Honesty nudges: Effect varies with content but not with timing.

• Content and timing of honesty nudges are varied in an online experiment • Effect of nudges is independent from whether subjects already made decisions • Adding information about monitoring increases the effect of nudges • Personalized information has no additional effect • Nudges decrease dishonesty of those (presumably) honest as well as those dishonest We use a ten-round online mind game to determine whether the effect of honesty nudges depends on timing and content. Reminding individuals about the right thing to do increases honesty. Including information that it is possible to assess an individual's dishonesty strengthens the effect of the intervention. Both types of intervention are similarly effective when they take place before an individual has made any decision or after individuals have played five rounds of the mind game. Nudging an individual after they have made five decisions allows us to add personalized information based on the individual's previous response; however, this does not increase honesty. Examining the reaction to nudges based on previous behavior shows that (presumably) honest and dishonest individuals respond by reducing overreporting. The effect of the different nudge content is driven by those previously dishonest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]