科学美国人60秒:Is Lying A Good Strategy?

Everybody lies. But for the most part, we still see ourselves as good, honest people. So, why do we do it—and are we all just kidding ourselves?

Daniel Ariely: “So, is lying or being dishonest irrational? Sometimes. Sometimes not.”

Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, at Duke Univeristy, studies irrational behavior. In recent years, he has found himself drawn to mendacity, prevarication, fabrication—you know, lying.

Now Ariely has teamed up with documentarian Yael Melamede to create a film called “(Dis)Honesty.” Through a series of interviews, the movie presents real world cases of cheating, corruption and little white lies alongside Ariely’s scientific findings.

In the process, it becomes clear that the differences between serious fraud and a minor fib may be less significant than we want to believe.

DA: “Originally, we were going to call the movie ‘Slippery Slope,’ because so many people basically started doing something, rationalized, took another step, another step…”

Our knack for explaining and reinterpreting our actions allows us to feel like we are still basically honest, no matter how far we stray from our values. But just because we can rationalize our dishonesty does not mean we’re acting rationally. Fudging the facts might, for example, get you through one tricky situation, but the repercussions may make your life harder later on.

DA: “That’s not a rational path.”

So the next time you’re offered what seems like an easy way out by lying, consider that you could just be lying—to yourself.

—Daisy Yuhas

(The above text is a transcript of this podcast)