Signing at the beginning versus at the end does not decrease dishonesty

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Economics
• Social Psychology
• Decision Science

Background:

• Honest reporting is crucial for societal functioning, but individuals often misrepresent information, such as income, for personal gain.
• A previous study suggested that having individuals sign a veracity statement at the beginning of a form, rather than the end, promotes honest reporting.
• This finding led to the adoption of this practice by various government agencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the replicability of the finding that signing a veracity statement at the beginning of a form increases honest reporting.
• To provide updated evidence on the effectiveness of this intervention in promoting truthful self-reporting.
• To address the policy implications stemming from the original research.

Main Methods:

• Conducted five conceptual replications with a total of 4,559 participants.
• Performed one highly powered, preregistered, direct replication with 1,235 participants, including authors of the original paper.
• Assessed the impact of signing a veracity statement at the beginning versus the end of a self-report form on honest reporting.

Main Results:

• No significant effect of signing a veracity statement at the beginning of the form on honest reporting was observed across all replications.
• The intervention designed to encourage honesty did not yield the previously reported results.
• The findings challenge the efficacy of this specific method for promoting truthful self-disclosure.

Conclusions:

• The practice of signing a veracity statement at the beginning of a form does not appear to be an effective method for increasing honest reporting.
• It is important to update the scientific record and policy decisions based on these failed replication attempts.
• Further research may be needed to identify reliable strategies for promoting honest reporting in various contexts.