The truth about tattoos: The tattooed and non-tattooed are similarly honest in low-and high-stakes tasks

The truth about tattoos. Bradley J. Ruffle, Anne E. Wilson. Economics Letters, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2018.08.024

Highlights
•    The tattooed and non-tattooed are similarly honest in low-and high-stakes tasks.
•    Results are robust to controls for socio-demo and number and placement of tattoos.
•    Few subjects cheat maximally in either the low-or high-stakes task.
•    Strategic cheating is limited to a small minority of subjects.

Abstract: Despite their ubiquity, tattoos continue to be associated with dishonesty. Notwithstanding, we find few differences in the reporting behavior of tattooed and non-tattooed individuals in either a low-stakes or a high-stakes honesty-detection task.