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Free keywords:
truth-telling, lying, private information, self-image concerns, social image concerns
JEL:
C91 - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
JEL:
D63 - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
JEL:
D82 - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
JEL:
D91 - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
Abstract:
We investigate the influence of self and social image concerns as potential sources of lying costs across two studies (n = 991). In Experiment 1, in a standard die-rolling
paradigm, we exogenously manipulate self-awareness and observability, which direct the focus of a person on their private and public selves, respectively. We find that our
self-awareness manipulation has no effect on overreporting in comparison to a control treatment, while our observability manipulation significantly decreases reports. In Experiment 2, we introduce a design that allows to compare the effects of self and social image concerns by directing the focus either on oneself or on an external observer while keeping constant the set of observers and their information. In line with the results from Experiment 1, people lie significantly less when their focus is on the external observer rather than on themselves.
