Research Paper 26: Unexpected Waiting Corrupts

The experience of waiting is ubiquitous in all areas of life, and sometimes a waiting experience is followed by a decision in which morality is required. We present the results of a lab-on-the-field study to analyze the effects of (un)expected waiting times on moral behavior. Passengers standing in the check-in line at Ben Gurion Airport estimated how long they would have to wait for check-in. After checking in, they then completed the "die-under-the-cup" task, in which participants throw a die under a cup and state the result. They receive a payment according to the number reported. Since the participants are the only ones who see the dice results, they can cheat to increase their payouts. We found that both the waiting time and its unexpectedness had a negative effect on morale. For comparison, an expected wait time of 100 minutes and an unexpected wait time of 25 minutes led to the same average increase of one point in the reported number. We suggest that people should receive compensation after a wait (especially if it is unexpected).

Because we were unable to find choices for observable variables, we argue that the structure provides variation comparable to random assignment, which supports the estimated effects. These results underscore that managing expectations about waiting time may play an important role in mitigating subsequent immoral behavior.