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Abstract

Merritt and Fowler's (1948) suggestion that lost letters containing money could be used to measure honesty in diverse social groups was studied. In Exp. I unstamped lost letters, some containing only an innocuous message, were dropped in Baltimore, St. Louis, Denver, and San Francisco. Significant theft was found in Baltimore and Denver. In Exp, II lost letters were dropped in two small Illinois cities and in 55 villages. Comparison of the results from St. Louis with the results from Exp. II indicated no relationship between theft rates and city size. Return rates for letters containing only the message were used as a measure of helpfulness. The results indicate regional differences in rates of helpfulness but the degree of helpfulness was not related to city size.

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Honesty as a Function of Geographic Region and City Size: Explorations of a 30-Year-Old Hypothesis

Abstract

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References