The Honest Truth About Dishonesty

How We Lie to Everyone - Especially Ourselves

By: Dan Ariely

Narrated by: Simon Jones

Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

This program is enhanced with 14 never-before-heard episodes of Dan Ariely's "Arming the Donkeys" podcast, available exclusively on this audiobook!

The New York Times bestselling author of Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality returns with thought-provoking work to challenge our preconceptions about dishonesty and urge us to take an "honest" look at ourselves.

Does the chance of getting caught affect how likely we are to cheat? How do companies pave the way for dishonesty? Does collaboration make us more honest or less so? Does religion improve our honesty?

Most of us think of ourselves as honest, but, in fact, we all cheat. From Washington to Wall Street, the classroom to the workplace, unethical behavior is everywhere. None of us is immune, whether it's the white lie to head off trouble or padding our expense reports. In The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, award-winning, bestselling author Dan Ariely turns his unique insight and innovative research to the question of dishonesty.

Generally, we assume that cheating, like most other decisions, is based on a rational cost-benefit analysis. But Ariely argues, and then demonstrates, that it's actually the irrational forces that we don't take into account that often determine whether we behave ethically or not. For every Enron or political bribe, there are countless hidden commissions, and knockoff purses.

In The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, Ariely shows why some things are easier to lie about; how getting caught matters less than we think; and how business practices pave the way for unethical behavior, both intentionally and unintentionally. Ariely explores how unethical behavior works in the personal, professional, and political worlds, and how it affects all of us, even as we think of ourselves as having high moral standards.

But all is not lost. Ariely also identifies what keeps us honest, pointing the way for achieving higher ethics in our everyday lives. With compelling personal and academic findings, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty will change the way we see ourselves, our actions, and others.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2012 Dan Ariely (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers

Dan Ariely is always a great listen

If you could sum up The Honest Truth About Dishonesty in three words, what would they be?

Dan Ariely is one of the smartest men in the world, in my opinion. His research shows a side of the human condition that we can all relate to.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Dan Ariely - He has the experience and the thought provoking insight to show you how your own behaviors can change for the better.

Have you listened to any of Simon Jones’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I do not think I have listened to other Simon Jones performances.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book made me think. This book has research and personal insight that give you a better enlightenment about humanity and yourself.

Any additional comments?

Any book by Dan Ariely is an interesting read. He has been thinking about this subject and other subjects that relate to the human condition for a long time. His personal experiences relate very well to the material. He is an amazing writer and an amazing thinker. Everyone should have an education from reading Dan Ariely.

Biased informations and limited to regions and time

The details of the book is biased to author's personal interests and informations and limited to regions and time. There is no references to studies and research. There is no historical analysis. Monetary system is legalised theft and no link to it while he talks about the unfairness and unfair system in place so on. There is some truth. So thank you so much.

Great Questions Asked and Researched

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this to anyone who gets stuck in anecdotal evidence or believes that their motivations are the general norm (i.e I don't dod that!, therefore it can't be true.).

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The questions posed are of significant importance to a flat world and the evolutionary process.

What three words best describe Simon Jones’s voice?

British, smug, matter of fact (Did I just describe British?)

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

The idea that we can fool ourselves so completely that it appears to others that we are lying or cheating, but to ourselves it is business as usual.

Any additional comments?

The listener should keep in mind that the experiments although having attempted to compensate for many variables are still happening in a laboratory and can not completing emulate one's behavior in real life situations were the BIG questions are asked.

Good read but a little dry

Where does The Honest Truth About Dishonesty rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It isn't the best, but it wasn't a bad read.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Honest Truth About Dishonesty?

The author explains the link between creativity and dishonesty, and I found that very interesting.

I listened to this twice. That entertaining.

This book is packed with interesting little nuggets of information about you and how you behave, but you'll probably feel certain he's talking about someone else.
Seriously, The Honest Truth delivers experiment after experiment with somewhat shocking results. Cool stuff.
Also, Simon Jones did a great job with the narration. His mood and delivery were perfect for the content.
This will be among the short list of books I'll recommend to first time audiobook listeners in the future. It is enjoyable to listen to and every chapter provides a score of cool facts you can take to the water cooler.

Very interesting

This was filled with surprising facts and some of the conclusions were sadly predictable but all good to realize.

Fascinating revelations about human behavior

Our tenuous relationship with reality is exposed through thoughtfully conducted experiments and humorous story telling. I was quite shocked at times, and entertained throughout!

Disappointed

I am a huge fan of Dan Ariely. I have read his previous two books (predictably irrational) multiple times and recommended them to friends and co-workers. And he continues that same work in this book by describing the experiments he's done that deal mostly with honesty. Many of the experiments are repeats from what he has described in previous books -- which was okay with me, because I like to hear about them again.

If he had stuck with the same format as his previous books and described his clinical work only, that would have been best. But, he goes on to offer explanations of why he thinks people are dishonest and of course, none of that can be supported with any evidence.

And he makes some pretty big leaps to conclusions on why people do what they do in the experiments he conducts. It's one thing to measure the outcome, but his conclusions (while put forth as speculation) are not based on anything but his own reasoning and logic. Which may turn out to be true, but the fact is there is no way (at this time) to determine the "why" and just because that's what he thinks does not make it so.

(ie - the sun rises around the same time each morning. Good, we've established this as a fact. Now, for the why...well because it's driven by a god in a charriot, of course. At least that's what some people believed thousands of years ago, but that didn't make it true.)

We have no way of knowing why people cheat and lie. Yes, he can measure that we do and that it gets worse or better under different conditions, but it's a big, big leap from that place to saying they do it because of X. There is no way to know X. At least not at this time. So he shouldn't speculate -- even when he doesn't state it as a fact it still comes off as if he's sure he's got the right answer for the why.

Relevent information

Would you consider the audio edition of The Honest Truth About Dishonesty to be better than the print version?

The audio edition of The Honest Truth About Dishonesty is better than the print version only in that it makes the information all that more accessible to me...I've discovered that I'm an aural learner.

Any additional comments?

This book was highly interesting to me because all of the little studies that Ariely conducted dealt directly with how I behave and how I observe others behaving on a daily basis. As I was reading it, I became acutely aware of how, like most people according to Ariely, I continually rationalize cheating in my own life. This book is thought provoking and kind of fun too. I recommend it.

Loved the info. Very interesting and useful

Exceeded my expectations. Liked the info on how in the right circumstances we all cheat. liked it a bit better than his other book predictably irrational I think