Abstract
We consider the dynamic process by which people cognitively activate their social networks during ethical decision making. We compare actors’ goals during anticipatory and ex-post phases of ethical decision making, and propose that they trigger hide-and-seek patterns of network activation. Experiment 1 links cognitively activated network structures with self-report ethical behavior. Consistent with “hiding goals,” actors randomly assigned to anticipate behaving unethically (versus honestly or in the control condition), activated sparser networks that could better hide unethicality (Experiment 2). Consistent with “seeking” goals, participants randomly assigned to unethical (versus honest) conditions mentally activated dense networks, seeking out social support to uphold their sense of self (Experiment 3a). This network activation process is mitigated when participants affirm themselves (Experiment 3b). Experiment 4 replicates these hide and seek patterns of social network activation in a single study that captures both the anticipatory and ex-post phases of ethical decision making.
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