Why do people cheat?

Competitions attract cheaters. Among athletes, Ben Johnson, Alex Rodriguez and Lance Armstrong are just a few of the notorious cheaters who have been exposed and punished. At last year's Rio Olympics, most of the Russian team was barred from participating due to violations with anti-doping rules.

Yet, psychologists and sociologists have long been fascinated with understanding why someone would cheat at the risk of the public humiliation that follows if one gets caught.

When interviewing athletes who have been caught cheating at a competition, the cheaters often justify their unscrupulous actions as a matter of fairness. They convince themselves that they are unable to compete equally unless they take a short cut to reduce their natural disadvantage.

Children who cheat on a test make for an interesting case study into the cheating mindset. The online magazine, "Healthy Children", gives this advice. "Children tend to cheat, or make their own rules, when they are engaged in games or schoolwork that is too complex to handle. (A child) may feel he has no other outlet than to cheat as a means of achieving success. Thus, the end becomes much more important than the process."

One thing that the behavioral scientists agree upon is that cheating is a reflection of the person's values. When a person values winning at any cost, then that person is much more likely to cheat than the person who believes in cooperation, common good, and shared goals.