Everyday public behaviour is premised on honesty — returning a lost item, declaring a potential conflict of interest, providing information for a job application, giving evidence in court, or declaring our health and vaccination status. But this imperative to be honest can conflict with self-interest.
A study by
Associate Professor Leong Ching and researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University, and Florida State University, grapples with this “dark side” of policymaking where self-interest drives individuals to prioritise personal gain over public good. This research comes at a critical time when dishonest behaviour, such as tax evasion and fraudulent Covid-19 claims, cost governments billions of dollars.
Published in
Policy and Society, this landmark study represents the largest field experiment on honesty to date, involving over 34,500 participants across nine countries. Researchers tested two approaches to influence honesty: first, introducing an element of luck to the material rewards gained from dishonesty, and second, offering participants a choice on whether to be monitored. While luck showed no significant effect, opt-in monitoring proved remarkably effective — 85% of participants chose to be monitored and subsequently behaved honestly. This reveals a key insight: when given the opportunity to be seen as honest, people overwhelmingly choose to be transparent and act with integrity.
These findings contribute to emerging research on policy compliance, showing that effective policy interventions need not rely on traditional “command and control” models. Unlike mandatory surveillance methods that are often costly, punitive, or ineffective, opt-in monitoring preserves individual autonomy while appealing to people’s inherent desire to be seen as honest.
This research holds particular relevance in today’s world, where misinformation, corruption, and declining institutional trust threatens the social fabric of our society. For policymakers, it offers a practical, non-coercive tool to promote honest behaviour across various policy applications — from tax reporting to health declarations during public health emergencies — without resorting to mandatory surveillance.
By challenging conventional wisdom about policy compliance approaches, this work provides valuable insights for designing effective, transparent and trust-based regulatory systems. It provides a foundation for future research and real-world applications, inviting us to rethink how we cultivate and sustain honesty in our societies.
Read the full study: