Nicolas Baumard from the University of Pennsylvania and Ryan McKay from the University of London.
To test their hypothesis, researchers presented participants with two stories of moral transgressions, keeping money found in a lost wallet and faking a resume. Half were given the stories on a piece of paper which had a picture of a pair of eyes while it was an image of flowers for others.
Those given stories accompanied by eyes rated the actions as less morally acceptable than those given stories showing flowers, the 'Evolutionary Psychology' journal reported in its latest edition.
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