Framing can improve ethical behavior

In a variety of scenarios, such as filling out taxes, self-monitoring is used to prevent wrongdoing. In many of these cases, a signature is used to denote honesty. In a study, participants were placed in two situations (math puzzles and reported vehicle use) in which they had the opportunity to lie to receive more money. In both situations, subjects were much less likely to cheat if asked to sign at the top of the page than if they were asked to sign at the bottom or not asked to sign at all.