If the rewards are high, and the chance of being caught is low, people will cheat.

Experimental evidence

A 2022 study in Scientific Reports found that financial incentives increase cheating, but only when there is a positive probability of detection. When the probability of detection was reduced to zero, the magnitude of cheating rose sharply for those receiving piece‑rate incentives
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
. This supports the idea that low detection risk combined with high rewards strongly boosts dishonesty.

Psychological drivers
Cheating is not purely rational cost‑benefit analysis. Even when rewards are small, some people cheat because they experience a “cheater’s high” — a self‑satisfaction or pleasure from breaking rules
PsyBlog
PsyBlog
. This means that low detection risk can also remove the fear of consequences, making the emotional payoff more attractive.

Social and situational factors
Stanford research shows that people are more likely to cheat when they believe “everyone else is cheating” or fear falling behind if they follow the rules
STANFORD magazine
STANFORD magazine
. In high‑reward, low‑risk contexts, these rationalizations become easier.

Key conditions that increase cheating risk

High potential gain (financial, status, or personal satisfaction)

Low probability of detection (or perceived low risk)

Perceived fairness breakdown (others cheating, rules seen as arbitrary)

Personal traits (entitlement, competitive drive, or desire for self‑satisfaction)

Why the combination matters
When rewards are high, the potential benefit is large. When detection risk is low, the cost of cheating is minimal. This combination removes both the material and emotional barriers to dishonesty, making cheating more likely. However, even without high rewards, some people cheat for intrinsic satisfaction, and even with high rewards, some refrain due to moral constraints or social norms.

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