Is Someone Who Looks Happy Likely to Be Honest?

Emotions can be deceiving. We are more likely to trust someone who appears to be in a good mood, as we expect they are upbeat, friendly, and will make us feel comfortable. We are also likely to trust them, which stems from a halo effect of believing someone who is happy and smiling has positive intentions.

But according to researchers, looking happy does not mean someone is honest. In fact, some people might look happy not because of what they did, but because of what they got away with.

Source: Image by tswedensky on Pixabay

Being Bad and Looking Good

Feeling good after behaving badly was explored by Nicole E. Ruedy et al. (2013) in a piece aptly entitled “The Cheater’s High.”[i] They begin with the example of the swindler from the movie Catch Me If You Can, describing the positive sensation experienced after pulling off his first successful scam. Is this typically how people behave after getting away with something? Most people would say no, and expect feelings of remorse, shame, or other negative emotions, which would probably drive them to attempt to right their wrongs. But apparently, not everyone who behaves badly feels regret.

Ruedy et al. explain that the link between unethical behavior and positive affect has been demonstrated through anecdotal accounts of fraud, dishonesty, and theft—including instances of wealthy thieves who take delight in shoplifting items they could easily afford, joyriders stealing cars for the thrill of it, and other types of fraudsters who revel in their crimes.

We have all heard of such people and usually shake our heads in disbelief. But what type of people engage in behavior with such glee, and how does that work?

“The Cheater’s High”

Ruedy et al. note that theories of moral behavior often assume that unethical behavior creates negative affect. In their research, however, they demonstrate that in some cases, unethical behavior can create positive affect, which they term a “cheater’s high.” They describe this type of positive emotion as related to “duping delight,” the excitement created by successful deception, and also to the notion of forbidden fruit, which predicts that people view experiences and objects that are considered to be taboo as more alluring and attractive than those that are permissible. In short, they speculate that some people enjoy engaging in prohibited activities.

Performing six studies, they found that although people predicted they would experience guilt and negative affect after participating in unethical behavior, people who cheated on problem-solving tasks consistently experienced a higher level of positive affect than those who did not cheat, and found cheating to be linked with feelings of self-satisfaction.

It's Only Fun Until Someone Gets Hurt

Ruedy et al. note a qualification to their findings: They do not suggest that every type of unethical behavior will make someone feel good, but that the cheater’s high might instead be limited to certain categories of unethical behavior. Their research examined unethical actions that did not result in direct harm to a victim; they only examined cheating by over-reporting performance. Although they recognize this result as a significant concern given the frequency of cheating scandals, they also speculate that harm to a salient victim might decrease the likelihood of experiencing a cheater’s high.

So, does this mean that someone who just cheated on a spouse would look gleeful instead of guilty? Or would a spouse or significant other constitute a salient victim, which could decrease duping delight? One thing is sure, that regarding the way we judge our friends and loved ones, there is more to attraction than emotion. Sure, happy people are affable and approachable, but there is real potential for misjudging a happy book by its cover. Take the time to open up and read a bit of it too.