
Signing at the beginning makes ethics salient and decreases dishonest self-reports in comparison to signing at the end.
Publication
, Journal Article
Shu, LL; Mazar, N; Gino, F; Ariely, D; Bazerman, MH
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
September 2012
Many written forms required by businesses and governments rely on honest reporting. Proof of honest intent is typically provided through signature at the end of, e.g., tax returns or insurance policy forms. Still, people sometimes cheat to advance their financial self-interests-at great costs to society. We test an easy-to-implement method to discourage dishonesty: signing at the beginning rather than at the end of a self-report, thereby reversing the order of the current practice. Using laboratory and field experiments, we find that signing before-rather than after-the opportunity to cheat makes ethics salient when they are needed most and significantly reduces dishonesty.
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Published In
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
DOI
EISSN
1091-6490
ISSN
0027-8424
Publication Date
September 2012
Volume
109
Issue
38
Start / End Page
15197 / 15200
Related Subject Headings
- Young Adult
- Self Report
- Public Policy
- Motivation
- Male
- Humans
- Fraud
- Female
- Ethics
- Deception
Citation
APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Shu, L. L., Mazar, N., Gino, F., Ariely, D., & Bazerman, M. H. (2012). Signing at the beginning makes ethics salient and decreases dishonest self-reports in comparison to signing at the end. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(38), 15197–15200. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1209746109
Shu, Lisa L., Nina Mazar, Francesca Gino, Dan Ariely, and Max H. Bazerman. “Signing at the beginning makes ethics salient and decreases dishonest self-reports in comparison to signing at the end.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109, no. 38 (September 2012): 15197–200. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1209746109.
Shu LL, Mazar N, Gino F, Ariely D, Bazerman MH. Signing at the beginning makes ethics salient and decreases dishonest self-reports in comparison to signing at the end. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2012 Sep;109(38):15197–200.
Shu, Lisa L., et al. “Signing at the beginning makes ethics salient and decreases dishonest self-reports in comparison to signing at the end.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 109, no. 38, Sept. 2012, pp. 15197–200. Epmc, doi:10.1073/pnas.1209746109.
Shu LL, Mazar N, Gino F, Ariely D, Bazerman MH. Signing at the beginning makes ethics salient and decreases dishonest self-reports in comparison to signing at the end. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2012 Sep;109(38):15197–15200.

Published In
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
DOI
EISSN
1091-6490
ISSN
0027-8424
Publication Date
September 2012
Volume
109
Issue
38
Start / End Page
15197 / 15200
Related Subject Headings
- Young Adult
- Self Report
- Public Policy
- Motivation
- Male
- Humans
- Fraud
- Female
- Ethics
- Deception