(The following piece is
a follow up to my thoughts on lying posted on June 13, 2012 and titled ‘Is it
OK to do it if it doesn’t hurt others?’)
‘Study Finds That Lying Less Improves Person’s Health’
ORLANDO,
Fla. (CBS Tampa) — Who says a little white
lie never hurt anyone? Recent research suggests it can affect your health.
A new
study conducted by University of Notre Dame researchers found that a person’s mental and physical health
improved when they stopped lying to others.
The
“Science of Honesty” study – presented at the American Psychological
Association’s 120th Annual Convention in Orlando, Fla. Last week – concluded
that telling the truth matters to a person’s health.
“Recent
evidence indicates that Americans average about 11 lies per week. We wanted to
find out if living more honestly can actually cause better health,” lead author
Anita E. Kelly, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame,
said in a press release. “We found that the participants could purposefully and
dramatically reduce their everyday lies, and that in turn was associated with
significantly improved health.”
The
study was conducted over the course of 10 weeks with 110 people, ranging in age
from 18 to 71. The people were broken up into two groups: one group that was
told to stop telling lies and the other a control group.
Kelly
and co-author Lijuan Wang found that the no-lie group told three fewer white
lies and experience four fewer mental-health episodes and three fewer physical
complaints. On the other hand, when the control group told three fewer white
lies, they experienced two fewer mental health complaints and one less physical
complaint.
The
authors also found that people in the no-lie group reported their relationship
improved. (There’s a surprise – comment added)
“Statistical
analyses showed that this improvement in relationships significantly accounted
for the improvement in health that was associated with less lying,” Wang said
in a press release.
The
findings will be submitted for scientific review and publication for later this
year.
Site
http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2012/08/08/study-finds-that-lying-less-improves-persons-health/
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