Lies that 'might' eventually come true seem less unethical

Date:
April 14, 2022
Source:
American Psychological Association
Summary:
People may be willing to condone statements they know to be false
and even spread misinformation on social media if they believe
those statements could become true in the future, according to
new research.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== People may be willing to condone statements they know to be false and even spread misinformation on social media if they believe those statements
could become true in the future, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.


========================================================================== Whether the situation involves a politician making a controversial
statement, a business stretching the truth in an or a job seeker lying
about their professional skills on a resume, people who consider how a
lie might become true subsequently think it is less unethical to tell
because they judge the lie's broader message (or "gist") as truer. The
study was published in APA's Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

"The rise in misinformation is a pressing societal problem,
stoking political polarization and eroding trust in business and
politics. Misinformation in part persists because some people
believe it. But that's only part of the story," said lead author
Beth Anne Helgason, a doctoral student at the London Business
School. "Misinformation also persists because sometimes people know it
is false but are still willing to excuse it." This study was sparked by
cases in which leaders in business and politics have used claims that
"it might become true in the future" to justify statements that are
verifiably false in the present.

To explore why people might be willing to condone this misinformation, researchers conducted six experiments involving more than 3,600
participants.

The researchers showed participants in each study a variety of statements, clearly identified as false, and then asked some participants to reflect
on predictions about how the statements might become true in the future.

In one experiment, researchers asked 447 MBA students from 59 different countries who were taking a course at a UK business school to imagine
that a friend lied on their resume, for example by listing financial
modeling as a skill despite having no prior experience. The researchers
then asked some participants to consider the possibility of the lie
becoming true (e.g., "Consider that if the same friend enrolls in a
financial modeling course that the school offers in the summer, then
he could develop experience with financial modeling"). They found that
students thought it was less unethical for a friend to lie when they
imagined whether their friend might develop this skill in the future.

In another experiment, 599 American participants viewed six markedly
false political statements designed to appeal to either conservatives
or liberals, including, "Millions of people voted illegally in the last presidential election" and, "The average top CEO makes 500 times more
than the average worker." Each statement was clearly labelled as false
by reputable, non- partisan fact-checkers. Participants were then asked
to generate their own predictions about how each statement might become
true in the future. For instance, they were told that "It's a proven fact
that the average top CEO currently makes 265 times more money than the
average American worker," then asked to respond to the open-ended prompt,
"The average top CEO will soon make 500 times more money than the average American worker if ..." The researchers found that participants on
both sides of the political aisle who imagined how false statements
could eventually become true were less likely to rate the statement
as unethical than those who did not because they were more likely to
believe its broader meaning was true. This was especially the case
when the false statement fit with their political views. Importantly, participants knew these statements were false, yet imagining how they
might become true made people find them more excusable.

Even prompting the participants to think carefully before judging
the falsehoods did not change how ethical the participants found the statements, said study co-author Daniel Effron, PhD, a professor of organizational behavior at the London Business School.

"Our findings are concerning, particularly given that we find that
encouraging people to think carefully about the ethicality of statements
was insufficient to reduce the effects of imagining a future where it
might be true," Effron said. "This highlights the negative consequences of giving airtime to leaders in business and politics who spout falsehoods."
The researchers also found that participants were more inclined to share misinformation on social media when they imagined how it might become
true, but only if it aligned with their political views. This suggests
that when misinformation supports one's politics, people may be willing
to spread it because they believe the statement to be essentially,
if not literally, true, according to Helgason.

"Our findings reveal how our capacity for imagination affects political disagreement and our willingness to excuse misinformation," Helgason said.

"Unlike claims about what is true, propositions about what might become
true are impossible to fact-check. Thus, partisans who are certain that
a lie will become true eventually may be difficult to convince otherwise."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
American_Psychological_Association. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Beth Anne Helgason, Daniel A. Effron. It might become true: How
prefactual thinking licenses dishonesty.. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 2022; DOI: 10.1037/pspa0000308 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220414110729.htm

--- up 6 weeks, 3 days, 10 hours, 51 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)