Seeing Through the Fog

The Ability to Resolve Ambiguity Reduces Dishonesty

Bibliographic Data

ID21453935
AuthorsMichael Puntiroli (0000-0002-4541-7294, University of Neuchâtel, corresponding author), Serhiy Kandul (0000-0001-8175-2252, University of Zurich), Valéry Bezençon (0000-0002-1670-3179, University of Neuchâtel), Bruno Lanz (University of Neuchâtel)
Year2026
Volume52
Issue5
Pages1299-1313
Publication date2026-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePersonality and Social Psychology Bulletin (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0146-1672 • E-ISSN: 1552-7433
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/01461672241305687
PMID39764593
OpenAlexW4406125284
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited54

Ambiguity acts as a veil that can help conceal and justify dishonest behavior. While an individual’s ability to disambiguate information in a task may help remove the veil of ambiguity and thus promote honesty, the relationship between ambiguity, ability, and dishonesty is currently unexplored. To investigate this, we employed an experimental design where participants attempted to resolve an ambiguous task and reported their performance. Results showed that ambiguity and dishonesty increase in unison. Importantly, the participants who resolved ambiguity acted less dishonestly (Study 1). In Studies 2a, 2b, and 3, we increased participants’ ability by briefly training them to disambiguate the information presented in the task. The results showed that participants acted less dishonestly when their ability levels were increased. Overall, the findings indicate that dishonesty can be reduced not only by making tasks less ambiguous but also by enhancing an individual’s ability to successfully resolve ambiguity

Ambiguity · Dishonesty · Computer Science · Ethics in Business and Education · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social Psychology

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Open DOIOpen Access