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Are mandatory oaths effective in groups?

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that an oath can reduce lying in individual settings. Can it reduce lying in groups, a context where lying is more prevalent? Results from a lab experiment reveal that the impact depends on the incentive structures and procedures. A mandatory oath reduces lying when group members’ payoffs are independent, but only has a marginal effect when payoffs are dependent. Voluntary
oath-taking enhances the effectiveness under both incentive structures by fostering intrinsic motivation to keep promises. The findings highlight the importance of peer effects and oath-taking procedures on the effectiveness of an oath in group settings.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)317-333
Number of pages17
JournalExperimental Economics
Volume28
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2025

Bibliographical note

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 July 2025

Funding

Earlier versions of this paper circulated under the title \u201CIndividual oath-swearing and lying under peer pressure\u201D and \u201COath, autonomy and lying in groups\u201D. The author is grateful to the two co-editors and the two reviewers, B. Corgnet, L. Gangadharan, N. Jacquemet, C. Rott, V. Valero, M. C. and Villeval, A. Zylbersztejn for their valuable feedback. The author thanks participants at the Winter School on Credence Goods, Incentives and Behavior in Innsbruck, ASFEE in Lyon, the Experimental Seminar at SBE VU, the Market, Cooperation and Voting Workshop in Madrid, and ESA Meeting in Helsinki for their useful comments. The author also thanks Q. Thevenet, C. S\u00E9nichault, B. Monjour, and A. Thampi for their assistance. This research has benefited from the financial support of IDEXLYON from Universit\u00E9 de Lyon (INDEPTH-IDEX/SBP/2018/03) within the Programme Investissements d\u2019Avenir (ANR-16-IDEX-0005) operated by the French National Research Agency, the funding program of GATE-LAB Lyon, and the Department of Management and Organization, SBE VU Amsterdam. This research also benefited from the support of the LABEX CORTEX (ANR-11-LABX-0042) of the Universit\u00E9 de Lyon, within the Programme Investissements d\u2019Avenir (ANR-11-IDEX-007) operated by the French National Research Agency (ANR). The replication and supplementary material for the study is available at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/D8QAH Earlier versions of this paper circulated under the title \"Individual oath-swearing and lying under peer pressure\" and \"Oath, autonomy and lying in groups\". The author is grateful to the two co-editors and the two reviewers, B. Corgnet, L. Gangadharan, N. Jacquemet, C. Rott, V. Valero, M. C. and Villeval, A. Zylbersztejn for their valuable feedback. The author thanks participants at the Winter School on Credence Goods, Incentives and Behavior in Innsbruck, ASFEE in Lyon, the Experimental Seminar at SBE VU, the Market, Cooperation and Voting Workshop in Madrid, and ESA Meeting in Helsinki for their useful comments. The author also thanks Q. Thevenet, C. S\u00E9nichault, B. Monjour, and A. Thampi for their assistance. This research has benefited from the financial support of IDEXLYON from Universit\u00E9 de Lyon (INDEPTHIDEX/SBP/2018/03) within the Programme Investissements d'Avenir (ANR-16-IDEX-0005) operated by the French National Research Agency, the funding program of GATE-LAB Lyon, and the Department of Management and Organization, SBE VU Amsterdam. This research also benefited from the support of the LABEX CORTEX (ANR-11-LABX-0042) of the Universit\u00E9 de Lyon, within the Programme Investissements d'Avenir (ANR-11-IDEX-007) operated by the French National Research Agency (ANR). The replication and supplementary material for the study is available at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/D8QAH

FundersFunder number
Agence Nationale de la Recherche
European Space Agency
Department of Management and Organization
GATE-LAB Lyon
Université de LyonINDEPTH-IDEX/SBP/2018/03, ANR-16-IDEX-0005
SBE VU AmsterdamANR-11-LABX-0042, ANR-11-IDEX-007

    Keywords

    • group incentive
    • Honesty oath
    • intrinsic motivation
    • lab experiment
    • lying
    • peer effects

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