Does it take effort to tell the truth or are you naturally honest? In other words, are you truthful or a liar? A Harvard neuroimaging study showed that you're wired to be one or the other.
The study watched subjects' brains as they were presented with the opportunity to win money through lying. When honest people told the truth, their brains were at peace. When dishonest people lied, the control centers of their brains crackled to overwrite the truth with a lie. And here's the cool part: even when dishonest people happened to tell the truth, researchers watched their brains actively override the temptation to lie.
And so there is neurological support for both the "Will" and "Grace" theories of truth telling: some people simply tell the truth (grace) and some actively override the temptation to lie (will). How does this apply to your New Year's resolution to be a better person? It's hard to tell: if a liar steadfastly rewrites his brain's tendency to fib for a full year can the liar become honest? More research needed...
Be honest: d'you like interesting tidbits from neuroscience, psychology, game theory, zoology, and illogical human behavior? If so, consider picking up a copy of my new book, Brain Candy. Kill a tree. Feed my
children.
