Thou Shalt Not Cheat

Palko points to this post by Remy Levin and writes:

JMR, a top 4 marketing journal, has issued a formal “Expression of Concern” for Mazar, Amir, & Ariely (2008), the infamous Ten Commandments study.

We discussed some version of that experiment a few years ago. Lots of colorful characters came up. In addition to TV star psychologist Dan Ariely, there was ultra-connected economist Andrei Shleifer, who was credibly accused of something like embezzlement, and of course there was the big irony that there was cheating in a study about cheating.

At that point I would’ve said that the irony meter had gone off the scale, had it not been for the story of Michael Shermer, the professional skeptic who, in apparent sincerity, shared the story of a haunted radio (yes, really!).

Amazingly—or not so amazingly—there’s a connection between these two denizens of the irony zone, as Shermer blurbed Ariely’s recent book. Ahhhh, celebrities!

And at this point you probably won’t be surprised to hear that both Ariely and Shermer have been involved with the notorious Edge Foundation. Funky paper shredders, magic radios, . . . can’t get much edgier than that. No schoolmarms there!

Anyway, the best comment on that Ten Commandments study came from Jonathan, back in 2018:

Where in the 10 Commandments does it say ‘don’t cheat on a matrix test?’ It isn’t murder. It isn’t sex with a married woman (because that’s what it actually says is outlawed – because that confuses parentage and causes violence). It isn’t coveting. It could be lying but was this within the confines of a honor code with meaning, like part of a college commitment, or was it just an agreement to take this test? Does the lying gain someone advantages? The point of the ‘lying’ commandment is bearing false witness, and that would be stretch. Aren’t the 10 Commandments more a lesson that little crap like this doesn’t matter, that you should not kill people, not mistreat parents or children, not steal, and not want someone else’s stuff (including wife) rather than going out and getting your own?

Good point. The Bible says nothing about shredders or psychology experiments. So, everything’s cool.