Cheaters never win do they? You might think cheating at Social Games is innocent enough, but PopCap Games along with the Information Solutions Group have created a great study that shows cheating is bad news. According to the survey of 1,200 adults, nearly half admit to cheating in social games. But those same 48% also admit that they cheated at something in real life too! Anything from stealing towels in a hotel to cheating on their taxes, social game cheaters are almost 3.5 times as likely to be dishonest in the real world than their non cheater counterparts.

The report surveyed both US and UK Social Gamers. The 2011 PopCap Social Gaming Cheaters vs Non-Cheaters Research pdf is actually very interesting and worth the read. It’s incredibly in depth and shows a varied number of statistics. These gamers must have felt incredibly comfortable to admit to these things.

11% of people in the UK cheat compared to 7% of all US social gamers. Women you better watch how your man plays social games, because the study found that men are more likely to cheat in social games than women. Which also stands to show they are more likely to cheat somehow in real life. The study breaks down how the person cheats as well.

“How we behave in virtual space and interact with others in social games often mirrors how we act in the real world,” said Professor Clay Routledge of North Dakota State University’s Department of Psychology. “With more than 100 million people playing social games regularly, we can expect to see the full range of psychological characteristics represented in the social gaming population – even cheating.”

Here are some quick facts:
53% of people who cheat in social games report cheating on tests at school
51% of people who cheat at social games report stealing towels, cups or other items from hotels (compared to just 14% of those who said they don’t cheat at social games)
49% of people who cheat at social games report cheating on a committed relationship
U.S. gamers who live in the mid-West are the most likely to cheat versus other regions (29%)

Next time you go on a date, you might want to suggest playing a PopCap game to observe if your date cheats or not. It may tell you more about that person than any talk over coffee.