A fascinating piece of research out recently shows that in large random groups of women who are hooked up to a (fake) lie detector admit infidelity to researchers more than twice as often as those who simply volunteered to take part in an anonymous questionnaire study.
Don't misunderstand. Men lie about infidelity to their partner, simply not to researchers.
The Honor System with Eyes
Ever see those "honor system" candy boxes around your office or in your building? You know.... where you can buy a Reese's or a Hershey's or Kit Kat and pay 50 cents into the cardboard container...all on honor?
Turns out that if the vendor puts a poster of eyes watching over the candy box, more than TWICE the amount of money per item, ends up in the box at the end of the week. Cheap investment to induce honesty.
Deception and Children
Now there's a lot of deception in children, too.
We teach our kids to become good at deceiving.
On purpose.
"Yes Grandpa, that's a wonderful Christmas present...thank you so much."
(Grandpa is terrible at Christmas shopping, but my son has been instructed well to show kindness....just like yours.)
And it goes beyond that. We teach our kids to lie to everyone...and then of course demand that they tell us the truth.... creating a world that the pre-8 year old can't comprehend as they haven't totally separated from you as a parent in their identity ...thus making you a "you know what" in their mind too....permanently.
The schema that develops from this is called "mistrust." All for another day.
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Turns out that if the vendor puts a poster of eyes watching over the candy box, more than TWICE the amount of money per item, ends up in the box at the end of the week. Cheap investment to induce honesty.