There was a boy named Jonah. He was smart, but he had a small physical defect that made him unconfident: he was born without a little toe on his right foot. Jonah was afraid that others would laugh at him, so he had to take various measures to cover it up. For example, he didn't dare to go into the water during swimming lessons; in summer, he didn't dare to wear sandals. But how can you make these behaviors look natural?
Jonah began to tell all kinds of little lies. For example, he had a cold today, so he couldn't go swimming. Or his cat chewed up his sandals, so he had to wear sneakers.
These seemingly insignificant little lies gradually became part of Jonah's life. Sometimes he would lie about the smallest things, not just about his toes. Gradually, as long as lying made Jonah look a little better, he would lie.
What do you think Jonah will be when he grows up?
Lies may bring some benefits in the short term, but they always have consequences in the long run. People will eventually learn that you can't be trusted, and you won't be able to build lasting relationships. That's why most people don't lie -- especially not in important situations. It's also why we often assume that others are telling the truth.
Some people may rely on lies to gain temporary benefits. For example, an American social activist claimed that he had black ancestry, but in fact he had no black ancestry. Some entrepreneurs exaggerated that their company had blood technology that could detect cancer, but in fact such technology did not exist. There were also congressmen who forged their academic qualifications and work experience, and scientists who fabricated data. These people will eventually be exposed.
These people who dare to tell big lies have one thing in common: they have been accustomed to lying since childhood.
Lying is a gradual escalation process.
When a person lies for personal gain, the amygdala in his brain becomes very active, and the amygdala is the part responsible for generating negative emotions. This means that people experience strong inner conflicts and negative emotions when they lie. Further research shows that the larger the lie, the stronger the negative emotions generated.
This explains why most people don't like to lie. Honesty and integrity are universal values, and people tend to be honest regardless of their cultural background. The main constraints on behavior come from emotions and moral feelings, not pure rational reasoning. Experiments have also shown that if people are given drugs that can reduce emotional reactions, they are more likely to lie.
However, it is important to note that the brain's emotional response to lying will gradually adapt and become habitual.
In a classic experiment, two people were asked to form a cooperative team. When one of them lied for his own benefit, although he could gain personally, it would cause losses to his team members. The results showed that some subjects gradually began to lie during the experiment.
At the beginning of the experiment, the liars may feel inner conflict, their lies are small and the benefits are not much, but their amygdala will have a strong reaction. However, as the experiment progresses, these emotional reactions gradually weaken, and the scale of their lies gradually increases. In the end, some participants can even lie without changing their expression or heartbeat and gain a large benefit.
In a short period of time, these people go from being initially conflicted to gradually becoming accustomed to lying, forming the so-called "invisible thick black". This also explains why some originally kind people may eventually become unscrupulous, and unscrupulous behavior becomes commonplace.
The study also conducted several comparative experiments, the results of which showed:
Most people would not lie if lying did not bring any financial benefit;
Some people may lie but will not escalate the scale of the lie if the lie is for the benefit of others rather than themselves;
If the lie benefits both parties, the lie may escalate, but at a slower rate.
In short, only when people pursue personal interests will the mechanism of emotional inhibition of lying fail due to habituation, leading to the expansion of the scale of lies. This reflects the scientific principle of "greed for profit".
The escalation of lies can be observed.
Trump is considered a frequent liar. During his presidential campaign, he used false statements to gain attention. Although many of his lies were exposed, the exposure itself brought him more attention. When he became president, someone made a statistics about him:
In his first hundred days as president, he made an average of five false statements per day;
A few months later, that number increased to nine per day;
By the end of his term, he was making a staggering 19 false statements every day!
Another example is Australian Belle G., a celebrity who claimed to have cancer and cured herself through healthy eating. It was later revealed that she never had cancer, and her lies and habituation to the trend gained public attention and support.
In the book, I imagine a thought experiment. Suppose you are Belle G.'s column editor, and she offers a series of health recommendations that have no scientific basis. At first, you might question her arguments, but over time and with the habituation of the first few lies, you might become more and more inclined to publish these articles.
This situation is not uncommon in real life. Sometimes people lie in pursuit of personal gain or to attract attention, and gradually get used to fabricating false information.
In addition to lying, there is a similar habituation process, which is the habituation to risk-taking.
Imagine you are traveling and you pass a bridge with an attractive-looking pool of water underneath it. You want to jump off the bridge into the water, but you are afraid of heights. The first time you jump, you may feel nervous, but feel happy when you are okay. Over time, you may become less afraid and even try bigger moves.
However, what you may not know is that the bridge is not actually safe and has had multiple accidents in the past.
Our perception of danger is largely based on emotional responses. When fear is reduced, we may underestimate the real risk. This leads to people no longer taking appropriate precautions when faced with potential dangers, which is called habitual risk perception.
In one experiment, participants were asked to participate in a gambling game where they could not immediately know the outcome of each round. The experiment showed that as the game progressed, participants tended to increase their bets. Although they could not predict the outcome, their risk-taking behavior increased because they gradually became accustomed to the risk.
Sharot and Sunstein mentioned an interesting example, which was the decision of former British Prime Minister Cameron in the 2016 Brexit referendum. Cameron wanted Britain to remain in the European Union, but decided to hold a referendum. If the referendum result was to remain in the European Union, his political reputation would be further enhanced. However, the referendum result was to leave the European Union, which led to the end of Cameron's political career.
Cameron's decision was a gamble, and it also reflects his habitual risk-taking. Similarly, many people are accustomed to taking risks in their lives, even though this may have unpredictable consequences.
The habituation of risk-taking behavior is also manifested as insensitivity to old risks and oversensitivity to new risks.
For example, a decade ago, genetically modified foods sparked widespread controversy because they were considered a new risk. However, as time went on and people became more accustomed to genetic modification technology, public opposition gradually weakened.
Research has found that in environments such as construction sites and factory floors, most accidents do not occur at the beginning of a project, but in the later stages of the project. This is because over time, workers become accustomed to the risks, their fear decreases, and therefore they take fewer safety measures. For example, in sawmills, accidents where fingers are sawed off usually occur among older workers, not younger ones.
These examples reflect the profound impact of habituation on people’s behavior. As the saying goes, “those who drown are those who know how to swim”, habituated risk perception and risk-taking behavior make people less aware of potential dangers.
Therefore, those who still feel ashamed of lying or dare not take risks when gambling are actually lucky. They have not fallen into the trap of habitual behavior. However, habitualization is the norm of human behavior. So how should we maintain our innocence and moral values?
The best way is to never start. Don't analyze the odds of winning in gambling, the best way is not to gamble. Don't weigh whether the short-term benefits of lying are worth the long-term risk of being exposed. Remember, a sincere relationship will not lie, unless there are other purposes from the beginning. When you find that your friends are lying to you for a little benefit, it is best to identify the risks and stop losses in time. Times are changing, and human nature is the biggest risk. The biggest risk is to underestimate and neglect the risks to human nature. You don't know the reasons and background behind the lies. Just like people with clear thinking and rationality, they will not be deeply trapped in the so-called scumbag routine for a long time. When others use such lying routines on you, don't waste your energy and get too entangled. Birds of a feather flock together. There will be deeper lying routines in response.
This also explains why we need to make safety regulations absolute. Why do we have to wear a hard hat on a construction site? Why do we have to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle? The purpose behind these measures is to prevent potential dangers and prevent people from ignoring real risks due to habitualization.
In our daily lives, we should be alert to the potential impact of habitual behavior. Lying does not bring real benefits. The impact of habitual behavior on us is profound and multifaceted. From lying to taking risks, habituation not only changes our perception of risk and morality, but can also lead to the gradual escalation of behavior and numbness to new risks. Habitual behavior not only has an impact on the individual level, but also brings potential negative effects.
