Would you pass the wallet test?
Let’s Begin…
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.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
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.
Watch the video and finish the Think section to complete the lesson.
About Build Character
Character refers to ways of thinking, acting, and feeling that benefit others as well as ourselves. Character is plural—encompassing strengths of heart, mind, and will. Like social and emotional learning, the elements that make up character can be taught, learned and practiced, and we’re here to help. Explore this page to strengthen your kindness, grit, decision making, curiosity, emotional intelligence and more - brought to you by TED-Ed and Character Lab.
Meet The Creators
- Video created by TED-Ed
- Lesson Plan created by TED Ed
