The mere belief a supernatural agent is watching deters cheating even among children

Evidence

In one experimental study of cheating, Jared Piazza, Jesse Bering, and Gordon Ingram instructed children not to look inside a box, and then left them alone in the room with it. Those who were previously told that a fictional supernatural agent, Princess Alice, was watching were significantly less likely to peek inside the forbidden box. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 136

Categorization

• XREF: Directly feeds the reading purpose: the perceived gaze of an omniscient observer enforces moral behavior, paralleling Father Rodrigues’ sense of being watched in Silence.