Research Design Connection: Visual Disorder and Its Consequences
How is what we see related to how ethically we behave? Kotabe, Kardan and Berman set out to answer that question and report that “Recent research suggests that basic visual disorder cues may be sufficient to encourage complex rule-breaking behavior…Our results revealed that spatial features (e.g., nonstraight edges, asymmetry) are more important than color features (e.g., hue, saturation, value) for visual disorder…In [experiments conducted by Kotabe and colleagues], manipulating visual disorder increased the likelihood of cheating by up to 35% and the average magnitude of cheating by up to 87%…these experiments show that simple perceptual properties of the environment can affect complex behavior and sheds light on the extent to which our actions are within our control.” So, we’re more likely to cheat in a more visually disordered (more asymmetrical, irregular and/or unorganized, for example) environment. Hiroki Kotabe, Omid Kardan, and Marc Berman. “The Order of Disorder: Deconstructing Visual …
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