The Hypocrisy Trap

How Changing What We Criticize Can Improve Our Lives

Michael Hallsworth (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

296 Seiten

2025
MIT Press (Verlag)
978-0-262-05094-4 (ISBN)

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How our desire to stamp out hypocrisy is backfiring and how learning to target our criticisms better can improve our politics, business, and personal relationships. In our increasingly distrusting and polarized nations, accusations of hypocrisy are everywhere. But the strange truth is that our attempts to stamp out hypocrisy often backfire, creating what Michael Hallsworth calls The Hypocrisy Trap. In this groundbreaking book, he shows how our relentless drive to expose inconsistency between words and deeds can actually breed more hypocrisy or, worse, cynicism that corrodes democracy itself. Through engaging stories and original research, Hallsworth shows that not all hypocrisy is equal. While some forms genuinely destroy trust and create harm, others reflect the inevitable compromises of human nature and complex societies. The Hypocrisy Trap offers practical solutions: ways to increase our own consistency, navigate accusations wisely, and change how we judge others actions. Hallsworth shows vividly that we can improve our politics, businesses, and personal relationships if we rethink hypocrisy soon.

Michael Hallsworth is a leading figure in applying behavioral science to real-world challenges. For the last 20 years he has been an official and an advisor for governments around the world. The coauthor of the book Behavioral Insights, he built a 250-person consultancy business and has held positions at Princeton University, Columbia University, Imperial College London, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Introduction
Part One: Building the trap: What we get wrong about hypocrisy and why it matters
The drive to criticize
We hate hypocrisy
We see hypocrisy everywhere
We enjoy taking down hypocrites
Hypocrisy is woven into society
The hypocrites we like
The hypocrisy trap
The real impact of hypocrisy
The Trust Machine
The Purity Regime
Everyday Compromises
Brazen Power Plays
Part Two: Understanding the trap: How Hypocrisy Really Works
A brief history of thinking about hypocrisy
Maybe we should ask some people what they think?
New insights into hypocrisy
Inconsistency
What type of inconsistency is it?
What’s the extent of the inconsistency?
Injustice
Why we hate free riders
Why democracy puts us on alert for hypocrisy
Hunter-gatherers on the lookout for hypocrisy
Motivation
What happened because of the hypocrisy?
Benefits
Social status
Self-image
Double standards hypocrisy
“Rules for thee but not for me”
“Blood is thicker than water”
Dominance and prestige
Part Three: Escaping The Trap: What We Can Do
Taking a different view of hypocrisy
Politics
Business

Erscheinungsdatum	09.10.2025
Zusatzinfo	4 FIGURES
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Psychologie
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Psychologie ► Sozialpsychologie
	Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Marketing / Vertrieb
ISBN-10	0-262-05094-3 / 0262050943
ISBN-13	978-0-262-05094-4 / 9780262050944
Zustand	Neuware