The Psychology of Eye Contact: A Study on Honesty

Posted on October 11, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

“BIG BROTHER” IS WATCHING

[From the Newcastle Division of Psychology]

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA

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It’s no surprise that people are more honest when they know that they’re being watched. But what about just reminding them of the idea of being watched, without them actually being watched?

For years, people at the University of Newcastle’s Division of Psychology have an honor (or trust) system where they are requested to deposit payment for coffee in an “honesty box.” There was a note saying how much they should pay.

In 2006, Melissa Bateson and colleagues decided to do a little experiment: they placed an image above the note. They alternate between two pictures: one week they would use a picture of eyes and the other week, flowers.

After 10 weeks, they plotted the amount of money received versus drinks consumed and found that people paid nearly three times as much for their drinks when eyes were displayed!

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[Click to enlarge image]

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Assessment

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“Business of Medical Practice 2.0” https://tinyurl.com/yb3x6wr8

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HONESTY BOX: Experiment

Posted on April 16, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

SPONSOR: http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

By Staff Reporters

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Classic: It’s no surprise that people are more honest when they know that they’re being watched. But what about just reminding them of the idea of being watched, without them actually being watched?

Modern: Researchers at the University of Newcastle’s Division of Psychology have an honor (or trust) system where they are requested to deposit payment for coffee in an “honesty box.” There was a note saying how much they should pay.

In 2006, Dr. Melissa Bateson and colleagues decided to do a little experiment: they placed an image above the note. They alternate between two pictures: one week they would use a picture of alleged human eyes and the other week, flowers. After 10 weeks, they plotted the amount of money received versus drinks consumed and found that people paid nearly three times as much for their drinks when eyes were displayed.

“There’s an argument that if nobody is watching us it is in our interests to behave selfishly. But when we think we’re being watched we should behave better, so people see us as co-operative and behave the same way towards us,” — Dr Bateson said

EXAMPLE:

Tax: This has great exemplar potential in things like federal, state and local income tax preparation, etc.

Insight: “It’s a definite that you’re all going to screw up, but it’s not a definite that any of you will learn from that,” declared one of our medical school instructors, years ago. “Cultivate the attitude that allows you to own your mistakes, and then, not repeat them” — reported Monique Tello MD MPH.

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