Do you know someone who cheats in online games? A new study suggests there’s a strong chance they’re also less than honest offline too.
Popcap’s 2011 social Gaming Survey found that around 8% of players admitted to cheating in online games, with males marginally more likely to play unfairly. By far the biggest group of cheats were the 18-29 demographic.
Of the gaming cheats, half of those had also cheated in a relationship, and just over half had cheated on tests or exams.
Interestingly, cheats were also more likely to make legitimate item purchases in free-to-play games, where the item gave them an ingame advantage.
The picture being painted here is that dishonesty in one area of a person’s life is a strong indicator of overall dishonesty. A lack of regard for players in online games appears to correlate with a lack of regard for other people in the offline world – which may not be surprising, but is definitely worth remembering if you know someone who hacks in games.
