MY HORMONES MADE ME DO IT.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Cheating and unethical behavior - Brief article

Hormones play a two-part role in encouraging and reinforcing cheating and other unethical behavior, according to research from the University of Texas, Austin, and Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. With cheating scandals a persistent threat on college campuses and financial fraud costing businesses more than 3.7 trillion dollars annually, researchers looked to hormones for more answers, specifically the reproductive hormone testosterone and the stress hormone Cortisol.

The study suggests that elevated hormone levels predict the likelihood of cheating. Then, a change of hormone levels during the act reinforces the behavior. "Although the science of hormones and behavior dates back to the early 19th century, only recently has research revealed just how powerful and pervasive the influence of the endocrine system is on human behavior," says corresponding author Robert Josephs, UT professor of psychology.

"Elevated testosterone decreases the fear of punishment while increasing sensitivity to reward. Elevated Cortisol is linked to an uncomfortable state of chronic stress that can be...