Flight and the preferences for truth-telling: An experimental study among refugees and non-refugees in Syria, Jordan, and Germany

Abstract

We report the results of an experiment on the preference for truth-telling in a repeatedly played mind game with Syrian refugees in Jordan and Germany. We compare their behavior with Syrians who still live in Syria as well as with Jordanians and Germans. The average number of lies is surprisingly similar – and low – across all five samples. However, the lying patterns of Syrian refugees are different from non-refugee participants in Germany, Jordan, and Syria itself. Syrian refugee participants are likely to lie more frequently than non-refugee participants. After having lied once, refugee participants resort to a “never return”- pattern significantly more often than the non-refugee participants. A closer look at the socio-demographic characteristics of our Syrian refugee participants reveals lying to be closely associated with higher age, while a longer stay in the host country is negatively correlated with the observation of lying patterns.