Paul Kinsella conducted an interesting test:
He dropped 100 wallets in front of hidden cameras to see who would return them and who would steal them… He was curious as to how honest people would be and wanted to see how different races, genders and age groups would compare to each other.
Each of the 100 wallets contained $2.10 in real money, a fake $50.00 gift certificate, some miscellaneous items and a clearly written ID card identifying the lost wallet’s rightful owner.
So who was more honest – women or men? Black people or white people? Young people or old people?
And the picture of the owner of the wallet? Was it a he or she? Black or white? Old or young? Society responds more favorably to people who share features. If this social experiment were conducted in my undergradt psych class, it would get an F.