The Institute has begun a new interdisciplinary research project that explores what behavioral economics can tell us about integrity while simultaneously asking how historical, cultural, and philosophical conceptions of integrity influence scientific inquiry.

Specifically, we aim to

• expand the discussion of dishonesty to consider a broad range of situational and social influences
• create models of the individual decision process that are informed by psychology and neuroscience
• carry out a set of experiments to examine academic integrity and cheating
• conduct a series of surveys to understand the relationship between academic integrity and other forms of integrity
• propose and seek to implement new ways in which Duke and other institutions can reduce cheating and promote integrity

Beyond promoting academic integrity, our research seeks to explore whether or not academic honesty spills over into other areas of daily life. Ultimately, we expect our findings to shed light on the relations among mind, heart, and will and to directly address whether and how integrity can be inculcated.

Read “Academic Integrity and the Science of Virtues,” from the Fall 2009 issue of Ethics in Action.