The chances of a wallet being handed in increase in direct proportion to the amount of money inside, according to a study released on Thursday by several universities, including the University of Zurich.
Aiming to test the hypothesis that people’s tendency to act honestly would be compromised by financial incentive, researchers conducted an experiment in which over 17,000 “lost” wallets were left lying about in 355 cities throughout the world.
The wallets contained personal items like cards, shopping lists and keys – plus either no cash, a small amount of cash or a large amount of cash. All were left in busy areas like hotel lobbies or museums or near police stations, giving finders plenty of opportunities to hand them in.
In 38 of the 40 countries studied, the more money in the wallet, the more likely it was to be handed in. Globally, wallets with not much money had a 51% chance of being reported; those with lots of cash, 72%.
Wallets with no money were least likely to be handed in, at an average of 40%.
Self-interest or goodwill?
Of the countries surveyed, Denmark was the most upstanding: 82% of finders handed in the high-value wallets. Switzerland also ranked highly and was notable for not distinguishing heavily between the different cash values; from zero to high, wallets were in general handed in between 73% and 78% of the time.
Countries including China, Peru, Kazakhstan and Kenya propped up the list – in these places, wallets were returned between 8% and 22% of the time.
Researcher Michel Maréchal from the University of Zurich told media on Thursday that the aim of the study was to investigate the factors that influence human honesty on a daily basis.
Explaining the outcome, he said that negative pressures might be the deciding factor: rather than acting from sheer altruism, people might tend to associate keeping the higher amounts with thievery and simply don’t want the guilt associated with that.
“People want to see themselves as honest, not as thieves,” he said. Keeping a wallet you’ve found thus leads to the necessity to adjust one’s self-image accordingly – which comes at a psychological cost.
Popular Stories
More
Climate adaptation
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
This content was published on
By 8am on Saturday, an 11-kilometre queue had formed at the Gotthard tunnel’s northern entrance, with drivers facing nearly two hours of delays.
Plant-based meat market in Switzerland set to grow to CHF361 million by 2030
This content was published on
Switzerland’s market for plant-based meat alternatives has a potential value of around CHF 242 million this year, though it remains a niche market.
This content was published on
The army is looking for a modern solution for its decommissioned fortress mortar bunkers, with plans to turn them into hardened defence hubs.
This content was published on
Spain ended Switzerland’s run in the Women’s Euros on Friday, but fans in Bern made history with the largest supporters’ march in Women’s Euros history.
This content was published on
Solar energy pioneer Raphaël Domjan and his team continued preparations for the altitude record attempt at 10,000 metres with the SolarStratos solar aircraft.
This content was published on
Cattle in the canton of Geneva and in the neighbouring region of Terre Sainte in the canton of Vaud are being vaccinated against the contagious viral skin nodule disease. The first cases of the animal disease were reported at the end of June in France, just outside Geneva.
Fewer attacks on Swiss ATMs but their future remains uncertain
This content was published on
Bank ATMs in Switzerland are less prone to attacks by criminals, but their future remains uncertain given the less active use of cash by the population.
This content was published on
A series of rockfalls occurred above the village of Brienz between 9 and 12 July. According to the municipality of Albula, the overall situation remains tense. Several people disregarded the ban on entering the area around the village.
This content was published on
Arosa Bergbahnen achieved the highest figure in its 95-year history in the 2024/25 financial year with net revenue of CHF 37 million. Arosa Lenzerheide was able to capitalise on strengths such as snow reliability and the size of the ski area in a long winter season, the company announced on Thursday.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Switzerland one of the happiest nations
This content was published on
Last year, Switzerland ranked Number 2; in 2015, it took first place. But the drop in the rankings is no reason to frown, according to the World Happiness Report 2017External link. “All of the top four countries rank highly on all the main factors found to support happiness: caring, freedom, generosity, honesty, health, income and…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.