Publications
Publications
- August 19, 2015
- Frontiers in Psychology
The Slow Decay and Quick Revival of Self-deception
By: Zoe Chance, Francesca Gino, Michael I. Norton and Dan Ariely
Abstract
People demonstrate an impressive ability to self-deceive, distorting misbehavior to reflect positively on themselves—for example, by cheating on a test and believing that their inflated performance reflects their true ability. But what happens to self-deception when self-deceivers must face reality, such as when taking another test on which they cannot cheat? We find that self-deception diminishes over time only when self-deceivers are repeatedly confronted with evidence of their true ability (Study 1); this learning, however, fails to make them less susceptible to future self-deception (Study 2).
Keywords
Self-deception; Cheating; Self-enhancement; Positive Illusions; Motivated Reasoning; Perception; Behavior; Ethics
Citation
Chance, Zoe, Francesca Gino, Michael I. Norton, and Dan Ariely. "The Slow Decay and Quick Revival of Self-deception." Art. 1075. Frontiers in Psychology 6 (August 19, 2015): 1–6.
About The Authors
