Book Review: “The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone,
Summary of the Book
The book entitled “The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone, Especially Ourselves” written by Dan Ariely proffered pertinent issues relative to people’s propensity to cheat, or be dishonest, in various situations and conditions. The contents have been presented in ten chapters and written in more than 300 pages.
The main objective of the author was to determine and present findings of various experiments that delve into tendencies of people to cheat given that some crucial factors or variables are present, or absent, as needed. Categorically, the author divided the factors that influence dishonesty into internal and external factors. The internal factors included the following: (1) the innate desire to manifest a form of getting ahead of others through cheating; (2) still retain a perception of oneself as conforming to ethical and moral standards (being good and honest); (3) the power of rationalization and self-deception that allegedly overrides people’s conformity to assuming a completely clean conscience; and (4) provision and timing of moral reminders; among others.
Concurrently, the external factors that were found to influence dishonesty are: (1) the distance and actual presence of cash which posits as the reward for cheating; (2) issues pertaining to conflicts of interest; (3) situations taken as perceptions that people have been wronged and as such, dishonestly is considered a just remuneration as revenge; (4) the alleged depletion of will power to fight the urge to control cheating and dishonesty; (5) the fact that cheating seems to be contagious; and (6) cheating apparently to benefit other people (or altruistic cheating).
There were tips and advices that were aptly provided by the author to avoid instances of cheating and dishonesty by separating oneself from forces or factors of temptation and alienate any thoughts to promote one’s well-being through selfish interests.
Linking the Theories Learned to Contemporary Setting
1) How can you put yourself in a position to act honestly
As learned from the concepts and findings of the conducted experiments in Ariely’s book, one realized that, as emphasized, there are forces or factors that increase the propensity and tendencies of people to cheat . With internal and external factors that abound, one should be more vigilant in positioning oneself in situations and conditions that increase the tendencies or temptations to cheat.
Reading the book has made me recognize the danger points, forces, and factors that allegedly exposed me closer to academic dishonesty. After learning about these forces, one has significantly learned that dishonesty could be avoided by making sure that I get out of the incidents, factors, and scenarios that apparently invite temptations for dishonesty. The suggestion and explicit advice sums the position that one should take in the future: to clip the bud at the onset and prevent any opportunity to benefit from a dishonest act. To sustain an honest disposition at all times, one must be cognizant of the fact that our actions and behavior have repercussions and effects to others. If we plant something good, we reap a better harvest in the future. However, if we plant something bad, immoral and dishonest, our actions would reverberate to a negative perception of oneself which could be perceived by others as the epitome of our being.
2) How can organizations (particularly my school, Hult, in this case) create the appropriate atmosphere and dynamic to foster honest behavior from its members?
Using the lessons learned from Ariely, organizations such as Hult, can create the appropriate atmosphere and a multi-dimensional approach to foster honest behavior among all its students and constituents through addressing the factors, both internal and external, that pose as temptations for dishonesty. For instance, in the internal forces, since different students and academic stakeholders have disparate beliefs and values systems that significantly impact on their ability to conform and abide by Hult’s policy on adherence to academic honestly, the institution could apply techniques that were proven to be effective. This includes providing constant moral reminders; specifically soliciting the approval of the students in formal writing to comply with explicit policies on academic honesty prior to every academic project or requirement. This lesson was recognized through Ariely’s discussion on the subject of applying moral reminders by making constituents sign a pledge of honor which is deemed most effective prior to a crucial endeavor.
Another point where the lesson could be applied in Hult’s situation is minimizing group activities, to avoid the contagious aspect of cheating; and if these could not be avoided, initiating the moral reminders with signing a pledge of honor prior to delving into the academic project. Also, designing academic requirements that could be complied or undertaken by the student, on an individual basis, within the confines of the traditional classroom setting. By doing this, the professor could monitor their progress and be ensured that the work submitted was duly complied by the individual students in this kind of setting. For example, in writing essays or reports, professors could opt to require short essays written in the classroom setting, based on the previous lessons or readings that were discussed.
Likewise, one is convinced that harnessing an atmosphere of academic honesty at Hult or in any other academic or business organization, starts with imbibing the ethical, moral and legal standards through explicitly communicating the policies for strict adherence to academic honesty and designing a system of check and balance; or rewards and sanctions, as needed. Not only should academic dishonestly be sanctioned through measures that would enable students to realize the mistakes and avoid repeating the same error in the future; a system of rewards for adhering to academic honesty should also be designed to commend and acknowledge the exemplary behavior and moral conduct of those who consistently complied. This could be in the form of recognition, credits for subjects where the exemplary conduct and behavior were manifested, and being instrumental in sharing and exemplifying the adherence and conformity to academic honesty at all times to others.
Conclusion
The book review provided beneficial opportunities to learn more about the internal and external forces that influences dishonestly. Through being apprised of these factors, one is more aware of which forces to avoid, and which are within one’s control to prevent impending dishonesty. As emphasized, since consistency in abiding and conformity to moral and ethical constructs sometimes tend to diminish or be difficult to sustain, especially in cases of will power depletion. In this regard, one must exercise self-control and always assume a proactive and vigilant stance in discerning internal and external temptations that come one’s way.
The exercise of writing a review of Ariely’s book was instrumental in acknowledging that one must always be aware of the need to maintain honesty at all times. By being aware of the indicated internal and external forces, one was able to review the incidents that apparently led to an incident of academic dishonesty. One affirms that this was a grave mistake and should be prevented and avoided at all cost in the future. This learning experience would definitely be beneficial not only in the academic setting, but in all personal and professional endeavors in the future.
Work Cited
Ariely, Dan. The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone---Especially Ourselves. Harper, 2012. Print.
