P sychology and economics major Liam Baldwin and his father have something in common: they’re both interested in psychology. 

His dad is a psychologist, but that’s not all they share. They both read one of Dr. Dan Ariely’s most popular books, “Predictably Irrational.” 

Ariely, the James B. Duke professor of psychology and behavior economics at Duke University, rose to stardom during his 30-year career as a scholar. He wrote several books and op-ed articles that offer financial advice. He is published in peer-reviewed journals and has given TED Talks.

Ariely seems like the image of a respected, upstanding academic. Or is he?

“I've been very familiar with Dr. Ariely for a while,” Baldwin said. “But there was this weird dichotomy in his blog posts and in niche academic circles online. There was a lot of evidence that some of these papers were fabricated.”

Two years ago, during his freshman year at Georgia College & State University, Baldwin encountered the first evidence of fabricated data in one of Ariely’s papers.

“I remember when I first saw the blog post, I was very doubtful, because I was a fan of this guy,” Baldwin said. “You read accusations online and just assume it's drama. But as I read more about them, and the evidence, it became clear.”  

Baldwin investigated the evidence for himself while giving Ariely the benefit of the doubt. After about 30 hours of reviewing Ariely’s technical, statistical and detailed research, Baldwin proved Ariely’s data was fabricated.

It made Baldwin more aware of the part ethics play in scientific data. He created a YouTube video hoping people would learn from Ariely’s poor judgement and unethical processes.

“It's a weird dichotomy where some of his findings are completely fabricated,” he said. “But in popular media, his work is still incredibly well respected. It's worrisome. There’s even an NBC show based on Dr. Ariely called ‘The Irrational.’” 

In Baldwin’s video, he cites three successful psychologists who completed an in-depth analysis on Ariely’s papers. 

“They found evidence that, in some of Dr. Ariely’s papers, it was extremely likely the data wasn't real,” Baldwin said. “It was generated out of thin air by Dr. Ariely or his co-author. Those three psychologists were hugely influential in bringing this ethically worrisome information to light.”

The three psychologists discovered that Ariely was suspended from MIT in 2008 for running experiments which administered shocks to undergraduate participants. There was no Institutional Review Board approval—no oversight from the university.

Baldwin intended to major in psychology when he came to Georgia College his freshman year. But Dr. Chris Clark’s Freakonomics class piqued his interest in economics.

“One of the things we talked about was that everyone is beholden to economic incentives, including experts—even people who purport themselves to be an expert on a topic like Dr. Eric Elliot, who’s a brilliant guy,” Baldwin said. “But he had more incentive to tell an interesting story in books that were intriguing, rather than truthful.

Dr. Diana Young, associate professor of psychology, is another one of his favorite professors. She taught him statistics, and he’s in her cognitive psychology lab.

“Dr. Young has a passion for psychology, and it's evident in the way she teaches and encourages students,” he said. “She wants to see them have that passion, as well.”

Baldwin applied the concepts of cognitive biases and human irrationality to his findings on Ariely.

“The truth is the biggest principle, especially in science,” Baldwin said. “When someone is faking results and being rewarded in a large public manner for falsehoods, it's a very troubling environment. When you have all these honest people out here doing good work, you don't want to reward the few who are lying.”

He stresses the importance of stopping to think about core principles before acting on biases and incentives.

“If people don't stop to think about their principles, what their ethical concerns are, then they're going to be swayed by either their own biases or monetary or social incentives,” Baldwin said.

“It doesn't take a bad person to do something bad when incentives are present,” he added. “That's why it's so important to think about it first before you take action and understand the lines you won't cross because incentives and biases are very powerful.”