<p>We contrast two value-schemas of research integrity. One is the ‘thick’ ethos of an immersed and ethical researcher. The other is the ‘thin’ rules, responsibilities, and metrics that we use to communicate, enforce and assess research integrity in a widespread and impersonal way. By drawing on philosophical, psychological, behavioural economic, and historical perspectives, we analyse how these schemas interact, with the aim of improving cultural change in the research sector. We look particularly at such pathologies of thin values as crowding-out effects and proxy failure. We argue that understanding the relationship between the thick and thin schemas is essential for avoiding unsuccessful and even counterproductive attempts to promote research integrity. A combination of thick and thin schemas is vital to a large and diverse research community. Moreover, we argue that there is an ‘essential tension’ between the two, and that cultural change will only be successful and sustainable if we continually reflect on whether the thin values that we use to communicate, enforce and assess research integrity are serving the thicker ethos that we really seek to promote.</p>