Replication: Erat and Gneezy’s white lies paradigm

Abstract

Not all lies are for self-benefit. Replicating the famous Erat and Gneezy (2012) “white lies” paradigm in a setting that resembles the remote workplace, we expand to explore shirking and beliefs about group behavior. Aggregate misreporting is highest when doing so benefits a salient charity; plausible lies are abundant but abate as workers inflate reports to implausible, maximal outcome white lies. Male workers misreport uniformly and more than females in the black lies control. When benefits go to a just cause, females misreport at least as much, if not more, than males. Shirking is widespread yet significantly less common when benefiting a just cause, as workers more readily complete the task but subsequently lie about the performance. Workers’ beliefs about group lying are correlated with their reporting, particularly in the white lies case.