Book Review: The Honest Truth About Dishonesty

Dan Ariely is a well-know author of many journal articles and the books The Upside of Irrationality and  Predictably Irrational. His latest book is The Honest Truth about Dishonesty. Ariely has a magnificent ability to take the complex world of research and narrate it a way that is understandable. He makes it approachable so the reader can see how it applies to real-world events. That is definitely the case with his latest book.

Cheating and dishonesty are topics that come up now and again. Perhaps it is a conversation with your teenager about an incident at school or paper is missing from the copy machine at work. Through Ariely’s work it is clear that everyone has the capacity to cheat or steal, at least a little bit. In study after study Ariely and his colleagues found dishonesty. It might be the golf score, pencil taken home from work, or fudge on the numbers. It happens all the time. Okay, this is not entirely surprising. So now what?

What Ariely reports is there are circumstances that can make it better and those that make it worse. As we look at our organizations and situations we can make a difference in the level of dishonestly. What Ariely discusses is how reminders of moral standards increases truth telling. This does not have to be religious based, just a reminder that honesty is expected does the trick. One example is putting an honesty statement at the top of a form or document (instead of the usual bottom placement), the placement will improve honesty. Reciting a pledge or oath before beginning an activity will increase honesty. What decreases honesty is a little fib or “white lie.” The research supports that one small slip begins a tumble down hill. This even applies to “knockoffs”. An interesting study showed that people who had knockoff products had a higher tendency to do other dishonest actions. As many of us know, the little slip on the diet is the beginning to a major fall. In a group setting the willingness to cheat appears to be contagious. Ariely’s colleagues have shown in many studies that trust and friendliness can increase cheating. We build creative rationales for our behavior, helping us maintain our positive self images. That being said, people do not cheat as often as the possibility presents itself. Our morals are strong, even if they slip a little now and again.

Ariely ends the book talking about how to reduce dishonesty. The underlying premise is that people intend to be honest, but are tempted. If reminders are placed at the points of temptation the dishonesty goes down. Stress and fatigue can have negative influences, as does social environments. Making cheating and dishonesty more intentional and deliberate will reduce the incidence. If an employee has to open a cabinet to remove paper to take home it will occur less frequently than if the paper was stacked next to the copier. A pledge by the finance staff, signed and dated, just before the annual accounting audit will reduce fudging the numbers. The more effort needed to be dishonest the less likely it will happen.

The Honest Truth About Dishonesty is a great book to remind us of the value in putting temptation out of reach and being diligent about the “white lies.” This applies to our personal and business worlds. I need to talk more with my teenager about honesty.