The Psychology of Our Weaknesses

Why do principled people cheat, virtuous ones hypocritically behave, and financial geniuses lose everything down to the last penny?

Psychologists DeSteno and Valdesolo overturn the notions of the immutability of character, asserting that our actions are determined not so much by stable personality traits as by the struggle of hidden, changeable mental mechanisms. Relying on the results of ingenious experiments, the authors shed light on the nature of temptation, jealousy, hypocrisy, and illogical actions.

The book shows that holiness and sin share the same root and that each of us is capable of actions that contradict our beliefs.

An astonishing look at the hidden forces that govern our behavior will make us rethink who we really are and why from time to time each of us feels the secret temptation to lie, deceive, or steal?

David DeSteno is a professor of psychology at Northeastern University, a member of the American Psychological Association. He is the author of books on behavioral science.

Piercarlo Valdesolo is a senior lecturer in psychology at Claremont McKenna College and one of the authors of the blog Scientific American Mind Matters.