Travelers act more immorally when abroad -- and it's not just students.

Photo: flickr/Guillaume SpeurtIf you've ever gone on an overnight field trip, you know that kids tend to go wild when they're away from home. According to this study, that effect holds when people travel abroad -- and it's not just students. These researchers show that people of all ages tend to display more "immoral behavior" (think, drinking and promiscuity) when traveling abroad. They conclude that this effect is due to increased moral relativism (the belief that morality is not absolute): "As individuals are exposed to diverse cultures, their moral compass may lose some of its precision." And that's what I told my mom when I got sent home early from the band trip. (Not!)The dark side of going abroad: How broad foreign experiences increase immoral behavior. "Because of the unprecedented pace of globalization, foreign experiences are increasingly common and valued. Past research has focused on the benefits of foreign experiences, ...