Shoplift is common, we eat a few of the customer's fries when delivering food to them, we overcharge buyers in computer repairs or fish markets... New study: Field experiments on dishonesty and stealing

Field experiments on dishonesty and stealing: what have we learned in the last 40 years? Hugo S. Gomes, David P. Farrington, Ivy N. Defoe & Ângela Maia. Journal of Experimental Criminology, Feb 27 2021. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11292-021-09459-w

Rolf Degen's take: The Price is not Right: In the five field experiments conducted so far, buyers were overcharged for the goods

Abstract

Objectives: Field experiments combine the benefits of the experimental method and the study of human behavior in real-life settings, providing high internal and external validity. This article aims to review the field experimental evidence on the causes of offending.

Methods: We carried out a systematic search for field experiments studying stealing or monetary dishonesty reported since 1979.

Results: The search process resulted in 60 field experiments conducted within multiple fields of study, mainly in economics and management, which were grouped into four categories: Fraudulent/ dishonest behavior, Stealing, Keeping money, and Shoplifting.

Conclusions: The reviewed studies provide a wide variety of methods and techniques that allow the real-world study of influences on offending and dishonest behavior. We hope that this summary will inspire criminologists to design and carry out realistic field experiments to test theories of offending, so that criminology can become an experimental science.