I'd lie for you

We examine experimentally whether individuals engage in altruistic lying, and whether they are more inclined to engage in altruistic lying for in-groups rather than out-groups. We embark in a lab-in-the-field experiment to take advantage of a naturally occurring in-group – out-group formation of Southerner and Northerner Italians. The cultural variations between Northern and Southern Italy appear to trigger different behavior across the two participant pools. Although neither Northerners nor Southerners are willing to lie to help an out-group, the latter are significantly more likely to lie to help ‘one of their people’.