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1-Page Summary of The Honest Truth About Dishonesty
Big Idea #1: ‘Cheating is not a rational action.’
When I ask people how they think people decide whether to cheat or not, most of them say that it depends on the consequences.
We usually believe that we make rational decisions. However, this isn’t true.
The author did a study where people took a math test and were promised 50 cents for each correct answer. In one group, all answers were checked for correctness, in the other, they weren’t. The second group cheated by reporting 6 problems on average as opposed to 4 problems in the normal group. However, even when the reward for each single problem went up to $10, people didn’t cheat more – the average remained 6 problems reported in the group without checking their results.
The author performed an experiment to find out how much people cheat. He gave his subjects a sheet of paper and told them that they could shred the entire sheet or half of it, but they had to pay him for the shredded paper. The test was repeated three times with different groups of participants. In each case, people cheated by keeping more than what he paid for when given the option to shred either half or all of the page. So even though there were some differences between each group (like whether or not they would get caught), cheating remained consistent in terms of percentage across all groups tested.
Big Idea #2: If you’re not directly involved in an action, it’s easier to cheat.
It’s about how close you are to the person and what your intention is. If you’re cheating on someone who doesn’t know, it’s easier for you to accept than if you’re cheating on a spouse.
When you’re about to cheat on the person you love most and know it’s your decision, justifying that action becomes harder.
Ariely tested whether the students would take the items by placing six cans of Coke in a refrigerator and six $1 bills in another. The students knew that they weren’t allowed to take them, but he wanted to see if they would anyway.
While the $1 bills remained in the fridge, ALL Cokes were stolen. This is because it’s easier to steal something that was purchased with money than it is to steal money itself. There are more steps between you and the deed when you’re stealing a Coke than there are if you’re taking someone’s dollar bill out of their wallet.
Big Idea #3: If you’re wearing fake designer clothes, it will only make things worse.
Where did you get those Gucci sunglasses? Don’t buy them from a tourist souvenir shop, because they’re probably fake and will make it easier to cheat.
Why? Because when you do something wrong, it makes you more likely to do other things wrong. Ariely proved this with a study where participants were given fake sunglasses and then asked to take an intelligence test. The control group cheated 42% of the time, but the ones who knew they had real sunglasses only did so 30% of the time. However, for those who thought they had fakes, 74% cheated! So throw out your fake glasses because once you’ve done one dishonest thing, it’s easier to justify doing others or even worse actions in the future.
