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1: Biol Lett. 2006 Sep 22;2(3):412-4.
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Cues of being watched enhance cooperation in a real-world setting.

Bateson M, Nettle D, Roberts G.

Evolution and Behaviour Research Group, School of Biology and Psychology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK. melissa.bateson@ncl.ac.uk

We examined the effect of an image of a pair of eyes on contributions to an honesty box used to collect money for drinks in a university coffee room. People paid nearly three times as much for their drinks when eyes were displayed rather than a control image. This finding provides the first evidence from a naturalistic setting of the importance of cues of being watched, and hence reputational concerns, on human cooperative behaviour.

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PMID: 17148417 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

PMCID: PMC1686213