Is global integrity the lowest in China? 14 universities' faculty and students self raised funds to overturn scientific journal papers

For the honor of our motherland, we can conduct a replication experimentIn June 2019, Science published a study titled 'Global Citizen Integrity', which ranked China as the lowest out of 40 countries. The only criterion for measuring integrity is whether to contact the owner via email after picking up the wallet

For the honor of our motherland, we can conduct a replication experiment

In June 2019, Science published a study titled 'Global Citizen Integrity', which ranked China as the lowest out of 40 countries. The only criterion for measuring integrity is whether to contact the owner via email after picking up the wallet. This conclusion has sparked opposition and questioning.

A "behavioral economics" exchange group composed of over 200 scholars has exploded. Zhang Qi, the "group leader" on the other side of the ocean, launched the initiative of "group" replication research. Professor Yang Qian from the School of Public Health at Zhejiang University was the first to respond. Through a "snowball rolling" approach, in addition to Zhang Qi, more than 100 teachers and students from 14 universities in China eventually joined.

In July 2023, this four-year study was officially published in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences. Research shows that although the "email response rate" for lost wallets in China is 27.4%, the "wallet recycling rate" is 77.8%, and collectivist culture has a significant impact on this.

Yang Qian, the first author and co corresponding author of the paper, told China Science Daily that it is the resilience and cohesion of the team that make China's integrity "legitimate". Indeed, many authors are still "netizens" to this day. In order to have an early dialogue with Science and tell the world about the real China, as they have no time to apply for funding, the entire research relies on "self financing".

Figure 1 shows the author team

Figures 2-4 show the student members participating in the survey

Restore the truth

If you find a wallet in a public place with the owner's email address, will you contact them via email?

Four behavioral economists, including Alain Cohn from the University of Michigan in the United States, conducted relevant research in 40 countries worldwide. They asked research assistants to hand over their "picked up" wallets to employees of public institutions such as hotels and banks, and measured citizens' integrity through the "email response rate".

In June 2019, Science published this study. In the so-called "integrity ranking", China ranks last to last, behind countries such as Kenya and Peru.

Screenshot of the study published in June 2019 in Science

The conclusions that contradict reality, as well as the narrow definition of "integrity," have led to significant questioning in research. Media from over 20 countries have reported on this study.

Professor Zhou Xinyue from Zhejiang University and Professor Sun Yacheng from Tsinghua University have sent emails to Science. They argue that the research conclusion is based on a single and biased Western perspective testing method, without taking into account the significant cultural differences between countries.

Unfortunately, the editors of Science did not provide substantive feedback on the lack of empirical data and even closed the review section of the paper.

A "behavioral economics" exchange group with over 200 scholars is also fiercely discussing. The "group leader" Zhang Qi, a professor at the University of Ou Daoming in the United States, couldn't sit still and simply launched an initiative to re explore the research of Cohn and others.

Yang Qian, who was the first to respond, also invited Zhou Xinyue to officially join the research team, and Sun Yacheng joined later. Through this "snowball rolling" approach, the team quickly gathered 14 universities nationwide, including Zhejiang University, Southwest University of Finance and Economics, Beijing Normal University, Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Fudan University, Shenzhen University, Shaanxi Normal University, Nankai University, Nanjing Medical University, Harbin Medical University, South China Normal University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Tsinghua University, etc, And scholars from the University of Europe in the United States.

Restore the truth

In this new study, in addition to exploring Cohn et al.'s research, they also added "wallet recycling rate" as an additional measure of citizen integrity, and conducted follow-up surveys on employees afterwards.

Research has found that if only the "email response rate" is used to measure "integrity", the conclusion is similar to the research results of Cohn et al., but the "email response rate" of 27.4% of Chinese citizens is much lower than the "wallet recycling rate" of 77.8%, indicating that citizen integrity cannot be measured solely by the "email response rate" single indicator.

More importantly, they found a significant negative correlation between the "email response rate" and the national collectivism index, but a significant positive correlation between the "wallet recycling rate" and the regional collectivism index.

That is to say, evaluating 'integrity' also takes into account different cultural influences. Under collectivist culture, citizens tend to "passively keep their wallets for the lost"; Under individualistic culture, citizens tend to "actively contact wallet owners".

Everyone gathers firewood

Challenging a paper published in Science is not an easy task, especially for a team that doesn't even have special funding. But conducting experiments on "lost wallets" at nearly 500 locations in 10 cities across the country requires significant human and material resources.

In order to have an early dialogue with Science and uphold the integrity of Chinese citizens, they did not have time to apply for special funds and simply "prepared their own dry food" when they joined the group.

Not long after, they spontaneously recruited hundreds of Chinese and foreign students to participate in the research. In order to alleviate the financial pressure, the teachers also proactively proposed the relevant investment required for the experiment.

The National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars program led by Zhou Xinyue and Sun Yacheng has provided strong support for research. The first pilot project led by Yang Qian in China benefited from the fund's "lump sum" policy, which gave them greater autonomy and enthusiasm in their research.

To compensate for the research shortcomings of Cohn et al., it is necessary to redesign the experiment based on replication, which is also the most important part of the research.

At that time, we almost argued from morning to night, "Yang Qian said with a smile, and in order to combine the advantages of different disciplines such as economics and psychology, they thoroughly discussed every detail.

The introduction of Chinese observers emerged through intense debate.

In the design by Cohn et al., foreign research assistants who hand over their "picked up" wallets to venue employees can only provide a brief explanation and immediately exit. But it is unclear how the wallet will ultimately be handled, and foreign research assistants may not be able to accurately distinguish between employees and customers, and under certain psychological pressure, they may not have the time to record key environmental information.

To overcome these limitations, it is necessary to introduce domestic research assistants from China as covert observers, but this also means that it may affect the processing results of wallets.

In the end, they decided to design the study into two groups. The first group of Chinese observers left after recording on-site information; The second group of Chinese observers secretly recorded the entire delivery process. Each group is equipped with hidden cameras to record the delivery process to ensure the accuracy of the data.

At the end of 2019, except for the four sampling points that were unable to complete the experiment due to special circumstances, all data from 496 points nationwide were collected. These points have also added more than ten environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, presence of national flags and emblems, number of witnesses, noise, and presence of cameras.

But just organizing and analyzing these massive amounts of data accounts for half of Dr. Zhang Weiwei's career. She is the only student author of the paper. When she first joined the research with her supervisor, Professor Liu Shiyong from Beijing Normal University, she was still in her first year of doctoral studies at Southwest University of Finance and Economics, and her child had just reached her full moon.

Indeed. For all authors involved in the study, this is a high investment, high risk, and high unknown research.

In order to further explore the reasons for the different manifestations of citizen integrity in different countries, Yang Qian and Zhou Xinyue, combined with global data from domestic and Cohn et al. research, found that collectivist and individualistic cultures have a significant impact on indicators for measuring citizen integrity.

The research challenging the Science paper was finally published in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences on July 10, 2023, four years after its publication.

Screenshot of the study published in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences on July 10, 2023

Behind the scenes heroes

100Behind the scenes heroes

When he first joined the team, Kong Shaonan was in his fourth year of doctoral studies at Shandong University. After meeting Zhang Qi at an international conference, she was recommended to join the research team in her hometown of Beijing with experience in "wallet loss" research.

She told China Science Daily that professional on-site research not only requires training, but also coping with various unexpected situations, which poses significant challenges to professionalism, physical strength, and adaptability.

In this study, 50 sampling points were set up in each region, with many sampling points spaced tens of kilometers apart.

They need to complete all sampling in the shortest possible time, because if the experimental message leaks, it means that the data may be contaminated and the project can only be suspended.

During the summer, the heat was unbearable in various places, and students almost traveled to various sampling points from morning to night. When they returned to school, the dormitory had already closed its doors and they had to explain it to the administrator.

Returning to the dormitory to simply organize the materials, they will immediately participate in the team's online review and discussion. Often after the discussion, it was already the early morning of the next day.

Sudden situations are often encountered in research. There was an accident that left a deep impression on Zhang Weiwei, who was responsible for conducting research in the Chengdu region.

On the way back from a survey, students accidentally left an item containing important materials on the subway seat. It was during the rush hour of work at that time, and by the time they remembered it, several hours had already passed.

Fortunately, as they raced back to the subway station, they found the lost item at the staff. It was a passenger who picked it up and handed it over to the staff at the next station.

On the way to speak out for the integrity of Chinese citizens, they are also warmed by integrity.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is sourced from the internet. The copyright of the text, images, and other materials belongs to the original author. The platform reprints the materials for the purpose of conveying more information. The content of the article is for reference and learning only, and should not be used for commercial purposes. If it infringes on your legitimate rights and interests, please contact us promptly and we will handle it as soon as possible! We respect copyright and are committed to protecting it. Thank you for sharing.(Email:[email protected])