The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of The Honest Truth About Dishonesty, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
Most people cheat a little
Ariely argues that dishonesty is not mainly the work of a few bad people.
In his experiments, many ordinary people cheated by small amounts, while very few cheated a lot.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
Cost-benefit thinking doesn't explain cheating
A simple economic view says people cheat when the gain outweighs the risk of being caught.
Ariely's studies found that changing rewards or the chance of getting caught had less effect than expected.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
We cheat within a fudge factor
People want benefits from cheating but also want to see themselves as honest.
Ariely calls the space between these the fudge factor: the amount people can cheat while still feeling like good people.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
Distance from money makes cheating easier
Ariely found people cheated more when rewards were tokens rather than cash.
Being one step removed from money, he suggests, makes it easier to justify dishonest acts. Abstract rewards feel less like stealing.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
Moral reminders reduce cheating
When people were asked to recall a moral code, such as the Ten Commandments, before a task, Ariely found they cheated less.
Reminders of ethics at the moment of temptation, he suggests, can strengthen honesty.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
One lie can lead to more
Ariely describes a what-the-hell effect: after cheating once, people may give up on honesty and cheat more.
He found that wearing fake designer sunglasses seemed to make people more likely to cheat.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
Creative people can justify more
Ariely's research suggests that more creative people may be better at building stories that excuse dishonesty.
Creativity helps people find reasons why bending rules is acceptable. The same flexible thinking that solves problems can excuse wrongdoing.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
Conflicts of interest bend judgment
Ariely argues that professionals with conflicts of interest, such as advisers paid by the products they recommend, can be biased without realising it.
He suggests systems that reduce such conflicts.
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