Are people in China less honest than Americans and Europeans?
“Honesty” study ranks China lowest among 40 countries, but digital habits may have played a part
Imagine this: A hotel receptionist is handed a lost wallet. It contains, among other things, several identical business cards with a name and email address. Will the receptionist reach out to the apparent owner of the wallet?
To be clear, the project’s main purpose wasn’t to rank countries by their level of honesty. Instead, the focus was to examine whether monetary incentives would push a person to act dishonestly, regardless of their nationality. But the result, which incidentally ranks China at the bottom of 40 countries in terms of honesty, surprised even the scientists themselves.
So, does the paper prove that people in China are more dishonest? Not necessarily.
There are questions about the survey’s methodology. It involved dropping thousands of transparent wallets with a name and email address clearly visible.
Chinese citizens are far more likely to contact each other through WeChat, whether it’s with friends, families, colleagues or strangers. Emails, on the other hand, often get ignored -- even in work settings.
Why does China hate email?
On the other hand, the study’s authors found that report rates are higher in countries with broader political representation, higher primary education enrollment, and moral norms that extend beyond “in-groups” like families.
Regardless of where people live though, they have something in common: Receptionists were more likely to report wallets with money rather than no money. In China, less than 10% of workers returned a penniless wallet. The figure shot up to over 20% when it held 49 yuan.
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