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Would you pass the wallet test?

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  • TEDEd Animation

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Picture this: you’re working a shift in a hotel lobby when someone approaches the front desk. They found a lost wallet around the corner, but they’re in a rush and don’t have time to follow up. Looking at the wallet you see it contains a key, grocery list, about $13, and three business cards you assume belong to the wallet’s owner. So, what do you do? Dig into the infamous lost wallet experiment.


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About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Kelso Harper
  • Director Maryna Buchynska, and action creative agency
  • Narrator Jack Cutmore-Scott
  • Animator Volodymyr Boyko
  • Illustrator Gena Gudkova
  • Art Director Olga Barabakh , Maryna Buchynska
  • Composer Jan Willem De With
  • Sound Designer Jan Willem De With
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Producer Anna Bechtol
  • Associate Producer Abdallah Ewis
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
  • Fact-Checker Charles Wallace
  • Additional Collaborator Alain Cohn
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Wanting more? 

This NPR article and short radio clip explores what we can learn about honesty from the Wallet Test. You can check out the text of the scientific paper itself for an even deeper dive into the study's methods, data and results. 

Read up about honesty in general and why it matters with this blog post by Character Lab. Plus, this intriguing opinion piece explores what philosophers and scientists know about lying, and why perhaps we should do more thinking about honesty. 

Customize this lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Kelso Harper
  • Director Maryna Buchynska, and action creative agency
  • Narrator Jack Cutmore-Scott
  • Animator Volodymyr Boyko
  • Illustrator Gena Gudkova
  • Art Director Olga Barabakh , Maryna Buchynska
  • Composer Jan Willem De With
  • Sound Designer Jan Willem De With
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Producer Anna Bechtol
  • Associate Producer Abdallah Ewis
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
  • Fact-Checker Charles Wallace
  • Additional Collaborator Alain Cohn

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