India, Feb. 27 -- Why do people cheat? This cheating is not in regard to relationships or against someone, but rather toward themselves. Cheating is generally associated with competition, but this is different.

Sometimes, people cheat in the most casual situations, like counting fewer calories than they actually ate or taking a sneak peek at answers while solving a puzzle. This light, low-consequence, low-risk cheating is very common. There may not even be any potential external reward other than internal ones, like feeling healthier or smarter. Yet, people still cheat.

A study published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research revealed that cheating is not just for external rewards like money or recognition. The study su...