Behavioral psychologists noted many years ago that change in the reinforcement of a specific behavior is much more likely to have an immediate impact if this is the first time it is being reinforced. A change in the pattern of reinforcement is a big thing. Some other behavior was consistently being reinforced prior to this change: we were being praised for being a “caring” partner or “ethical” business owner. Now, suddenly, our partner in life doesn’t seem to care that we are caring (are they having an affair?). So we “fool around” a bit at the out-of-town meeting and lie about what we were doing at this meeting. Our “ethical” behavior doesn’t seem to make any difference given the “unethical” behavior of our competitors. So, we decide to “bend the rules” a bit and do a bit of lying in order to remain economically viable as a business.
When reinforcement is inconsistent, then a one-time change in the reinforcement of a specific behavior is likely to have little impact. If the relationship I have with my spouse has been “rocky” for a long time, then a bit of lying and “fooling around” on my part is no big thing. Not much dissonance given that everything has been a bit “warped” in my marriage for many years. Our business has always been quite “agile” when it comes to the way in which we do business.
This is a sector of commerce that is known for a “kill or be killed” sense of ethics. It is survival of the fittest meaning that sometimes we need to “adjust” reality a bit with regard to the description of our products and reporting of our financial status. Major dissonance is much more likely to appear when there is a first-time lie and a one-time purpose behind the lie. Habitual lying along with large-scale and diffuse purposes will “cushion” the dissonance and make it much more difficult to modify or eliminate this harmful behavior.
What does all of this mean regarding reactions of other people to the cheating? When applied to cheating, the one-time sexual affair outside of marriage or the one time “cooking of the books” in a corporation is likely to be a much bigger deal than is an affair or alternation of the corporate ledger that occurs all-too-frequently. A cheater who strays from the path only once can be offered an insight regarding the reaction of other people (especially the “victim”) to an abrupt change in behavior.
Our cheater might declare that the response of other people to their one-time error in judgment is “way too strong”. However, it is precisely because their cheating is infrequent and unexpected that the reaction is great from the victim of the cheating: “ I have always trusted you and then this occurred!” “I don’t think our relationship can ever be the same again!” “You have been a trusted department head for many years, and now I find that you have altered the sales figures for this quarter. I’m not sure if I can ever look at your quarterly reports again without wondering if they are accurate!” “We have always looked to your organization as one that ‘tells the truth’—and now this happens!”
Systemic and Contagious: In considering frequency, we return again to the distinction to be drawn between complicate and complex. Cheating might be infrequent, but if it occurs within a complex system where all the parts are interconnected then frequency might not be particularly important—for the impact of the cheating will spread rapidly and other instances of cheating are likely to occur as the “system” (family or organization) adjusts to this cheat. A Cheating Environment is created in the home or organization. The purpose is broad in scope and deeply embedded.
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