Dan Ariely Blog

Over the last few years, Ive had some harsh words for bankers, banks, and the culture of the industry. In truth, I could have said worse, and it would have been justified.

When a friend sent me this paper the other day, I admit that I took a long hard look at myself and my economist friends. According to this study, economists, it seems, are worse than most when it comes to truth telling. This discovery was made by researchers Ral Lpez-Prez and Eli Spiegelman, who wanted to examine whether certain characteristics (for instance religiosity or gender) made people averse to lying. They measured the preference for honesty by canceling out other motivations, such as altruism or fear of getting caught.

There are times when uncertainty is unbearable: waiting to hear about a school or job acceptance or pacing outside the operating theater of a loved one. But other times were a lot happier being in the dark or at least partially shaded.

Runners run, teachers teach, and cheaters cheat. It's all there in the name, right? Despite the obvious logic, one could argue that even those who aren't "runners" per se do, on occasion, run (even if it's just across a busy street), and that we all occasionally teach our kids or friends something they didn't know before. So what about cheaters?

Sometimes people ask me what I like to read. Sadly, I dont have a lot of time to read non-work related things, but here are a few of my favorite lie- and liar-based texts!

Wondering whether you can ask someone to give you a PhD in exchange for a kickback? Curious whether you can get away with stuffing ballot boxes? Allow me to introduce you to the Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure. Every couple years the Department of Defense publishes the Encyclopedia (Word doc), which is likely the most sarcastic government document out there. Interestingly, golf and taxes seem to turn up a lot.

The moral of the story is that we should always question prevailing opinion. And maybe its best to think of aging as Mark Twain did: Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you dont mind, it doesnt matter. One thing is certain though: never, ever attempt a comb-over.

Three days after publication of my new book , The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, I was able to find electronic copies on a few websites that specialize in illegal content. These were high quality versions of the book, including the images of the cover, the references, andmy favorite partthe copyright notice.

One of the most common justifications for hefty C.E.O. compensation packages is that if the leaders of industry are not paid well, the so-called best and brightest will no longer flock to fill the corporate ranks, and will instead go elsewhere. High salaries (and bonuses, etc) are said to both motivate and retain these brilliant minds.

One of economists' common critiques of the study of behavioral economics is the reliance on college students as a subject pool. The argument is that this populations lack of real-world experience (like paying taxes, investing in stock, buying a house) makes them another kind of people, one that conceptualizes their decisions in altogether different ways. One area where we can test this assumption is with the endowment effect.

The term truthiness gives us a way to identify certain kinds of behavior. Colbert mocks the truthiness politicians use to sell their ideas to the public; we can follow suit and mock the truthiness we use to sell rationalizations to ourselves.

Harvard is known for many things, its rigorous academics, its crisp New England campus, its secret societies, and now, what may be the most extensive cheating scandal in Ivy League history. A total of 279 hundred are now under investigation for collaborating on a take-home exam, with the threat of a year's expulsion hanging over their heads if found guilty.

Ever since The Honest Truth about Dishonesty was published, people send me emails about strange things they come across related to dishonesty, like this one offering alibis and excuses for absences as well as assistance with a variety of sensitive issues. Here's my response.

From your own experience, are you more likely to finish half a pizza by yourself on a) Friday night after a long work week or b) Sunday evening after a restful weekend? The answer that most people will give, of course, is "a". And in case you hadn't noticed, it's on stressful days that many of us give in to temptation and choose unhealthy options. The connection between exhaustion and the consumption of junk food is not just a figment of your imagination.

A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education suggests that students cheat more in online than in face-to-face classes. The article tells the story of Bob Smith (not his real name, obviously) who was a student in an online science course. Bob logged in once a week for half an hour in order to take a quiz. He didn't read a word of his textbook, didn't participate in discussions, and still got an A. Bob pulled this off, he explained, with the help of a collaborative cheating effort.