Eyes that don’t see make people more honest
1 July 2006
by Carina Lee
When people are being watched by a pair of eyes they are more honest, according to the research conducted by of team of scientists at the Newcastle University. The results arose from observations made when researchers compared reactions from those being around posters with images of eyes on them and posters with images of flowers. In this experiment, honesty was measured using a system known as the ‘honesty box’. The behaviour of the individuals was observed during a shopping situation where payment of the goods or services relied on a person’s honesty rather than a cashier or check out. One of these experiments took place in an office environment where staff paid for drinks using the honesty box system, with a poster above the box displaying alternating images of eyes and flowers. The results showed that the images of eyes produced almost three times as much money in the honesty box compared to the images of flowers. Lead author of this study, Dr Melissa Bateson, explains “Our brains are programmed to respond to eyes and faces whether we are consciously aware of it or not.” This interesting discovery has affirmative impact on future applications, as Bateson explains “Our findings suggest that people are less likely to be selfish if they feel they are being watched, which has huge implications for real life.” |
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Original story from Newcastle Univeristy
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