How to Make Defending the Undefendable Defensible
How to Make Defending the Undefendable Defensible

Author(s): Bryan Caplan
Subject(s): Sociology, Substance abuse and addiction, Socio-Economic Research
Published by: Addleton Academic Publishers
Keywords: Social Desirability Bias; rationality; negative externalities; Walter Block;
Summary/Abstract: When the truth is ugly, people lie. Psychologists call this “Social Desirability Bias.” Human beings exaggerate their patriotism and piety, their altruism and loyalty, their intelligence and their tolerance. Social Desirability Bias (SDB) is embedded in language itself: When someone asks, “Would you like to come to my party?,” you refuse with “Sorry, I can’t” even though that is almost never literally true. Sometimes these lies become so ubiquitous that we lose awareness of our own dishonesty.

• Details
• Contents