Ideas
June 27, 2015 12:01 AM EDT
We all want to know how to be a better person. The science can be surprising. First, remember context, context, context. Your context dramatically affects your behavior, so manipulating it is the easiest, most painless way to change yourself . This is why the religious are nicer on Sundays and mentioning God makes people clean up their act. Thinking about your childhood (seriously, get a teddy bear ) and seeing others do nice things can make you act more ethically. Our circumstances can make it hard to be objective even when you really should be . Across the board, you behave better when you feel you’re being watched, whether it’s an image of a pair of eyes , a security camera or a mirror .
Power corrupts so tread lightly when you have authority. Power can lead you to dehumanize people . It makes you believe misbehavior is okay . It comes in many forms .
Stress can make you cheat. Lack of sleep can make you unethical and when faced with moral dilemmas you usually do what is easy, not necessarily what’s right . So learn how to de-stress .
Ethical people are happier and happier people are better citizens — so get happy .
It’s not black and white. Men and women have different moral values and the sins they admit to reflect this . (And, no, women are not more ethical than men .)
Sadly, this will not be easy. Bad is stronger than good . (And ethics books get stolen more frequently than other books .) Full disclosure is not a free pass . Feeling moral can lead you to act immorally and being ethical can hurt your income. So force yourself to be better ahead of time .
Research also shows little things can make a difference:
Play music with positive lyrics . Clean smells and the odor of cookies both make you behave better. Keep the area warm . Get outside in nature . Read fiction .
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This piece originally appeared on Barking Up the Wrong Tree .
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