A new study by the Columbia Business School is titled, People with power are better liars.
The average liar experiences negative emotions, physiological stress and fear of getting caught. Power, however, enhances the same emotional, cognitive and physiological systems that lying depletes. So holding power over others makes it easier to lie.
Read People in power make better liars, study shows on Msnbc.com.
Link submitted by a Lovefraud reader via Facebook.
Not a suprising outcome to the study. Thanks for linking it.
I think the problem of power corrupting and leading to a dishonest business or political culture ( and the two are completely enmeshed) is that when P’s gain power, they are exemplary liars, so acutally have an advantage in making their way up the food chain, to more power, and more rewards for their “successful” dishonesty.
Unfortunately, these powerful people telling lies can achieve (as we have seen and it is not over ) stupendously spectacular results for their interest group, or business. And they are lauded, feted, written up in Forbes, until it all comes crashing down.
So we end up with a system that strongly favors the best liars.
I bet Liona Helmsley would have agreed, “honesty is for the little people” – just as it played out in the study.
I would imagine that another study would also show that lying itself empowers the liar, as it gives them new power, they now maniuplate your reality, and that is a VERY powerful tool. A closed loop.
The truth shall set you free,…but when?
Yes, this was a great link. The quote from it that I thought jbest summed it up was
“The better a person can do at concealing their true motivation, the better they do at climbing the corporate ladder and the better they do in abuse and missappropriation of assets”
What is the BEST thing most “successful” and “smart” psychopaths do—CONCEAL MOTIVATION—so who would be the best person for climbing the ladder to the top?
Having observed the recent downfall of a few politicos who were at governor level, and the downfall of Bernie Maddof, it tends to make me distrust politicians almost completely.
I have a little video in my head of Bill Clinton (Called “slick Willie in Arkansas, his home state, when he was governor) when he was the president of the US stating, UNCONVINCINGLY I THOUGHT, “I did NOT have sex with that woman…Miss Lewinski.”
The whole country, after the initial bruhaha went on to play the game of “let’s pretend none of this happened.” When is the world going to wake up to the fact that pretending someone is not a liar and/or a psychopath and is dishonest shows their true character and they should not be “eligible” for high office in either government or business?
AT the risk of sounding like a cynic, me thinks never!
“Power, it seems, enhances the same emotional, cognitive, and physiological systems that lie-telling depletes. People with power enjoy positive emotions, increases in cognitive function, and physiological resilience such as lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Thus, holding power over others might make it easier for people to tell lies.
If you can hide your motivations you have power. Systemically it is easeir to hind your motivations and actions if you’re at the top.
What amazes me about the study is that these folks aren’t even REALLY at the top – this isn’t a study of case histories, or a poll of workers – this is a controlled, completely fabricated situation, that calls on people’s experience of socio-economic power in the ‘real’ world.
The next two quotes made me chuckle a bit. Sigh. They seem to be naive about the VERY structures that are being addressed. although the ‘mba pledge’ might help steer honest people, it won’t affect dishonest ones, or change the culture of dishonesty (which i think is the goal). it’s too weak an initiative. Protection for whistelblowers (HAHAHAHA) would be a much more constructive and useful thing to create. And, unfortunately the article doesn’t go to the end of the spectrum of corruption and directly mention spaths and Ns, although i sure thought it would given the quote about chemicals and hormones.
“Some situations warrant going over the boss’s head, but sometimes you can influence their behavior by simply letting it be known what you know and understand about the issue at hand, in a non-accusatory way,” she said, “so that the boss realizes that they cannot fly under the radar with this deceit.”
“We know that high-powered people do crazy, bad stuff,” she said. “I think reminding a person that the behavior is bad can get them to stop engaging in those transgressions.”
my spath holds power by being anonymous, and by being the recipient of LOADS of private intimate details that she can use against her dupes. but this article really spoke to me about how much she holds with anonymity. not that she admits to what she does when she gets caught….noooo, she has another story for that. but it does make her mask fall to the floor. watchig her scramble to create new stories is almost entertaining in a really weird i gotta get a life kind of way.
if every one one of her dupes spoke out all at once….no way she could type fast enough to smear us all at the same time. so, systemic problems, require systemic solutions – even on the personal level.
Good point, One-step…It’s kind of like the old cliche, “When guns are out-lawed, only out-laws will have guns.”
Most honest people operate within the confines of their conscience, anyway. Assuming a little card in the wallet of corporate America will solve the problem of corruption Is ludicris.
hhhm just thought about the actual study group. would be interesting to know what the socio economic status and experience of the participants was. this status could skew the results one way or the other. not that i think the thesis is inaccurate…but am questioning the veracity of the data and methodology.
Kim – when i read your post, i pictured all the spaths carrying a litle card in their wallets that says,
‘i’m a good guy/woman. no really’.
In fact, we could take the argument one step furthar and say that the little card in the wallet would only serve as a reinforcement of the hierchy.. dishonest people would have even more of an advantage if the underlings were continiously reminded to, ‘play fair”. Oh Lord, I’m sooo jaded.
I still believe in the goodness of humanity, and that good will always prevail….I think.
exactamundo! a prop for gas lighting.
i think there is good most places. and now i know there is ‘everyday’ evil some places.
i was at a meeting last night and someone asked if there was ‘hope for humanity’ given the existance of evil’. of course this is an impossible BIG and black and white question to answer.
but there IS good. and it’s almost everywhere. good people need to stand up more. that would change things. only thing that ever has (to paraphrase Margaret mead)
One-step, As you know I’m having trouble finding a job. I just called a lady that I used to work for, and asked if she needed ay help. Her first question: Are you still with HIM?
On no, I said. He’s been gone for over two years. Good. she said. I always knew he was your biggest problem.
She said she planned to hire help soon, and would call me… 🙂
Hey, Kim! Good work puttting your name out there for a job. Have you checked with your local unemployment office yet? IT might be a good place to start in case this woman doesn’t come through.
Might print up some sort of resume as well, there are some good resume tutors on the web, more or less fill in the blanks. Even if you are applying at McDonald’s a resume always looks good. Good luck!!!