Harvard Honesty Expert Accused Of Academic Dishonesty

A prominent behavioral scientist from Harvard University — who once led a study on honesty — is facing allegations of academic dishonesty after investigations into her research have reportedly indicated the results might have been fabricated.

Francesca Gino, a co-author on multiple behavioral science studies published in peer-reviewed journals, has been accused of fabricating the findings in a 2012 paper co-authored with three of her peers, The Chronicle reported. In the study, Gino purportedly found that when people made a pledge of honesty at the beginning of a form versus at the end, they were less likely to be dishonest when filling it out, the outlet explained.

In 2020, three of the co-authors on that study, including two other researchers, presented the science world with a new study, calling into question the results of the 2012 findings as they had been unable to replicate its results. In 2021, three investigators indicated the results of at least one of the experiments in the 2012 study pointed to fraud, The Chronicle reported.