Lingle, J. H., Brock, T. C., & Cialdini, R. B. (1977). Surveillance instigates entrapment when violations are observed, when personal involvement is high, and when sanctions are severe. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(6), 419-429.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.35.6.419
Three experiments examined attempts to entrap or provoke a monitored individual into misbehaving. Surveillant Ss (232 undergraduates) presented a confederate with brief arithmetic problems while secretly monitoring him. Entrapment was defined as the patterning of problem presentations to increase the likelihood of cheating. In Exp I, entrapment occurred when the confederate had been observed cheating on earlier trials. Entrapment was not affected, however, by instructions to watch for cheating. Exp II found that entrapment increased with Ss' personal involvement in the surveillance task. Again, watch-for-cheating instructions did not affect entrapment. Exp III found that entrapment increased if the monitored individual had criticized the S and was also threatened with severe sanctions for cheating. Questions concerning the suitability of the present paradigm for investigating entrapment behavior are discussed. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)