Ethics Can Trump Self-Interest: Experimental Evidence on the Protected Value of Truthfulnessas a Motivator for Truth-Telling

There are people who are motivated by the non-selfish, non-strategic, and non-consequentialist“protected value” of truthfulness. We conduct an experiment directly assessing thisphenomenon. We find that people differ substantially in their truthfulness, with a largeminority powerfully inclined to honesty. Those who consider truthfulness to be a protectedvalue are willing to make significant monetary sacrifices. They are less concerned than otherswith changes in truth-telling costs and with social norms. These findings have implications foragent selection and incentive design.