This is a fundamental and revealing question on our
surveys about personal ethics and integrity. Most interesting is that the level
of cynicism is closely related to age. In an online survey on integrity (with
16,000 responses) we found that 43 percent of the respondents age 17 and under
(there were 862 of them) believe lying is sometimes necessary, 35 percent of
those in the 18-24 age group agreed, and 21 percent of those 25-40 agreed. But
the percentage drops sharply after that: 12 percent of those 41-50, and only 10
percent of those over 50, think lying is necessary to success. (By the way, the
survey is available here if you want to take it yourself.)
It turns out that your answer to this question
really matters. The more cynical you are about the efficacy of honesty, the
more likely you are to justify dishonesty. In fact, those who agree with the
statement are 2-4 times more likely to cheat on exams, cheat on taxes, lie to a
spouse or boss or inflate an insurance claim.
So, are things getting worse? Or do you just have to
live a while to realize how unnecessary lying really is? Maybe it’s a little of
both.
Where do you stand on the question, and how would
you explain the huge disparity based on age?
About the author: Michael Josephson is one of the
nation’s most sought-after and quoted ethicists. Founder and president of
Josephson Institute and its CHARACTER COUNTS! project, he has conducted programs
for more than 100,000 leaders in government, business, education, sports, law
enforcement, journalism, law, and the military. Mr. Josephson is also an
award-winning radio commentator.
This article was published by the Josephson
Institute.
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