Money magazine engages that topic in all kinds of ways and discovers that people, for the most part, say they would do the right thing. That is, they wouldn't sleep with their boss to get ahead, or keep $2,000 that was deposited into their bank account by error, or avoid paying back the $5,000 that their brother-in-law loaned them, or steal supplies from work. The magazine posed these kinds of questions to a sample of 1,000 adults - most of whom, by the way, considered themselves very ethical when it came to money. Well, maybe. But surveys like this usually undercount bad behavior because lots of folks can't handle the truth about themselves. Look at what happened at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where dozens of first-year students violated the honor code by collaborating on a take-home test that was supposed to be completed alone. From Money:

A neighbor borrows a power mower from the guy next door, and it dies on him. Should he pay to have it fixed? Or one friend lends another $1,200. But when it's payback time, the borrower needs the money for some other purpose. Should she repay the loan, no matter what the circumstances? In each of these situations, respondents held themselves to a higher standard than they held others to, putting generosity ahead of economic self-interest. A full 73 percent said they'd repay a loan on time even if it was difficult for them to do so, but only 40 percent expected to be paid on time if the tables were turned and they were lenders. In the mower scenario, half of borrowers said they would offer to pay the entire cost of repairs, but only 19 percent of mower owners thought the borrower should make such an offer.

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The most striking distinctions are between men and women. Among people who believe the sexes behave differently when it comes to ethics, greater numbers of both men and women say women are more honorable (although women are likelier than men to think that's true). In fact, women are more likely than men to express concern about ethical issues (to say, for instance, they don't invest in companies that make products they disapprove of ) and to play by the rules (fewer women sneak into second movies at the multiplex or steal office supplies). They're also more likely than men to favor splitting their estates equally among the kids and to disapprove of attaching conditions to gifts of money.

Some sample questions on the jump.

1. Imagine there is a local health club you like a lot. You have been going there for years when you discover that the health club’s owner contributes a lot of money to a political or social cause with which you strongly disagree.
Stop going to the health club 48%
Continue to go there 52%

2. Your bank has made a $2,000 error in your favor that is unlikely to ever be detected. Would you most likely:
Report the mistake 92%
Keep the money 8%

3. About how frequently would you say you have said nothing when the clerk in a store made an error in your favor:
Frequently 4%
Occasionally 32%
Once or twice 40%
Never 24%

4. About how frequently would you say you have after watching a movie at a multiplex, walked into a second movie without buying a ticket.
Frequently 4%
Occasionally 4%
Once or twice 20%
Never 72%

5. About how frequently would you say you have told a white lie or exaggerated the extent of a problem in order to get better treatment or more attention from customer service:
Frequently 8%
Occasionally 24%
Once or twice 32%
Never 36%

6. Imagine that ten years ago your elderly mother gave you a very generous amount of money, enough to enable you to buy a house. In return, you promised that you would do whatever it took to make sure that she remained in her own home for the rest of her life. Now, ten years later, your mother is getting frail, and keeping her in her home has become difficult and time-consuming for you, not to mention costly for her. You want to move your mother into an assisted-living facility, but she wants to stay right where she is.
Definitely wrong 42%
Probably wrong 42%
Probably not wrong 8%
Definitely not wrong 8%

7. You should never lend money to a relative:
Strongly agree 12%
Somewhat agree 24%
Somewhat disagree 40%
Strongly disagree 24%

8. Please indicate whether you have ever taken home from your place of employment any of the following items and kept them for your personal use: Inexpensive supplies such as pens, writing tablets or Post-It pads
Never 12%
Once or twice 56%
Occasionally 28%
Frequently 4%
Never worked where there were things like this 0%

9. Imagine that you are being considered for a promotion at work – a promotion you very much want and for which you believe you are well-qualified. Would you flirt with your boss or someone else who can help you get the job.
Would do 8%
Might do 20%
Would no do 72%

10. Imagine that you are being considered for a promotion at work – a promotion you very much want and for which you believe you are well-qualified. Would you sleep with your boss or someone else who can help you get the job.
Would do 0%
Might do 0%
Would not do 100%