To Cheat or Not To Cheat: Tryptophan Hydroxylase 2 SNP Variants Contribute to Dishonest Behavior

Abstract

Although, lying (bear false witness) is explicitly prohibited in the Decalogue and a focus of interest in philosophy and theology, more recently the behavioral and neural mechanisms of deception are gaining increasing attention from diverse fields especially economics, psychology, and neuroscience. Despite the considerable role of heredity in explaining individual differences in deceptive behavior, few studies have investigated which specific genes contribute to the heterogeneity of lying behavior across individuals. Also, little is known concerning which specific neurotransmitter pathways underlie deception. Toward addressing these two key questions, we implemented a neurogenetic strategy and modeled deception by an incentivized die-under-cup task in a laboratory setting. The results of this exploratory study provide provisional evidence that SNP variants across the tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) gene, that encodes the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of brain serotonin, contribute to individual differences in deceptive behavior.

Lying Behavior When the Payoffs are Shared with Charity: Experimental Evidence

“…As a preliminary sensitivity check, we compare the outcomes of our self-only baseline group with those of Shen et al (2016), a die-roll experiment also conducted in Singapore, and the meta-study by Abeler et al (2019). Table 2 shows that the reported outcome distributions from all three experiments are similar.…”

“…Shares of participants in self-only group who reported each payoff, compared to a similar study in the same country (Shen et al, 2016), and a meta-study of 90 experiments (Abeler et al, 2019).…”

El fraude académico: Un análisis de estudio cualitativo del alumnado en la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Antioquia

“…Al margen de las investigaciones anteriores que son estudios sociales orientados hacia las percepciones de los estudiantes para dilucidar los motivos por los cuales se presenta el FA desde lo comportamental, existe un estudio en China que busca la relación entre las características biológicas y la conducta violatoria de la integridad académica desde una perspectiva meramente mecanicista, donde las percepciones, interacciones, significados y valores éticos no son considerados. En este estudio se muestra la relación entre las variantes genéticas de la triptófano hidroxinasa y la conducta violatoria de la integridad académica (Shen et al, 2016).…”

The Large Society Problem in Northwest Europe and East Asia

“…Undoubtedly, the heritable component involves many loci on the genome. One is TPH2, whose alleles influence individual differences in deceptive behavior, perhaps by changing the balance between attention to current stimuli and attention to long-term consequences (Shen et al, 2016). Another is GABRA2…”