IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolet/v216y2022ics0165176522001525.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Urge to void and dishonest behavior: Evidence from a field experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Siniver, Erez
  • Tobol, Yossef
  • Yaniv, Gideon

Abstract

The present paper reports the results of a study designed to investigate whether restraining the urge to void simultaneously facilitates self-control in the unrelated domain of dishonest behavior. We conducted a field experiment in a big shopping center with passersby who entered or exited the public WC. Participants were recruited by asking WC entrants and exiters if they could spare a few minutes of their time in return for a monetary reward. WC entrants indicated on a short questionnaire the intensity of their urge to void as well as its source (bladder/colon), whereas WC exiters indicated just the latter. All subjects were then offered to perform the Fischbacher and Föllmi-Heusi (2013) die-under-the-cup task which incentivizes cheating. The results reveal that WC entrants cheated significantly less than WC exiters, supporting the hypothesis that inhibiting visceral responses may spill over to inhibiting simultaneous dishonest behavior, and that cheating decreased with the intensity of the urge to void. No significant connection emerged between cheating and the voiding source.

Suggested Citation

  • Siniver, Erez & Tobol, Yossef & Yaniv, Gideon, 2022. "Urge to void and dishonest behavior: Evidence from a field experiment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:216:y:2022:i:c:s0165176522001525
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2022.110544
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176522001525
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econlet.2022.110544?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Johannes Abeler & Daniele Nosenzo & Collin Raymond, 2019. "Preferences for Truth‐Telling," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 87(4), pages 1115-1153, July.
    2. Urs Fischbacher & Franziska Föllmi-Heusi, 2013. "Lies In Disguise—An Experimental Study On Cheating," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 525-547, June.
    3. Gino, Francesca & Schweitzer, Maurice E. & Mead, Nicole L. & Ariely, Dan, 2011. "Unable to resist temptation: How self-control depletion promotes unethical behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 191-203, July.
    4. George A. Akerlof & Robert J. Shiller, 2015. "Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10534.
    5. Frank A. Cowell, 1990. "Cheating the Government: The Economics of Evasion," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262532484, April.
    6. Rosenbaum, Stephen Mark & Billinger, Stephan & Stieglitz, Nils, 2014. "Let’s be honest: A review of experimental evidence of honesty and truth-telling," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 181-196.
    7. Catrine Jacobsen & Toke Reinholt Fosgaard & David Pascual†Ezama, 2018. "Why Do We Lie? A Practical Guide To The Dishonesty Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 357-387, April.
    8. Mead, N.L. & Baumeister, R.F. & Gino, F. & Schweitzer, M.E. & Ariely, D., 2009. "Too tired to tell the truth : Self-control resource depletion and dishonesty," Other publications TiSEM c60167a3-c3aa-4b83-9192-1, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Shapiro, Carl & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1984. "Equilibrium Unemployment as a Worker Discipline Device," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(3), pages 433-444, June.
    10. Siniver, Erez & Yaniv, Gideon, 2019. "Optimism, pessimism, mood swings and dishonest behavior," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 54-63.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Siniver, Erez & Yaniv, Gideon, 2018. "Losing a real-life lottery and dishonest behavior," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 26-30.
    2. Siniver, Erez & Yaniv, Gideon, 2019. "Optimism, pessimism, mood swings and dishonest behavior," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 54-63.
    3. Tobol, Yossef & Siniver, Erez & Yaniv, Gideon, 2020. "Do tightwads cheat more? Evidence from three field experiments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 148-158.
    4. Tobol, Yossef & Siniver, Erez & Yaniv, Gideon, 2022. "Do restaurant customers who receive an unreasonably low bill bring it to the server’s attention? A field experiment on dishonesty," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    5. Tobol, Yossef & Yaniv, Gideon, 2019. "Parents’ marital status, psychological counseling and dishonest kindergarten children: An experimental study," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 33-38.
    6. Aksoy, Billur & Palma, Marco A., 2019. "The effects of scarcity on cheating and in-group favoritism," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 100-117.
    7. Vranka, Marek & Frollová, Nikola & Pour, Marek & Novakova, Julie & Houdek, Petr, 2019. "Cheating customers in grocery stores: A field study on dishonesty," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    8. Bucciol, Alessandro & Cicognani, Simona & Montinari, Natalia, 2024. "It's time to cheat!," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    9. Billur Aksoy & Marco A. Palma, "undated". "The Effects of Scarcity on Cheating and In-Group Favoritism," Working Papers 20180918-001, Texas A&M University, Department of Economics.
    10. repec:grz:wpsses:2018-05 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Schitter, Christian & Fleiß, Jürgen & Palan, Stefan, 2019. "To claim or not to claim: Anonymity, symmetric externalities and honesty," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 13-36.
    12. Marie Claire Villeval, 2019. "Comportements (non) éthiques et stratégies morales," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 70(6), pages 1021-1046.
    13. repec:grz:wpsses:2017-01 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Subhasish M. Chowdhury & Joo Young Jeon & Chulyoung Kim & Sang-Hyun Kim, 2021. "Gender Differences in Repeated Dishonest Behavior: Experimental Evidence," Games, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-11, May.
    15. Shtudiner, Zeev & Siniver, Erez & Tobol, Yossef & Yaniv, Gideon, 2024. "Female attractiveness engenders honesty among men but dishonesty among women," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 592-598.
    16. Tobol, Yossef & Siniver, Erez & Yaniv, Gideon, 2020. "Dishonesty and mandatory mask wearing in the COVID-19 pandemic," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    17. Çıbık, Ceren Bengü & Sgroi, Daniel, 2021. "The Effect of Self-Awareness and Competition on Dishonesty," IZA Discussion Papers 14256, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Corgnet, Brice & Martin, Ludivine & Ndodjang, Peguy & Sutan, Angela, 2019. "On the merit of equal pay: Performance manipulation and incentive setting," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 23-45.
    19. Chadi, Adrian & Homolka, Konstantin, 2022. "Little Lies and Blind Eyes – Experimental Evidence on Cheating and Task Performance in Work Groups," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 122-159.
    20. Siniver, Erez, 2021. "Do Happy People Cheat Less? A Field Experiment on Dishonesty," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    21. Sanjit Dhami, 2017. "Human Ethics and Virtues: Rethinking the Homo-Economicus Model," CESifo Working Paper Series 6836, CESifo.
    22. Tamás Keller & Hubert János Kiss & Szabolcs Számadó, 2020. "Cheating in primary school: Experimental evidence on ego-depletion and individual factors," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 2048, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Urge to void; Self-control; Dishonest behavior; Die-under-the-cup task;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:216:y:2022:i:c:s0165176522001525. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolet .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.