1.) Summary
Ariely believes that most people cheat, and it is these small dishonest acts that we all commit that are more of a detriment to our society than the big acts of dishonesty committed by very few people.
Experiments have shown that there are many factors at play when it comes to dishonesty in peoples actions and the degree in which they are willing to cheat. Risk vs. reward is not much of a factor. It is the internal struggle in our own minds that leads to cheating.
As a society we need to pay attention to the large transgressions by few individuals. More importantly though, we should be focused on the small lies of the masses that are happening everyday. We may not be able to stop the big cheaters from cheating, but we can discourage the small cheating that goes on in our everyday lives (Ariely 440-446).
2.) Paraphrase of Paragraph 10
According to Ariely, we are already aware that most people have a willingness to cheat to a small degree. What we must search for next are the reasons why we choose to behave honestly or dishonestly (442).
3.) Quote
"If it is my teammates who benefit from my fudging the numbers, surely that makes me a virtuous person!" (Ariely 443)
I chose this quote from the essay because I think it shows the internal struggle we all have when it comes to cheating. It is much easier to justify bending your standards of honesty if you can make yourself believe that it has a benefit to someone else.
I posted comments on the following blogs:
Michael's blog; http://mhendricksen.blogspot.com/
Validia's blog: http://vtomasko.blogspot.com/
Works Cited.
Ariely, Dan. "Why We Lie." The Bedford Reader. 12th ed. Ed. John E. Sullivan. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin's, 2014. 440-446. Print.
This looks great, I enjoyed reading your perspective on the article. I also love the quote you chose. Its amazing what this article puts into perspective and what we find out about ourselves when we sit back and think about these studies.
ReplyDeleteThank you Shelbee! I thought it was a thought provoking essay as well!
DeleteHonesty has always been a big problem in every ones every day lives. Weather it's just a small lie that benefits others or a much larger lie that benefits yourself, they are both lies. Every one does have a different views on lying, and I enjoyed reading your view points. Good work!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Josh, I appreciate it! I think everyone looks at lies in a different way. What may be a big lie to me may be a small lie to someone else, or vice versa.
DeleteI also really enjoyed reading your blog!
DeleteHi Kim, I really enjoyed reading your post. You have written a very nice, concise summary.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed the quote you chose. It really makes it a whole lot easier to cheat if we can justify it by having it help somebody else. Great job!
Thank you Ariel! Funny how we can convice ourselves that something is ok (when we know it is not) by claiming it is for the greater good. I look forward to reading your blog post!
DeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. I agree a lot with your perspective/outlook on this subject!
ReplyDeleteI agree a lot with what you had to say in your post. I feel like you really understood the reading and had a good perspective on it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lauren!
DeleteNicely structured post, Kim. I would recommend with summarizing, you don't necessarily have to have a parenthetical citation. I really liked your thoughts on the quote you discussed. This is so true as many times people think that a little white lie won't hurt anyone.
ReplyDelete