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0:00On the surface, Dietri Staples seemed to
0:02have everything an academic could want.
0:05His studies appeared in major journals,
0:06his interviews aired on Dutch
0:08television, and his classrooms were
0:09filled with students who admired him.
0:11For years, he was celebrated as one of
0:13Europe's brightest minds in social
0:15psychology.
0:16But there was only one problem. None of
0:19it was real. For more than a decade,
0:22Staple fabricated entire studies,
0:25including data, participants, and even
0:27results. And when the truth finally
0:30surfaced, it triggered one of the most
0:32shocking collapses the field had ever
0:33seen.
0:35This is the story of psychologyy's
0:38biggest fraud.
0:44Stable began his studies in drama and
0:45media in Pennsylvania, but eventually
0:47returned to the Netherlands. He earned
0:49an MA in psychology and communication
0:51science from the University of Amsterdam
0:53in 1991 followed by an award-winning PhD
0:56kum lad in 1997. That degree led him to
0:59become a professor.
1:01For over 11 years at the University of
1:03Gronigen and later Tilberg, Staple was
1:06seen as a beloved teacher, someone his
1:08students openly admired. Even his
1:10colleagues loved him. Many believed he
1:12was one of the most trustworthy
1:13psychologists they knew. And if that
1:15wasn't enough, Staple was also a
1:17prolific researcher, having published
1:19over 138 popular studies. But on what
1:22exactly? Well, his impressive career
1:24specialized in social psychology and
1:26studied how environmental surroundings
1:28influence human behavior and thoughts,
1:30otherwise known as priming. These
1:33studies would become famous in the media
1:34due to the conclusions he came to, such
1:36as standing in a messy train station or
1:39a littered environment can make people
1:41more prone to racism or prejudice.
1:43Seeing meat made people more aggressive
1:45and more supportive of dominance
1:46hierarchies. Seeing a clean environment
1:49or words associated with cleanliness
1:51made people more ethical and social.
1:54Staple was known and respected worldwide
1:56by scientists for being vastly
1:57accomplished in his field. So, with such
2:00a perfect and all-around career, what
2:03could possibly lead to the downfall of
2:04someone who was not only a respected
2:06psychologist, but also popular as a
2:09media personality? With frequent
2:11appearances on television and popular
2:13media due to his charismatic
2:14personality, Dedric was labeled the pop
2:17star of psychology in the Netherlands.
2:19It seemed as though Professor Staple had
2:21everything. A flawless career, strong
2:23accomplishments, a family of four, and
2:26yes, that media fame everybody wanted.
2:29But beyond the surface of his highly
2:31illustrious career, he was hiding a dark
2:33secret no one could have ever expected.
2:36The seeds of fraud had been planted and
2:37growing since the beginning of his
2:39career. By the admission in his own book
2:41later, Staple was frustrated with his
2:43work. He watched other psychologists
2:45publish groundbreaking findings while
2:47his own experiments often produced
2:49results that felt dull or inconclusive.
2:51Even when the media loved his studies,
2:53the data never delivered the clarity or
2:55impact he craved. For example, he
2:57hypothesized that seeing attractive
2:59faces would lower people's self-ratings.
3:01But the real data showed no meaningful
3:04difference between participants. Errors
3:06are simply a part of scientific
3:07experiments. But for him, that simply
3:10wasn't enough. His perfectionist nature
3:12just couldn't handle failure. Staple was
3:14seemingly at odds with the scientific
3:16method itself. He knew that when he did
3:18achieve good results, he would be
3:20awarded with praise and applause. This
3:22sensation was something he craved. But
3:24you can't just change studies when the
3:26data gives you imperfect results.
3:28Evidence is evidence, and scientists are
3:31trained to change their hypotheses and
3:33ideas based on what the evidence
3:34suggests. But for Staple, terrible
3:37results continued to frustrate him more
3:39and more. He wanted and needed the
3:41praise, the applause, the success. And
3:44so that dark desire started to seep into
3:46his work in very small ways. He would
3:48find reasons to omit outlier cases that
3:51contradicted what he wanted and
3:52believed. Or he would change the titles
3:54of the study to match the results. While
3:56these things are not in line with the
3:57best practices of science and could well
4:00get him banned from publishing, nobody
4:02would classify them as fraud or
4:04something illegal. But when and how
4:07would this respected scientist transform
4:09relatively small unethical actions into
4:12the unthinkable fraud?
4:15What would tempt a renowned researcher
4:17to change the very data itself and tell
4:19outright lies to propel himself onto
4:22even more success simply to get all the
4:25praise and applause he wanted? Well, it
4:27all began on a normal day as Staple
4:29entered his richly furnished office at
4:31the University of Gonagen. He took extra
4:33care when closing the door, sat down,
4:35and tidied his desk more cautiously than
4:37usual. Thoughts were running through his
4:39head as his recent experiments had
4:40failed. He felt the pressure to produce
4:42a result and fast. So Staple committed
4:45to the unthinkable. He opened the file
4:47on his computer containing the data from
4:49his recent study titled Categories of
4:51the Self: How Social Comparisons
4:53Influence Self-Ealuations. The study was
4:56seeking to prove that exposure to highly
4:58attractive people would lead to someone
5:00judging themselves more negatively. but
5:02it failed to prove so. So, Staple
5:04clicked on the keyboard and decided to
5:05alter the ratings. He changed a two into
5:08a four, then a little further, a three
5:10into a five. It wasn't a big change, but
5:13it would lead to statistically
5:15significant results that would prove his
5:16hypothesis, allowing him to publish a
5:19study. There's a world of difference
5:20between sloppy science and criminal
5:22fraud. Changing the numbers across that
5:24line, and Staple knew it, so for a
5:27moment, he clicked undo. But he'd worked
5:31so hard for this. His thorough analysis
5:34of the literature, two previous
5:36successful experiments, and hours spent
5:38creating this one study were all going
5:40to go to the trash because of a few
5:42numbers of data that didn't match the
5:44hypothesis. No, Staple couldn't accept
5:47it. So, he nervously looked around and
5:49made a final decision that would alter
5:51his life forever. He clicked redo and
5:54saved the altered data. He had just
5:56falsely manipulated research data for
5:58the first time. A feeling of extreme
6:00relief washed over him, but a type of
6:02heavy guilt also settled into his heart.
6:04What he didn't know was that this would
6:06be the start of his transformation from
6:08a commendable professor into the biggest
6:10fraud in Dutch psychology. This would
6:12not be the last time Professor Staple
6:14would tamper with his results. By his
6:16own words, I became increasingly skilled
6:19in the use of techniques that could put
6:20a healthy looking shine on otherwise
6:23mediocre results. After years of
6:25balancing on the outer limits, the gray
6:27became darker and darker until it was
6:30black and I fell off the edge into the
6:32abyss.
6:36The scientific method is widely accepted
6:38as one of the most important methods for
6:40acquiring knowledge. So, as a
6:43consequence, you would think that
6:45science is tightly regulated to prevent
6:46fraud. But here is where deep flaws in
6:49the system are revealed. Staple was a
6:51charismatic and friendly personality who
6:53had a ton of authority in both academia
6:56and the Dutch media. So, nobody could
6:58have reasonably suspected foul play from
6:59such an accomplished and well-liked
7:01professor. Yes, not even his students
7:03who worked closely with him even
7:05remotely suspected it was possible. As a
7:08professor, Staple was tasked with
7:09teaching students how to run experiments
7:11in accordance with the scientific
7:12method. Junior researchers would come
7:14into his lab to learn, but something
7:16unusual would happen. Instead of letting
7:18them do the research and allowing
7:19hands-on experience, Staple would
7:22already have all the data from the
7:23experiments collected. All the students
7:25had to do to pass was to compile the
7:27data. From a student's perspective, this
7:29was very weird as they never got
7:31hands-on experience with the experiment.
7:33But since they were just junior
7:34researchers, nobody ever dared to
7:36question Staple's methods. They just
7:38needed to get good grades. And if
7:40somebody did ask more about the
7:41research, Staple would simply dismiss it
7:43and tell the student that if he wanted
7:45to pass, he should just compile the
7:47data. And so for years, students
7:50received falsified data and never gained
7:52real research experience. Yet, they
7:54still graduated from the university as
7:56if they were experts. They simply were
7:58none the wiser. This fraudulent data
8:00would now directly affect the future
8:02generation of psychiatrists. Despite
8:05data that seemed too good to be true and
8:07reasonably suspicious, hundreds of
8:09students stayed quiet since their own
8:11academic careers were under threat if
8:13they spoke out. And of course, he was a
8:16renowned researcher. Who were they to
8:18question him? It was a problem of Staple
8:21abusing his authority. But his career of
8:23lies would come rapidly crashing down
8:25when one day three smart students
8:27entered his lab. They became suspicious
8:30of the perfect data immediately, even
8:32joking among themselves that it was as
8:34if someone had made up the data. Even
8:36someone as prolific as Staple would not
8:38get results this good this often. These
8:42weren't the usual students just looking
8:44to pass his class. Over the course of
8:46several months, they would quietly play
8:47a double game. On the one hand, they
8:49kept working with Staple as if
8:51everything was going well, but on the
8:52other, they conducted their own
8:54investigation into his data. Eventually,
8:56after remarkable patience, the big
8:58breakthrough came when they found
9:00identical rows of data in two completely
9:02different studies. Stable had become
9:04sloppy and arrogant. This was a glaring
9:07red flag and a clear sign of
9:08falsification. The students had to act
9:10quickly, but there was still an issue.
9:13The head of the social psychology
9:14department at Tillberg was Marcel
9:16Zelandberg, who was extremely close to
9:18Staple. How could junior researchers
9:20convince Sealenberg that Staple, a
9:22renowned psychologist and dear friend,
9:24was really a fraud? They first tested
9:28the waters by describing a hypothetical
9:30case of fraud without mentioning any
9:32names. To which Seelenberg replied
9:34forcefully, "They should hang him from
9:36the highest tree." They knew he wouldn't
9:38tolerate fraud. So, after a bit of
9:40waiting, it was finally time to reveal
9:42the secret. The students spoke to
9:43Zelenberg at a conference in London
9:45which was done so that he would remain
9:46calm and immediate confrontation could
9:48be prevented. After an intense back and
9:51forth, Zelenberg was shocked but also
9:53convinced that the students had a good
9:54point. When they got back to the
9:56Netherlands, they formally reported
9:57their concerns to the principal, Philip
9:59Elander, who immediately launched an
10:01investigation. If any of the accusations
10:04were true, this would be the biggest
10:06controversy in social psychology and a
10:08massive hit to the university and the
10:10field as a whole. Tensions were
10:12extremely high as Elander confronted
10:14Staple and began intense questioning.
10:16How was the data collected? Where did he
10:19get it from? Why was similar data found
10:21in different studies? Initially, Stable
10:24defended himself, even offering to show
10:26places where he collected the data from.
10:29Illeander and his colleagues were
10:30extremely conflicted, so they gave him
10:32the benefit of the doubt and continued
10:33investigating. Staple was under extreme
10:36psychological stress. Realizing that his
10:38career was falling apart in front of his
10:40eyes, and there was no way of hiding the
10:43years of fraud anymore. This pressure
10:45took its toll. He had no idea how close
10:47investigators were to uncovering his
10:49manipulated data and fabricated studies.
10:52And underneath it all was the guilt of
10:54knowing he could no longer stop what had
10:55begun years earlier. When the first
10:57small lie, a two, quietly turned into a
11:00four. Eventually, he mentally collapsed
11:03and around September 6th, Staple gave a
11:05full confession and admitted to
11:07falsifying data. Staple was suspended
11:09immediately from Tilberg University. The
11:12news left students, professors, and even
11:14the public stunned and growing in
11:16disgust. However, this was just the tip
11:18of the iceberg as what follows next is
11:21the discovery of elaborate methods of
11:22fraud that span over 15 years of
11:25research and would cause tremendous
11:27damage to the field of social
11:28psychology. How deep had his fraud truly
11:31infected academia? And if everything
11:33that came to light was as extensive as
11:35they thought, what should Staples
11:37punishment be?
11:42In September 2011, three separate
11:45investigative committees were formed.
11:47Their mission to examine all 137 of
11:50Staples papers, 18 doctoral thesis, and
11:53all of his book chapters in order to
11:55determine the absolute extent of his
11:57fraud. This is one of the most serious
11:59investigations conducted in psychology
12:01in which for the first time the whole
12:04body of a fraudster's work would be
12:05scrutinized thoroughly. 18 senior
12:08academics including five statisticians
12:10examined the papers while 93 people who
12:13interacted with Staple were interviewed.
12:15What the committee found was worse than
12:16any of the colleagues, students and the
12:19Dutch media could have imagined. 55 of
12:22his publications contained definite
12:24fraudulent data while 10 more had strong
12:26evidence for fraud. In total, 58 of his
12:31studies were retracted. To make things
12:33worse, Staple's own PhD thesis, for
12:36which he gained an award, contained two
12:38chapters with evidence of fraud. It
12:40turns out the dark temptation had been
12:43there for his whole career. Most
12:45notably, 10 of his students PhD thesis
12:48unknowingly used his fake studies as a
12:50reference. Overall, millions of people
12:52could have read his studies or articles
12:55related to his studies as his work was
12:57widely featured in major outlets like
12:59the New York Times and other major
13:01outlets in Dutch media. Considering the
13:03popular appeal of psychology and staples
13:05great reputation, we can assume that the
13:07vast majority of the people who read
13:09this accepted his conclusions. Due to
13:11his actions, people believed false
13:13information, students careers were hurt,
13:16and the trust in the entire field was
13:18severely undermined, which would
13:20inadvertently hurt colleagues and
13:22universities. Staple had spent most of
13:24his life acting as a facade of an
13:26accomplished professor and psychologist.
13:29He may have left acting school at the
13:30start of his journey, but he never
13:32stopped acting, for he was never who he
13:34claimed to be. The only question that
13:36remains is how did one man manage to
13:39commit such massive fraud right under
13:41the noses of students, colleagues, the
13:44media, and the entirety of the
13:46scientific field for over 15 years. At
13:50the start, he just altered existing
13:51data. But as the years passed, Staple
13:54formulated complete studies, including a
13:56theory, hypothesis, methods, and
13:59participants, then created completely
14:02fictitious data. His modus operendi was
14:04simple. After creating the highly
14:06attractive and headlinemaking study, he
14:09took all the materials home, fabricated
14:11all the data on his computer and made it
14:14such that it perfectly supported the
14:15hypotheses of the study. After a while,
14:18he came back to the lab with the
14:19fabricated data and then his students or
14:21collaborators analyzed and wrote up the
14:23results, which of course were always
14:26perfect. When he was asked where the
14:28data came from, he claimed to have
14:30special access to schools and other
14:32venues that knew him and didn't want
14:33outside researchers present. Most people
14:35just shrugged this off since nobody's
14:37first assumption would be that their own
14:38professor and colleague is lying to
14:40them. This went on for 15 years. But
14:45Staple's own perfectionism was also his
14:47downfall. He was caught because his
14:49results seemed too perfect to be true.
14:52But why would he go through all the
14:53trouble and risk of ruining his career
14:56just to fabricate his studies? In
14:58Staple's own words, he was obsessed with
15:01the goal of achieving career success.
15:03And as a result, he gradually trampled
15:06all ethical principles committing the
15:08unthinkable. He saw the applause, the
15:11fame, and the recognition of his
15:12successful colleagues like Conor man and
15:14Seielini. His perfectionist personality
15:17forced him to want fast success even at
15:20the cost of his ethics and morals.
15:22Staple felt compelled to issue an
15:23apology. I have failed as a scientist,
15:26as a researcher. I have manipulated
15:29research data and faked studies. Not
15:31once, but several times, not for a short
15:35period, but over a longer period of
15:37time. Regardless of what Staple felt,
15:40the damage was already done. This fraud
15:43had caused irreparable damage to the
15:45field of social psychology and he had to
15:48be punished for what he did. But how?
15:54Well, Tillberg University sought
15:56criminal prosecution. After all, Staple
15:58had knowingly created 58 fraudulent
16:01studies, damaging the reputation of the
16:03institutions he worked for and the
16:05careers of his graduate students and
16:07collaborators. This went on for months.
16:10In June 2013, a plea bargain was reached
16:13and it was unbelievable. For his fraud,
16:16Staple was given a measly 120 hours of
16:19community service and had to forfeit 1
16:21and 1/2 years of his salary. That was
16:24all. He was not found guilty of
16:26defrauding taxpayers since he had spent
16:28the grant money on legitimate activities
16:30like salaries for researchers. And in
16:32truth, Staple had never cared much about
16:34the money. He wanted the fame and the
16:36recognition. But fortunately, despite
16:38the lenient sentence, Staple would never
16:40return to practice scientific research
16:42again due to his ruined reputation. So
16:45instead, he reinvented himself as an
16:47author, writing a book about the entire
16:49scandal. In the end, Staple claimed to
16:52regret what he had done. But the truth
16:54is, he concealed the fraud for over 15
16:56years and only apologized after he was
16:58caught, almost certainly to save face.
17:01He received a remarkably light
17:02punishment and was still able to profit
17:04from his crimes against science by
17:06publishing a book. Nobel laurate Daniel
17:09Conman wrote an open letter to
17:10researchers in the field. Your field is
17:13now the poster child for doubts about
17:15the integrity of psychological research.
17:17I see a train wreck looming. The story
17:20of fraud revealed systematic issues in
17:21the way studies of psychology are
17:23conducted. And it wasn't just state. In
17:26a 2015 anonymous survey of 2,000
17:28American psychologists,
17:3070% admitted to cutting corners, while
17:331% admitted to falsifying data. Many
17:37studies were re-evaluated and found to
17:39fail to pass the test of time. It was
17:42found that the field of psychology is
17:44rife with inaccurate and sometimes
17:46fraudulent research findings. And while
17:48all of this sounds negative, it's
17:50important to understand that the case of
17:51Dedric Staple stands as a clear example
17:54that scientific fraud will always
17:55eventually be discovered. The vast
17:58majority of research is peer-reviewed
18:00and honest, pushing the knowledge of
18:02humanity ever forward. At the very
18:04least, this saga is what allowed experts
18:06in the field to enhance journal
18:07standards and create preventative
18:09measures against research manipulation.
18:11And in the end, Dietri Staple will be
18:13remembered as one of the most infamous
18:15fraudsters in science. However, there
18:18are many more infamous academic
18:20controversies that you may not know
18:21about. If you enjoyed this video, we'd
18:24appreciate the support of a like and
18:26subscribe so we can create more
18:27high-quality documentaries for you.
18:29Thanks for watching.

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