British Science Festival set to reveal how honest we are

Have you ever eaten pick ‘n’ mix without paying for it, lied on your CV or used office stationary for non-work purposes? Do you consider these actions dishonest? Would you consider someone who took a CD from a shop without paying to be more or less dishonest than someone who bought a pirate DVD?

Moral conundrums such as these will be tackled by Honesty Lab – an online survey devised by Dr Stefan Fafinski and Dr Emily Finch, lecturers specialising in criminal law at Brunel University.

Launched in partnership with the British Science Association and sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the study aims to address a number of questions: including whether there is a common standard of honesty in society, and whether personal characteristics of a person under scrutiny affect how their conduct is judged.

The findings from Honesty Lab will be presented at the British Science Festival, taking place in Guildford and across Surrey from 5-10 September 2009.
To take part in the project, which is open to all, visit www.honestylab.com. You will be asked to view a selection of video clips of actors describing various acts and to judge whether they have been dishonest or not, before rating the level of dishonesty involved in other scenarios. As a fun aside, you can even share your own transgressions in our online confessional…

While intended to be enjoyable, the study has an important purpose. Understanding our definition of dishonesty and if and how people’s standards differ, is important because, despite the issue of dishonesty playing an important role in establishing liability in a range of offences, the law offers no definition of dishonesty.

Dr. Stefan Fafinski comments: ‘There were around two million recorded crimes involving dishonesty in 2008, so the findings from Honesty Lab in evaluating the fairness of the current test in criminal law will be of major public importance and could alter the way judicial trials are conducted.’

Sue Hordijenko, Director of Programmes at the British Science Association, said: ‘We are delighted to be working with Brunel University on this intriguing study. Participants will be contributing to a unique piece of research that, depending on the findings, could have immense implications for law policy in cases involving dishonesty. The British Science Festival, coming to Surrey in September, provides a perfect showcase to reveal the results.’

The 2009 British Science Festival is organised by the British Science Association in partnership with the University of Surrey, Guildford Borough Council, Surrey County Council and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). Honesty Lab is supported by the ESRC.

For further information please contact Sue Hordijenko at Sue.hordijenko@britishscienceassociation.org