Includes bibliographical references and index.

The author, a behavioral economist challenges our preconceptions about dishonesty; we all cheat, whether it is copying a paper in the classroom, or white lies on our expense accounts. He explores how unethical behavior works in the personal, professional, and political worlds, and how it affects all of use, even as we think of ourselves as having high moral standards. He explores the question of dishonesty from Washington to Wall Street, and the classroom to the workplace, to examine why cheating is so prevalent and what can be done to prevent it.

Why is dishonesty so interesting? -- Testing the simple model of rational crime (SMORC) -- Fun with the fudge factor -- Golf -- Blinded by our own motivations -- Why we blow it when we're tired -- Why wearing fakes makes us cheat more -- Cheating ourselves -- Creativity and dishonesty: we are all storytellers -- Cheating as an infection: how we catch the dishonesty germ -- Collaborative cheating: why two heads aren't necessarily better than one -- A semioptimistic ending: people don't cheat enough!