The experiments of Israeli scientists have shown that many are ready to lie so that they are not suspected of lying, sometimes doing it to their detriment.
Trying to appear honest, many people resort to lies - even if it can cause them some losses. An article about this was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Scientists led by Shoham Choshen-Hillel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem conducted a series of online experiments with lawyers and Israeli college students, as well as subjects from the United States and the United Kingdom. In one study, 115 lawyers were asked to present a scenario in which they tell a prospect that a case will take 60 to 90 paid hours of work. At the same time, the lawyer himself will work in the office, and his client will not know how much time was actually spent.
Half of the participants were told that they worked 60 hours on the case, the other half - 90 hours. After that, the subjects were asked what kind of bill they would charge the client. In the first group, the average number of paid hours that lawyers wanted to add to the bill was 62.5 hours, while 17% of respondents indicated overestimated data.
In the second group, the average number of hours contributed by the subjects was 88, while 18% of people in this group were ready to indicate less time on the bill. In explaining their decision to understate the amount of time spent, some lawyers said they were concerned that the client might suspect them of cheating.
In another experiment, 149 Israeli university students played dice and toss (tossing a coin) on a computer and then reported their findings to researchers. For each roll of dice or coins with the desired result, the subjects received 15 cents. At the same time, the computer game program was configured in such a way that half of the participants in the experiment received results rigged for the better, and the other half received random results.
Here, in the first group, 24% of students, despite the smaller amount of money received, underestimated their results. In the second group, only 4% reported fewer desired results than they actually received.
The third experiment was conducted with participants from the United States: 201 subjects were asked to simulate a situation in which they work for a company and often go on business trips in their own car. The maximum fuel consumption that the company compensates for is calculated at 400 miles per month. Participants in the experiment were first told that most of the firm's employees report 280-320 miles per month.
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Then half of the participants in the third experiment were told that they traveled 300 miles in a month, and the other half - 400 miles; after that, the subjects were asked to voice the distance that they would report to the employer. If the first group almost completely reported the "truth", then in the second 12% underestimated their mileage. The average distance reported by the participants in the second group was 384 miles. Similar results were obtained in the fourth experiment, which involved 544 people from the UK.
The researchers say their results are applicable not only in model situations, but also in the real world. However, the work done has certain limitations: if the financial benefits of the situation are high enough, this can become a serious incentive for people not to underestimate the real numbers for the sake of others.
Author: Polina Gershberg