"These experiments are part of a rich vein of psychological studies, which show just how easy it is for people to lie to themselves, In a previous (and smaller) study, Chance herself asked 23 men to choose between two fake sports magazines, one with broader coverage and one with more features. She found that the volunteers would pick whichever one was accompanied by a special swimsuit cover, but they cited the coverage or features as the reason for their choice (Chance even titled her paper “I read Playboy for the articles”)
In 2004, Michael Norton (who worked with Chance on the latest study) showed that people can explain away biases in recruitment choices just as easily. He asked male volunteers to pick male or female candidates for the position of construction company manager. For some of the recruiters, the male candidate had more experience but poorer education and for others, he had better education but less experience. In both cases, the recruits preferred the male applicant, and they cited whichever area he was strongest in as the deciding factor. Norton found the same trends in racial biases in college admissions.
In these cases, it’s debatable whether the volunteers were actually lying to themselves, or merely justifying their choices to the researchers. But Chance addressed that problem in her latest study that by putting money on the line. In a variant of the same experiment, She told a new batch of recruits that they could earn up to $20 depending on their score on the second test and how accurately they predicted that score.Despite the potential reward, the group that saw the answers were no better at predicting their scores. And as a result, they earned less money. Even when there was an actual reward at stake, they failed to correct for their self-deception.
Things get even worse when people are actually rewarded for cheating. In a final experiment, Chance gave some of the students a certificate of recognition, in honour of their above-average scores. And if students saw the answers on the first test and got the certificate, they predicted that they would get even higher scores on the second. Those who didn’t see the answers first-time round were unmoved by the extra recognition.
This final result could not be more important. Cheaters convince themselves that they succeed because of their own skill, and if other people agree, their capacity for conning themselves increases. Chance puts it mildly: “The fact that social recognition, which so often accompanies self-deception in the real world, enhances self-deception has troubling implications.”
Our findings show that people not only fail to judge themselves harshly for unethical behaviour, but can even use the positive results of such behaviour to see themselves as better than ever.
-More @ Ed Young
In 2004, Michael Norton (who worked with Chance on the latest study) showed that people can explain away biases in recruitment choices just as easily. He asked male volunteers to pick male or female candidates for the position of construction company manager. For some of the recruiters, the male candidate had more experience but poorer education and for others, he had better education but less experience. In both cases, the recruits preferred the male applicant, and they cited whichever area he was strongest in as the deciding factor. Norton found the same trends in racial biases in college admissions.
In these cases, it’s debatable whether the volunteers were actually lying to themselves, or merely justifying their choices to the researchers. But Chance addressed that problem in her latest study that by putting money on the line. In a variant of the same experiment, She told a new batch of recruits that they could earn up to $20 depending on their score on the second test and how accurately they predicted that score.Despite the potential reward, the group that saw the answers were no better at predicting their scores. And as a result, they earned less money. Even when there was an actual reward at stake, they failed to correct for their self-deception.
Things get even worse when people are actually rewarded for cheating. In a final experiment, Chance gave some of the students a certificate of recognition, in honour of their above-average scores. And if students saw the answers on the first test and got the certificate, they predicted that they would get even higher scores on the second. Those who didn’t see the answers first-time round were unmoved by the extra recognition.
This final result could not be more important. Cheaters convince themselves that they succeed because of their own skill, and if other people agree, their capacity for conning themselves increases. Chance puts it mildly: “The fact that social recognition, which so often accompanies self-deception in the real world, enhances self-deception has troubling implications.”
Our findings show that people not only fail to judge themselves harshly for unethical behaviour, but can even use the positive results of such behaviour to see themselves as better than ever.
-More @ Ed Young
