Effectiveness of ex ante honesty oaths in reducing dishonesty depends on content - HAL-SHS - Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société
Article Dans Une Revue Nature Human Behaviour Année : 2024

Effectiveness of ex ante honesty oaths in reducing dishonesty depends on content

Janis Zickfeld (1) , Karolina Ścigała (1) , Christian Elbæk (1) , John Michael (2) , Mathilde Tønnesen (1) , Gabriel Levy , Shahar Ayal (3) , Isabel Thielmann , Laila Nockur (1) , Eyal Peer (4) , Valerio Capraro (5) , Rachel Barkan (6) , Simen Bø (7) , Štěpán Bahník , Daniele Nosenzo (1) , Ralph Hertwig , Nina Mazar (8) , Alexa Weiss , Ann-Kathrin Koessler (9) , Ronit Montal-Rosenberg (4) , Sebastian Hafenbrädl , Yngwie Asbjørn Nielsen (1) , Patricia Kanngiesser (10) , Simon Schindler , Philipp Gerlach , Nils Köbis (11) , Nicolas Jacquemet (12, 13) , Marek Vranka (14) , Dan Ariely (15) , Jareef Bin Martuza , Yuval Feldman , Michał Białek , Jan Woike , Zoe Rahwan , Alicia Seidl , Eileen Chou , Agne Kajackaite , Simeon Schudy , Ulrich Glogowsky , Anna Czarna , Stefan Pfattheicher , Panagiotis Mitkidis
Janis Zickfeld
Aarhus University [Aarhus]
Karolina Ścigała
Aarhus University [Aarhus]
Christian Elbæk
Aarhus University [Aarhus]
John Michael
Università degli Studi di Milano = University of Milan
Mathilde Tønnesen
Aarhus University [Aarhus]
Gabriel Levy
Shahar Ayal
Reichman University [Herzliya]
Isabel Thielmann
Laila Nockur
Aarhus University [Aarhus]
Eyal Peer
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Valerio Capraro
Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca = University of Milano-Bicocca
Rachel Barkan
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Simen Bø
Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration
Štěpán Bahník
Daniele Nosenzo
Aarhus University [Aarhus]
Ralph Hertwig
Nina Mazar
Boston University [Boston]
Alexa Weiss
Ann-Kathrin Koessler
Leibniz Universität Hannover=Leibniz University Hannover
Ronit Montal-Rosenberg
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Sebastian Hafenbrädl
Yngwie Asbjørn Nielsen
Aarhus University [Aarhus]
Patricia Kanngiesser
Plymouth University
Simon Schindler
Philipp Gerlach
  • Fonction : Auteur
Nils Köbis
Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Nicolas Jacquemet
Paris School of Economics
Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne
CV
Marek Vranka
Univerzita Karlova [Praha, Česká republika] = Charles University [Prague, Czech Republic]
Dan Ariely
Duke University [Durham]
Jareef Bin Martuza
Yuval Feldman
  • Fonction : Auteur
Michał Białek
Jan Woike
Zoe Rahwan
Alicia Seidl
  • Fonction : Auteur
Eileen Chou
  • Fonction : Auteur
Agne Kajackaite
Simeon Schudy
Ulrich Glogowsky
  • Fonction : Auteur
Anna Czarna
Stefan Pfattheicher
Panagiotis Mitkidis

Résumé

Dishonest behaviours such as tax evasion impose significant societal costs. Ex ante honesty oaths—commitments to honesty before action—have been proposed as interventions to counteract dishonest behaviour, but the heterogeneity in findings across operationalizations calls their effectiveness into question. We tested 21 honesty oaths (including a baseline oath)—proposed, evaluated and selected by 44 expert researchers—and a no-oath condition in a megastudy involving 21,506 UK and US participants from Prolific.com who played an incentivized tax evasion game online. Of the 21 interventions, 10 significantly improved tax compliance by 4.5 to 8.5 percentage points, with the most successful nearly halving tax evasion. Limited evidence for moderators was found. Experts and laypeople failed to predict the most effective interventions, though experts’ predictions were more accurate. In conclusion, honesty oaths were effective in curbing dishonesty, but their effectiveness varied depending on content. These findings can help design impactful interventions to curb dishonesty.

Domaines

Economies et finances
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lundi 21 avril 2025

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https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04768623

Soumis le : mercredi 6 novembre 2024-09:33:01

Dernière modification le : jeudi 19 décembre 2024-16:50:04

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Dates et versions

halshs-04768623 , version 1 (06-11-2024)

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Citer

Janis Zickfeld, Karolina Ścigała, Christian Elbæk, John Michael, Mathilde Tønnesen, et al.. Effectiveness of ex ante honesty oaths in reducing dishonesty depends on content. Nature Human Behaviour, 2024, ⟨10.1038/s41562-024-02009-0⟩. ⟨halshs-04768623⟩

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