A scientific journal has retracted a research paper on procrastination co-authored by a professor who had been connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Psychological Science issued an editor's note on Wednesday regarding the 2002 paper, "Procrastination, deadlines, and performance: Self-control by precommitment," co-written by Dan Ariely, a professor of business administration at Duke University. The retraction comes days after a blog run by academic researchers, Data Colada, published an article accusing Ariely of tampering or fabricating data in the paper that had been cited more than 2,200 times, according to Google Scholar data.
"Due to details brought to light by the replication manuscript during the review process, lack of confidence in the underlying datasets, and the results of the investigation by Data Colada that call into question the veracity of the data in the original article, the Journal Editor can no longer attest to the reliability of the article's findings," the article now reads. "In line with the guidance issued by COPE, the Journal Editor retracts this article. Both authors agree with the retraction." Ariely, who specializes in behavioral economics at Duke's Fuqua School of Business, previously had a longstanding relationship with Epstein, 66, prior to his death by suicide while awaiting federal sex trafficking charges in prison in 2019.
Ariely's name appears 636 times in files released by the Department of Justice pertaining to the late sex offender, and the pair had met at least seven times over the span of six years. Ariely referred Newsweek on Thursday to a statement he issued last month regarding the 2002 article. Newsweek reached out to Duke University for comment via email, but did not hear back in time for publication.
"As a social scientist, I am hardwired to believe that when evidence underlying a hypothesis or conclusion changes, it is critical that the record be updated to reflect those changes – both as a means of preserving integrity and facilitating the pursuit of truth," Ariely wrote on August 7. "Recently, I was made aware that data underlying a 2002 paper about deadlines and procrastination that I co-authored contained serious anomalies." Ariely said the "documentary record" at his disposal regarding those experiments is no longer sufficient to answer relevant questions, as is his memory. "Moving forward, my responsibility lies in ensuring accuracy – in updating the record on these experiments and, along with my co-author, cooperating with the journal that first published our paper to support their reviews and retraction processes," Ariely's statement concluded.
"Irrationally yours, Dan Ariely." Ariely, 59, previously told the Duke Chronicle that his correspondence with Epstein, which occurred following the financier's conviction of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008, had been infrequent and often mediated by assistants. "Importantly, there was zero financial, professional or ongoing relationship," he told the outlet. Another paper co-authored by Ariely about methods to discourage dishonesty in 2012 had been previously retracted in 2021 following an analysis by Data Colada.
University officials did not respond to requests for comment on whether an investigation would be launched into Ariely or if he faces any disciplinary measures, the Duke Chronicle noted. Ariely told the New York Times in January about email exchanges he had with Epstein between 2009 and 2019, including messages in which he asked if Epstein could introduce him to convicted Ponzi mastermind Bernie Madoff. "At the time of our meetings, I was deep into research on dishonesty and crime, and I spoke with many individuals who had broken the law,” Ariely told the newspaper in a statement, adding that ideas from conversations with Epstein and others factored into a subsequent book and documentary on dishonesty.
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