Moral values are notoriously tricky to measure. But the findings of a 2016 study conducted at INSEAD Business School suggest a surprisingly simple way to do so. From the list below tick off all the countries you have visited:
France, USA, Spain, Italy, China, UK, Russia, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Greece, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia, Algeria, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Israel, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Turkey, Macau, Cyprus, Malaysia, Dominican Republic, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Senegal, Namibia, Australia.
What does this say about your morals?
0-5: a paragon of virtue
6-10: about average
11-20: a little slippery
20-50: Dick Dastardly
In a study of more than 600 Montreal residents, researchers found that the more countries a participant had ticked off, the more likely they were to cheat on a computerised trivia quiz. Researchers also found that high-school students were more likely to cheat after rather than before taking part in a study-abroad programme. The researchers suggest that the more we are immersed in foreign cultures, the more we come to view morality as relative rather than absolute. It’s not all bad news, though: previous studies associate overseas travel with increased creativity and decreased prejudice; so don’t cancel that spring break just yet.
A fully referenced version of this article is available at benambridge.com. Order Psy-Q by Ben Ambridge (Profile Books, £8.99) for £6.99 at bookshop.theguardian.com
