In a randomized experiment involving 256 participants who were recruited to complete a survey, the participants were offered an additional cash bonus to cheat on a quiz. The authors studied the effects of variation in the threatened certainty and severity of punishment on the behavior of the participants. Also under examination was how the individual traits of propensity to discount the future and proneness to self-serving bias would impact participants’ decision to cheat. The results indicated that, consistent with the extant deterrence literature, participants’ propensity toward cheating was lower when detection was more certain but not when the severity of punishment was greater. Moreover, participants who were more likely to cheat were those who were more likely to discount the future and adopt a more present-orientation and those who were prone to a self-serving bias. The authors underscore the versatility of their experimental design, noting that their protocol is adaptable to the investigation of how other personal or psychological traits and group dynamics impact deterrence. Figures, tables, references, and appendices