Question

describe an experiment that would test whether the saying "Honesty is the best policy" is true or not. The description of your experiment should include:

- the design of your study (how many groups; how are they different)

- the independent and dependent variables

- how you are operationally defining the constructs (how you will measure or manipulate the constructs)

Note that it should be an experiment, not a correlational study or other method.

discuss the importance of using a scientific experiment to answer if this belief is true. Make sure to discuss why the scientific approach is better than using personal anecdotes for this specific belief.

Answer 1

• The Matrix Experiments-The experimenters gave people 20 simple math problems: each one was a matrix of numbers where people had to find two numbers that added up to ten. It was a simple enough exercise that anyone could do, but they didn’t give them enough time. At the end of five minutes, people had to put their pencils down and write on another piece of paper how many they solved correctly. They then put the original test paper in the shredder, so nobody would know the true number they had solved. They received $1 for each problem they claimed to have solved correctly.
• What the participants didn't know is that the experimenters modified the shredder.They only shredded the sides of the page, whereas the body of the page remained intact. Over 40,000 people, from all walks of life, participated in The Matrix Experiments.
• On average, people solved four problems but reported solving six.Nearly 70% cheated.
  Only 20 out of the 40,000 were “big cheaters”, people who claimed to have solved all 20 problems.They cost the experiment $400.
• The experimenters also found more than 28,000 “little cheaters” who cost the experiment $50,000.
  So although there are some big cheaters out there, they are very rare and their overall economic impact is relatively low. On the other hand, there are a lot more “little cheaters” out there and their economic impact is incredibly high.
• To get better results on honesty and dishonesty,experiment works best since different treatments can be given to different groups under lab controlled settings. Honesty is more of an instinctive response and therefore requires this method to provide more robust results.