"Wallet Test" in Illinois

suncrafter · 12-31-2006, 03:42 PM

"Wallet Test"

http://www.wallettest.com/

Webmaster deliberately drops 100 wallets in front of hidden cameras to test honesty.

The results page is a bit shocking.

xoxoxoBruce · 01-01-2007, 01:05 PM

Hardly scientific.

richlevy · 01-01-2007, 01:17 PM

I love the tapes of people trying to redeem the stolen fake gift certificates.

footfootfoot · 01-01-2007, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Hardly scientific.

I completely fell apart for me with the editorial comment "this jerk tried to redeem the gift certifiacte..."

Could have been a great study if it had been done better.

xoxoxoBruce · 01-01-2007, 03:13 PM

Sure, properly conducted it would be interesting. I'm pretty sure it would prove people vary, but likely poorer people would be more tempted to keep it.

piercehawkeye45 · 01-01-2007, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Sure, properly conducted it would be interesting. I'm pretty sure it would prove people vary, but likely poorer people would be more tempted to keep it.

Because poor people are just bad people...[/blatent sarcasm]

CaliforniaMama · 01-01-2007, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Sure, properly conducted it would be interesting. I'm pretty sure it would prove people vary, but likely poorer people would be more tempted to keep it.

Really?

I didn't think honesty had to do with need. From what I've seen, there are a lot of middle class folks who could care less about things that belong to others.

I think it has to do more with cultural values rather than income level or need level.

Which begs the question of which classes/cultures value honesty over others.

01-01-2007, 05:41 PM

That was my reaction as well.

Aliantha · 01-01-2007, 06:55 PM

Maybe poorer people would be more tempted to keep stuff they find. I didn't think Bruce was being unreasonable with that comment.

I think he's right - or should be. To me, it'd be more reasonable for a poor person to keep things than a wealthy one, however, the realist in me knows this is not the reality. In some ways I think wealthy people are often worse.

CaliforniaMama · 01-01-2007, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Maybe poorer people would be more tempted to keep stuff they find.

That may seem likely on the surface, but poor people value what they have because they have so little. So that may, in theory, cause them to be more concerned about the lost wallet. If the roles were reversed, they would definitley want someone to return THEIR wallet.

Not that the Golden Rule is the driving force, but I wonder if there is some unconcious thought that comes into play.

But maybe my perspective is skewed by the type of poor people I have known (often immigrants) . . .

Aliantha · 01-01-2007, 08:31 PM

I'd say they'd be just as likely to pick it up, and at least as likely to keep the contents.

piercehawkeye45 · 01-01-2007, 09:21 PM

It has to do with values. The inner city has more of a dog eat dog morals while the suburbs are more on doing the "right" thing. Just different social standards.

CaliforniaMama · 01-01-2007, 10:19 PM

In my opinion, though, these things are driven by a variety of factors.

There is class, of course, to consider, but also cultural heritage and personality type. I think the latter almost has more to do with it than anything.

Hubby grew up solidly middle class and I didn't, yet I would be the one to be very concerned that someone had lost a wallet. One time we found a credit card on the sidewalk. I wouldn't let it go. I had to find the owner or deal with it to conclusion.

He wanted to just call the credit card company and leave it at that. A little effort, but not too much.

Torrere · 01-02-2007, 12:20 AM

The results page wasn't surprising at all, much less shocking. I was a little surprised a large majority of the subjects returned the wallets. Perhaps that should give me more faith in humanity.

Clodfobble · 01-02-2007, 10:03 AM

Just for the record, I want to point out that this is most definitely spam, if on an individual level. Suncrafter is the guy who created the wallet test website. You may note that of his other 5 posts, 4 are mindless "yeah, me too!" tack-ons to existing threads, and one is the hypothetical "Titanic sequel" thread. On the one hand, I don't really mind because the wallet test website was moderately interesting after all, but on the other, if you listen to the recorded conversations he sounds like a total douchebag. YMMV.

12-31-2006, 03:42 PM	#1
suncrafter Violator of Customs Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 49	"Wallet Test" in Illinois "Wallet Test" http://www.wallettest.com/ Webmaster deliberately drops 100 wallets in front of hidden cameras to test honesty. The results page is a bit shocking.

01-01-2007, 01:05 PM	#2
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Hardly scientific. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

01-01-2007, 01:17 PM	#3
richlevy King Of Wishful Thinking Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Philadelphia Suburbs Posts: 6,669	I love the tapes of people trying to redeem the stolen fake gift certificates. __________________ Exercise your rights and remember your obligations - VOTE! I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. -- Barack Hussein Obama

01-01-2007, 03:13 PM	#5
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Sure, properly conducted it would be interesting. I'm pretty sure it would prove people vary, but likely poorer people would be more tempted to keep it. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

01-01-2007, 06:55 PM	#9
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	Maybe poorer people would be more tempted to keep stuff they find. I didn't think Bruce was being unreasonable with that comment. I think he's right - or should be. To me, it'd be more reasonable for a poor person to keep things than a wealthy one, however, the realist in me knows this is not the reality. In some ways I think wealthy people are often worse. __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

01-01-2007, 05:41 PM	#8
rkzenrage Guest Posts: n/a	That was my reaction as well.

01-01-2007, 08:31 PM	#11
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	I'd say they'd be just as likely to pick it up, and at least as likely to keep the contents. __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

01-01-2007, 09:21 PM	#12
piercehawkeye45 Franklin Pierce Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,695	It has to do with values. The inner city has more of a dog eat dog morals while the suburbs are more on doing the "right" thing. Just different social standards.

01-01-2007, 10:19 PM	#13
CaliforniaMama I wonder . . . Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: The Left Coast, a pretty good place to be. Posts: 1,278	In my opinion, though, these things are driven by a variety of factors. There is class, of course, to consider, but also cultural heritage and personality type. I think the latter almost has more to do with it than anything. Hubby grew up solidly middle class and I didn't, yet I would be the one to be very concerned that someone had lost a wallet. One time we found a credit card on the sidewalk. I wouldn't let it go. I had to find the owner or deal with it to conclusion. He wanted to just call the credit card company and leave it at that. A little effort, but not too much. __________________ Take time for silence. You never know what you might hear.

01-02-2007, 12:20 AM	#14
Torrere a real smartass Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Kirkland, WA Posts: 1,121	The results page wasn't surprising at all, much less shocking. I was a little surprised a large majority of the subjects returned the wallets. Perhaps that should give me more faith in humanity.

01-02-2007, 10:03 AM	#15
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Just for the record, I want to point out that this is most definitely spam, if on an individual level. Suncrafter is the guy who created the wallet test website. You may note that of his other 5 posts, 4 are mindless "yeah, me too!" tack-ons to existing threads, and one is the hypothetical "Titanic sequel" thread. On the one hand, I don't really mind because the wallet test website was moderately interesting after all, but on the other, if you listen to the recorded conversations he sounds like a total douchebag. YMMV.

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