American scientists have concluded that the human tendency to lie depends on their chronotype, the BBC reports.
Thus, early birds, who are active in the morning, are more inclined to lie and behave unethically in the evening. Night owls, on the contrary, may lie in the morning and be more honest in the evening. According to psychologists, this is because early risers and night owls have different “levels of honesty,” depending on the time of the day when human body is used to being asleep or awake.
This conclusion was made after a number of experiments involving nearly 200 volunteers. People were asked undergo tests and play a variety of games, and then share their results with the researchers. Study participants were promised cash awards of up to $10, as well as the opportunity to win prizes. Wanting to win, the participants were not always honest. Moreover, the level of dishonesty was highest when people were “outside” their preferred time of the day, i.e. at the time when they needed to sleep. Morning types lied in the evening, and night owls – in the morning.
According to one of the authors of a study, Professor Sunita Sah of Harvard University, this discovery has an important role for employers and the distribution of jobs, especially where people work in shifts.
