Honor system

An honor system, trust system or honesty system is a way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor, and honesty.

The honor system is also a system granting freedom from customary surveillance (as to students or prisoners) with the understanding that those who are so freed will be bound by their honor to observe regulations (e.g. prison farms may be operated under the honor system),^[1] and will therefore not abuse the trust placed in them.

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The first honor system in America was instituted at the College of William and Mary in 1779.^[2] In some colleges, the honor system is used to administer tests unsupervised. Students are generally asked to sign an honor code statement that says they will not cheat or use unauthorized resources when taking the test. As an example, at Vanderbilt University students taking examinations are required to sign and include the following pledge: “I pledge on my honor that have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this examination”. Any student caught in violation of the Honor Code is referred to the Honor Council which investigates and determines the appropriate action, which can range from failing the course to expulsion from the university.^[3]

At the University of Virginia a student taking an examination is also required to sign a pledge not to give or receive aid and there is one penalty for transgression of the honor code, dismissal from the university.^[4] Texas A&M also has an Honor System which states, Aggies do not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those who do.^[5] Any student that does not follow the code is remanded to the Honor council so they can determine the severity of the case and how the student should be punished or if expulsion is necessary.^[6] The students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also maintain a student-run honor system. Students maintain the integrity of the university by pledging not to cheat, steal or lie. Unlike the University of Virginia, the honor system at Chapel Hill allows for different sanctions, ranging from probation to expulsion. A single-sanction Honor Code exists at the Virginia Military Institute, where a "drum out" ceremony is still carried out upon a cadet's dismissal.^[7]

Some private universities are run by or associated with religious organizations and their honor code reflect that association. At Brigham Young University students commit to the Church Educational System Honor Code which unlike other honor codes has restrictions placed on how students should engage in sexual and romantic relationships and that students and employees should attend religious services.^[8]

Some supermarket chains allow customers to scan their own groceries with handheld barcode readers while placing them in their own carts (see self-checkout). While the system gives customers the ability to place groceries in their bags without paying, and customers can be randomly audited, participating supermarkets have reported that this experimental system has not increased the amount of shoplifting.^[9]

In some countries, farmers leave bags of produce beside the road outside their houses with prices affixed. Passers-by pay by leaving cash in a container. In Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom this is called the honesty box system. In other countries, small unmanned stores are run, where customers are able to enter, obtain what they need, and pay the bill in a secure container.^[10]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as many people have received their vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance that fully-vaccinated people no longer had to wear face masks. Many places relied on an honor system to trust that people who were not vaccinated continued to wear face masks.^[11]

Various public transport systems are ungated and operate on an enforced honour system. Random inspections are made but there is no systematic means of ensuring that everyone has paid. If a Revenue protection inspector finds a person indeed lacks the proper ticket, the passenger gets a Penalty fare.^[12]

• Hawala or hundi, an informal value transfer system based on an honor system
• Kavka's toxin puzzle examines the paradoxical nature of "rewarding intent."
• Reputation system

• Bowman, James. Honor: A History. Encounter, 2007.
• Wyatt-Brown, Bertram. Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South. OUP, 2007.