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Summary
Summary
Dan Ariely, behavioral economist and the New York Times bestselling author of The Upside of Irrationality and Predictably Irrational, examines the contradictory forces that drive us to cheat and keep us honest, in this groundbreaking look at the way we behave: The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty.
From ticket-fixing in our police departments to test-score scandals in our schools, from our elected leaders' extra-marital affairs to the Ponzi schemes undermining our economy, cheating and dishonesty are ubiquitous parts of our national news cycle--and inescapable parts of the human condition.
Drawing on original experiments and research, in the vein of Freakonomics, The Tipping Point, and Survival of the Sickest, Ariely reveals--honestly--what motivates these irrational, but entirely human, behaviors.
Author Notes
Dan Ariely was born in 1968 in New York, but he grew up in Israel. He was a physics and mathematics major at Tel Aviv University but later switched to philosophy. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D. in business from Duke University.
He has taught at numerous universities including MIT Sloan School of Management, MIT's Media Lab, and Duke University. He is considered one of the leading behavioral economists. His work has been featured in several scholarly journals in the areas of psychology, economics, neuroscience, medicine and business. He has also been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and Scientific American. He is a regular commentator on National Public Radio and has appeared on CNN and CNBC. He is the author of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home, and The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone - Especially Ourselves.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this captivating and astute study, behavioral scientist and professor Ariely (Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions) turns his hand to the topic of human honesty, or lack thereof. Through a series of tests and experiments, Ariely breaks down economist Gary Becker's Simple Model of Rational Crime (SMORC), which suggests that we evaluate situations using a rational calculation of the costs and benefits of engaging in dishonest behavior while maintaining a positive view of ourselves. Because Ariely believes this model to be incomplete, he energetically sets out to determine which forces (psychological, environmental, social) cause people to cheat, and then applies this improved understanding to doing something about dishonesty. In addition to his experimental subjects, he examines the behavior of golfers, pharmaceutical reps, finance professionals, and others. In his characteristic spry, cheerful style, Ariely delves deep into the conundrum of human (dis)honesty in the hopes of discovering ways to help us control our behavior and improve our outcomes. Agent: James Levine. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
The author of Predictably Irrational (rev. ed., 2009) again turns his keen mind to the realm of irrational decision-making, this time in an effort to understand the causes of and reveal interesting ways to limit our seemingly intrinsic capacity for dishonesty. Through a remarkable series of experiments, Ariely presents a convincing case that while we all want to view ourselves as honest, we have a strong desire to reap the benefits cheating brings while continuing to view ourselves as honest, wonderful people. We rationalize our misbehaviors by chalking them up to lack of willpower, the what-the-hell effect, creativity, or even a blatant desire for retribution. Ariely argues that in so doing, however, we increase the fudge factor, a process that produces further dishonesty that can quickly lead to future actions and even become contagious to those around us. Lucid and succinct as always, Ariely ably identifies the primary reasons for dishonesty and adds a few pointers, such as moral reminders, to help us curb future actions. Required reading for politicians and Wall Street executives.--Odom, Brian Copyright 2010 Booklist
Choice Review
Ariely (psychology and behavioral economics, Duke Univ.) and his many collaborators have been conducting enlightening research into honesty and dishonesty for over a decade. Now he has converted those results into a very enjoyable, readable book. What causes us all to cheat and be dishonest at times? Ariely provides a series of provocative chapters describing how people behave rationally and irrationally while playing into the forces that spur them to cheat and to behave honestly. Numerous examples of how and when many good people cheat just a little make for interesting reading. The consequences of many people doing a small amount of cheating can be of substantial impact overall. Ariely does an exceptional job of addressing dishonesty as one aspect of our complex human nature. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All collections. J. J. Bailey University of Idaho
Kirkus Review
Ariely (Psychology/Psychology and Behavioral Economics/Duke Univ.; The Upside of Irrationality, 2010, etc.) explores how honest we are, how honest we think we are and every white lie in the middle. Conventional wisdom suggests that the greatest concentration of dishonest Americans can be found in the Washington, D.C., area. While it's true that our leaders provide us with egregious examples of dishonesty, a more nuanced look at how we define the concept reveals that our moral compasses may be less dependable than we would like to believe. Ariely's prior books regarding irrationality flow into his research around what motivates people's dishonesty. He argues against the idea that deciding whether or not to cheat is fueled by a cost/benefit analysis. He also finds that the notion of the decision-making process being largely internal is also inaccurate and shares examples of corporate culture's enabling of dishonesty. It's far simpler for the media to identify the Kenneth Lay in the story than to explain how hundreds of employees--unlikely to all be maliciously and intentionally undermining the financial security of thousands of people--could participate in an organizational structure that rewards the bending of the rules. Lawyers round up on billable hours, and those who stick to an honest assessment of how much they work are culled from the firm come evaluation time. Ariely also argues convincingly that society's move toward a cashless society is lessening the moral impact when a few people fudge the numbers slightly--it eventually adds up to billions of dollars in losses. The author dissects dishonesty in schools, relationships and workplaces and examines institutional and cultural safeguards and their levels of effectiveness. Ariely writes in a conversational tone one might associate with a popular teacher, providing readers with a working knowledge of what shapes our ethics--or lack thereof.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
What motivates dishonesty? In his latest book, Ariely (psychology & behavioral economics, Duke Univ.; The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home) explains the psychological and economic factors that drive people to lie and cheat. He explores the rational cost-benefit forces that propel dishonesty, such as the amount of money to be gained, the probability of being caught, and conflicts of interest. To illustrate his argument, Ariely cites examples ranging from the Enron scandal to Ponzi schemes to owning fake designer bags. Along with a list of additional readings, he provides descriptions of research studies, including his own, to support his theories. VERDICT Ariely writes thoughtfully and his sense of humor is evident throughout the book. A quick and easy read, this is for anyone who wants to learn about the psychological and economic causes of dishonesty. [See Prepub Alert, 12/16/11.]-Tina Chan, Penfield Lib., SUNY Oswego (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Introduction Why Is Dishonesty So Interesting? | |
| From Enron to our own misbehaviors | |
| A fascination with cheating | |
| Becker's parking problem and the birth of rational crime | |
| Elderly volunteers and petty thieves | |
| "Why behavioral economics and dishonesty? | p. 1 |
| Chapter 1 Testing the Simple Model of Rational Crime (SMORC) | |
| Get rich cheating | |
| Tempting people to cheat, the measure of dishonesty | |
| What we know versus what we think we know about dishonesty | |
| Cheating when we can't get caught | |
| Market vendors, cab drivers, and cheating the blind | |
| Fishing and tall tales | |
| Striking a balance between truth and cheating | p. 11 |
| Chapter 2 Fun with the Fudge Factor | |
| Why some things are easier to steal than others | |
| How companies pave the way for dishonesty | |
| Token dishonesty | |
| How pledges, commandments, honor codes, and paying with cash can support honesty | |
| But lock your doors just the same | |
| And a bit about religion, the IRS, and insurance companies | p. 31 |
| Chapter 2B Golf | |
| Man versus himself | |
| A four-inch lie | |
| Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to take the mulligan | |
| Schrödinger's scorecard. | p. 55 |
| Chapter 3 Blinded by Our Own Motivations | |
| Craze lines, tattoos, and how conflicts of interest distort our perception | |
| How favors affect our choices | |
| Why full disclosure and other policies aren't fully effective | |
| Imagining less conflicted compensation | |
| Disclosure and regulation are the answers-or not. | p. 67 |
| Chapter 4 Why We Blow It When We're Tired | |
| Why we don't binge in the morning | |
| Willpower: another limited resource | |
| Judgment on an empty stomach | |
| How flexing our cognitive and moral muscles can make us more dishonest | |
| Self-depletion and a rational theory of temptation | p. 97 |
| Chapter 5 Why Wearing Fakes Makes Us Cheat More | |
| The secret language of shoes | |
| From ermine to Armani and the importance of signaling | |
| Do knockoffs knock down our standards of honesty? | |
| Can gateway fibs lead to monster lies? | |
| When "what the hell" wreaks havoc | |
| There's no such thing as one little white lie | |
| Halting the downward spiral | p. 117 |
| Chapter 6 Cheating Ourselves | |
| Claws and peacock tails | |
| When answer keys tell us what we already knew | |
| Overly optimistic IQ scores | |
| The Center for Advanced Hindsight | |
| Being Kubrick | |
| War heroes and sports heroes who let us down | |
| Helping ourselves to a better self-image | p. 141 |
| Chapter 7 Creativity and Dishonesty: We Are All Storytellers | |
| The tales we tell ourselves and how we create stories we can believe | |
| Why creative people are better liars | |
| Redrawing the lines until we see what we want | |
| When irritation spurs us onward | |
| How thinking creatively can get us into trouble | p. 163 |
| Chapter 8 Cheating as an Infection: How We Catch the Dishonesty Germ | |
| Catching the cheating bug | |
| One bad apple really does spoil the barrel (unless that apple goes to the University of Pittsburgh) | |
| How ambiguous rules + group dynamics = cultures of cheating | |
| A possible road to ethical health | p. 191 |
| Chapter 9 Collaborative Cheating: Why Two Heads Aren't Necessarily Better than One | |
| Lessons from an ambiguous boss | |
| All eyes are on you: observation and cheating | |
| Working together to cheat more? | |
| Or keeping one another in line | |
| Cheating charitably | |
| Building trust and taking liberties | |
| Playing well with others | p. 217 |
| Chapter 10 A Semioptimistic Ending: People Don't Cheat Enough! | |
| Cheer up! Why we should not be too depressed by this book | |
| True crime | |
| Cultural differences in dishonesty | |
| Politicians or bankers, who cheats more? | |
| How can we improve our moral health? | p. 237 |
| Thanks | p. 255 |
| List of Collaborators | p. 257 |
| Notes | p. 265 |
| Bibliography and Additional Readings | p. 267 |
| Index | p. 275 |
