The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone--Especially Ourselves

the idea that worries me the most is that the more cashless our society becomes, the more our moral compass slips.

The good news is that people seem to want to be honest, which suggests that it might be wise to incorporate moral reminders into situations that tempt us to be dishonest.

each of us has a limit to how much we can cheat before it becomes absolutely “sinful.”

Essentially, we cheat up to the level that allows us to retain our self-image as reasonably honest individuals.

how we cheat for our own benefit while maintaining a positive view of ourselves—a facet of our behavior that enables much of our dishonesty.

suspect that when the amount of money that the participants could make per question was $10, it was harder for them to cheat and still feel good about their own sense of integrity

Psychological studies show that we quickly and easily start believing whatever comes out of our own mouths, even when the original reason for expressing the opinion is no longer relevant

These experiments with moral reminders suggest that our willingness and tendency to cheat could be diminished if we are given reminders of ethical standards.

A good friend of mine in the office adamantly refused to overbill and consequently had an overall billing rate that was about 20 percent lower than the average. I admire his honesty, but when it was time to lay people off, he was the first to go. What kind of message does that send to the rest of us?