Honesty in 355 cities, 40 countries: In virtually all countries citizens were more likely to return wallets that contained more money

Civic honesty around the globe. Alain Cohn et al. Science Jun 20 2019:eaau8712. DOI: 10.1126/science.aau8712

Abstract: Civic honesty is essential to social capital and economic development, but is often in conflict with material self-interest. We examine the trade-off between honesty and self-interest using field experiments in 355 cities spanning 40 countries around the globe. We turned in over 17,000 lost wallets with varying amounts of money at public and private institutions, and measured whether recipients contacted the owner to return the wallets. In virtually all countries citizens were more likely to return wallets that contained more money. Both non-experts and professional economists were unable to predict this result. Additional data suggest our main findings can be explained by a combination of altruistic concerns and an aversion to viewing oneself as a thief, which increase with the material benefits of dishonesty.

The role of character, hunting ability, and reciprocity in Hadza campmate selection: It seems that social selection for character traits was not a powerful driving force in the evolution of human cooperation

Partner choice in human evolution: The role of character, hunting ability, and reciprocity in Hadza campmate selection. Kristopher M. Smith, Coren L. Apicella. Human Behavior and Evolution Society 31st annual meeting. Boston 2019. http://tiny.cc/aa1w6y

Abstract: The ability to choose the partners we interact with is thought to have been an important driver in the evolution of human social behavior, and in particular, for our propensity to cooperate. But evidence for this claim comes largely from Western populations. Here, we investigate qualities associated with being a preferred partner (i.e. campmate) in Hadza hunter-gatherers of northern Tanzania. Ninety-two Hadza participants from 12 camps ranked their current campmates on character traits (i.e. hard work, generosity, and honesty), hunting ability in men, and their preference for them as future campmates. We found positive but weak associations between rankings on character traits and being a preferred campmate. However, there was suggestive evidence that being perceived as a better hunter was a more important criterion than any character traits for being a preferred campmate in men. And we found little evidence to suggest that partner preferences were reciprocated among campmates. Finally, we found little evidence to suggest that being a preferred campmate is associated with greater reproductive success, which suggests there is little benefit to being a valued partner. Together, these findings suggest that social selection for character traits was not a powerful driving force in the evolution of human cooperation.

https://osf.io/8sxmw/x

Foodie Calls, Or When Women Date Men for a Free Meal (Rather Than a Relationship): 23–33% of women surveyed had engaged in a foodie call; related to the the dark triad traits

Foodie Calls: When Women Date Men for a Free Meal (Rather Than a Relationship). Brian Collisson, Jennifer L. Howell, Trista Harig. Social Psychological and Personality Science, June 20, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550619856308

Abstract: A foodie call occurs when a person, despite a lack of romantic attraction to a suitor, chooses to go on a date to receive a free meal. The present study examines predictors of a deceptive form of the foodie call in the context of male–female dates: when a woman purposefully misrepresents her romantic interest in a man to dine at his expense. In two studies, we surveyed women regarding their foodie call behavior, dark triad personality traits, traditional gender role beliefs, and online dating history. We found 23–33% of women surveyed had engaged in a foodie call. In Study 1, dark triad and traditional gender role beliefs significantly predicted previous foodie call behavior and its perceived acceptability. Study 2 employed fuller measures and suggested again that dark triad traits predicted foodie calls and their perceived acceptability.

Keywords: dating, food, dark triad, Machiavellianism, gender roles

The vast majority of our participants were honest, even when under time-pressure, our data question that people´s automatic response is to cheat and aligns with the idea that people have a strong preference for honest behavior

Verschuere, Bruno, Ine van der Cruyssen, Jonathan D'hondt, and Ewout Meijer. 2019. “Does Honesty Require Time? Two Preregistered Replications of Experiment 2 of Shalvi, Eldar, and Bereby-meyer (2012).” OSF Preprints. June 20. doi:10.31219/osf.io/qbk6z

Abstract: Shalvi, Eldar, and Bereby-Meyer (2012) found across two studies (each N = 72) that time-pressure increased cheating. These findings suggest that dishonesty comes naturally, while honesty requires overcoming the initial tendency to cheat. In a replication attempt of their Experiment 2, time-pressure did not increase cheating (N = 428, rpb = 0.05, BF01 = 16.67). The use of mass testing was, however, a deviation from the original procedure. In a second replication, with small groups of participants, time pressure also did not increase cheating (N = 319, rpb = 0.03, BF01 = 10.14). These findings indicate that the original study may have overestimated the true effect of time pressure on cheating. Given that the vast majority of our participants were honest, even when under time-pressure, our data question that people´s automatic response is to cheat and aligns with the idea that people have a strong preference for honest behavior.