May 9, 2010

Academe Hath No Fury Like a Fellow Professor Deceived

Caught as Subjects, Professors See the Downside of a Common Research Method 1

Norman Lono, The New York Times, Redux

Katherine L. Milkman of the U. of Pennsylvania was one of two researchers involved in a study that left some of its subjects in academe a bit miffed.

Enlarge Image
close Caught as Subjects, Professors See the Downside of a Common Research Method 1

Norman Lono, The New York Times, Redux

Katherine L. Milkman of the U. of Pennsylvania was one of two researchers involved in a study that left some of its subjects in academe a bit miffed.

By Paul Basken

University professors plying their trade have been known at times to lie to store managers, restaurant owners, and even the worldwide readership of Wikipedia.

A couple of them have now risked fibbing to a potentially far more problematic lot: thousands of their fellow professors.

The researchers, Katherine L. Milkman of the University of Pennsylvania and Modupe N. Akinola of Columbia University, wanted to find out if people are more likely to act admirably when given more time