Show no quarter: combating plausible lies with ex-ante honesty oaths

J. Jobu Babin and Haritima S. Chauhan ()
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Haritima S. Chauhan: Behavioral Economics and Organization Research Group (BEORG)

Journal of the Economic Science Association, 2023, vol. 9, issue 1, No 6, 66-76

Abstract: Abstract Misreporting—a form of lying—is common in online labor and remote work settings. We execute an experiment on Amazon MTurk to determine how ex-ante honesty oaths and worker beliefs impact lying behavior across a range of plausible and implausible lies. Using a novel quantile-style exposition of the types of lies reported, we find that oaths elicit more truthful behavior, reducing both small, plausible lies and large, implausible ones. Shirking is reduced under oath. Worker expectations of group reporting are positively related to individual reporting of plausible lies.

Keywords: Oaths; Self-reporting; Lying; Beliefs; Plausible lies; Experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D90 D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s40881-022-00124-0

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