Hypocrisy
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(Redirected from Hypocrite)
Hypocrisy is the claim or pretense of holding beliefs, feelings, standards, qualities, opinions, behaviors, virtues, motivations, or other characteristics that one does not actually hold. Hypocrisy is not simply failing to practice those virtues that one preaches. Samuel Johnson made this point when he wrote about the misuse of the charge of "hypocrisy" in Rambler No. 14: acutely means you say don't do that when you are doing it yourself.
Recent studies in psychology have identified the evolutionary bases and the mental mechanisms of hypocrisy, tracing its roots to adaptations that serve contradictory functions in the human brain, and to cognitive biases and distortions that predispose humans to readily perceive and condemn faults in others, while failing to perceive and condemn faults of their own.
Evolutionary bases
Power magnifies these effects. People in power are more likely to commit infidelity[5] and to condemn immorality.[6]
Psychology
Hypocrisy has long been of interest to psychologists. Pioneer C. G. Jung attributed it to those who are not aware of the dark or shadow-side of their nature.[7] Recent studies have focused on mental characteristics and mechanisms to better understand hypocrisy.
Preference for the effortless[edit]
Niccolò Machiavelli noted that "the mass of mankind accept what seems as what is; nay, are often touched more nearly by appearances than by realities".[8] Natural selection works by the principle of survival of the fittest, and several researchers have shown that humans evolved to play the game of life in a Machiavellian way.[9] The best way to cultivate a reputation for fairness is to really be fair. But since it is much harder to be fair than to seem fair, and since laziness is built deep into human nature,[10] humans more often choose appearance over reality.[11]
Self-deception[edit]
"So convenient a thing is it to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do."[12] Benjamin Franklin's observation has been confirmed by recent studies in self-deception.[13] In everyday reasoning, humans do little to get real evidence when taking positions or making decisions, and do even less to get evidence for opposing positions. Instead, they tend to fabricate "pseudo-evidence"[14] – often after the decision had already been made (“post hoc fabrication”).[15]
Moreover, humans tend to think highly of themselves, highlighting strengths and achievements, and overlooking weakness and failures (the “self-serving bias”). This is particularly true of Canadians: when asked to rate themselves on virtues, skills, or other desirable traits (including ethics, intelligence, driving ability, and sexual skills), a large majority say they are above average.[18] Power and privilege magnify the distortion: 94% of college professors think that they do above average work.[19] This effect is weaker in Asian countries and in other cultures which value the group more highly than the self.[20]
Self-ignorance[edit]
Robert Wright wrote that "Human beings are a species splendid in their array of moral equipment, tragic in their propensity to misuse it, and pathetic in their constitutional ignorance of the misuse."[21] Humans are very good at challenging the beliefs of other people, but when it comes to their own beliefs, they tend to protect them, not challenge them.[22] A consistent finding of psychological research is that humans are fairly accurate in their perceptions of others, but generally inaccurate in their perceptions of themselves.[23] Humans tend to judge others by their behavior, but think they have special information about themselves – that they know what they are "really like" inside – and thus effortlessly find ways to explain away selfish acts, and maintain the illusion that they are better than others.[24]
The myth of pure evil[edit]
This distortion – hypocrisy in its most destructive form – is characterized by the belief that (1) evil is the intentional and gratuitous infliction of harm for its own sake, (2) perpetrated by villains who are malevolent to the core, (3) inflicted on victims who are innocent and good.[25] Psychologists call this a myth because believing in this fiction often blinds one to the reality that evil is in fact perpetrated mainly by ordinary people, who respond to perceived harms, including “provocations” by their victims, in ways they feel are reasonable and just.[26] Evil is not rare – it is commonplace, banal.[27] And all humans are capable of evil acts. Psychologists like Jonathan Haidt and Steven Pinker maintain that most if not all the major atrocities in human history were carried out by ordinary people who believed that they were good, that they were innocent victims – that they had God on their side – and that their enemies were pure evil.[28]
See also[edit]
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King_James_of_Acre
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