Lies in Disguise. An experimental study on cheating

Urs Fischbacher and Franziska Heusi

No 40, TWI Research Paper Series from Thurgauer Wirtschaftsinstitut, Universität Konstanz

Abstract: In this paper we present a new design which allows us to draw inferences on the distribution of lying behavior among the population. Participants received a dice in order to determine their payoff anonymously. Whatever they reported to have rolled, they received as payoff. 39% of the subjects were honest and maximally 22% of them were lying completely. Interestingly we found subjects who lied but who did not maximize their income by doing so. Using additional experiments, we can show that a compelling explanation for this behavior is the desire to maintain a favorable self-concept, including honesty and non-greediness.

Keywords: Lie detection; honesty; deception; experimental design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe and nep-exp
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (68)

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Related works:
Journal Article: LIES IN DISGUISE—AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON CHEATING (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:twi:respas:0040

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