There has been a large scale study conducted to test people's perception of their own honesty. 40,000 individuals have participated in this particular test so far, ensuring that there's a pretty good sample and that most bias has been eliminated. In the study individuals were asked to take a test containing 20 questions and then to grade themselves on how many they got right. They self-reported this to the proctor and were paid $1 for each correct answer, after which the test was destroyed in a paper shredder. The catch is that while the shredder makes a lot of great shredding noises it has been altered so that only the edges of the test are destroyed. The papers and then fished out and the results are compared - how many did each person get right and how many did they say they got right?
As you might expect a few individuals went big in the falsehood department and collected a nice payday. Mostly, however, people just slightly exaggerated and took home a few extra dollars: 75% of the test takers lied. You're probably thinking the same thing I'm thinking: "Not me. I wouldn't have lied."
Go ahead if that makes you feel better.
Here's the interesting catch: if you add up the money that the big liars collected it's a pittance compared to the total amount that all of the little liars stole.
I know that I have a tendency to justify small wrongdoings. My justification is particularly sweet when I compare my behavior to the really bad people. Fact of the matter is that far more damage is done by all of us little wrongdoers than by the few big wrongdoers. So the next time I want to lie just a little or fudge just a touch maybe I can think back on this, see that it's really me that's the problem.
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