Big Brother makes you honest
6 Jul 2006 by Evoluted New Media
With shades of the dystopian state portrayed in George Orwell’s novel 1984, scientists think they have found a way of making people behave more honestly - keep an eye on them
With shades of the dystopian state portrayed in George Orwell’s novel 1984, scientists think they have found a way of making people behave more honestly - keep an eye on them
A team from Newcastle University found people put nearly three times as much money into an honesty box when they were being watched by a pair of eyes on a poster, compared with a poster that featured an image of flowers.
Dr Melissa Bateson, of the evolution and behaviour research group at Newcastle who carried out the research, said: “Our brains are programmed to respond to eyes and faces whether we are consciously aware of it or not.”
The experiment made use of a long-running honesty box arrangement that had been operating in a staff common room as a way of paying for hot drinks. The eye pictures varied in sex and head orientation, but were all chosen so that the eyes were looking directly at the observer.
“I was really surprised by how big the effect was as we were expecting it to be quite subtle but the statistics show that the eyes had a strong effect on our tea and coffee drinkers,” said Dr Bateson.
The findings could have applications in initiatives to curb anti-social behaviour or in law enforcement - perhaps in areas such as payment for public transport, road safety or the general issue of behaviour in public places.
The group now hopes to expand the study to involve a larger sample population. Dr Bateson said: “Our findings suggest that people are less likely to be selfish if they feel they are being watched, which has huge implications for real life.”
