Skip to main content icon/video/no-internet
icon backReturn to Entries

Truth Telling

Truth telling refers to the communication of complete and accurate information to another individual or group of individuals. Telling the truth is generally considered to be a positive act, often associated with character traits of honesty and integrity. Most human interactions involve the communication of information in some fashion, and if asked, we would state that we would like others to be “honest” and “tell the truth.” When engaging in interactions with others, human beings rely on truth telling as a fundamental element in determining the outcome of the interaction, the relationship, and the larger fabric of society. These determinations are largely based on the value and protection of trust as a social good. It would be hard to maintain relationships as the foundation of society without trust. Thus, the maintenance of trust through telling the truth has individual, organizational, and societal implications.

Honesty

Telling the truth is widely associated with the concepts of both honesty and integrity. As noted above, honesty and integrity are considered desirable or virtuous characteristics. In fact, many moral philosophers have suggested that honesty and integrity are crucial to achieving the cardinal virtues. A number of scholars in the field of business ethics have also described telling the truth as the opposite of lying or as a dimension of dishonesty. In her book on lying, Sissela Bok suggests that telling falsehoods destroys social trust and creates unfairness in relations with others. She argues that Aristotle's initial perspective on telling the truth should be adopted as a means to a more stable and fulfilling society. Aristotle suggested that the truth is noble and full of praise, while falsehood is, in itself, mean and culpable. Bok points out that telling a lie requires a reason, while telling the truth does not. She and other scholars have argued that honesty is required for trust since a society based on lies or dishonesty will collapse.

Empirical research done on honesty has also examined truth telling. For example, a study conducted in the late 1990s showed that the construct of honesty comprises three different dimensions. The researchers found that honest behavior consists of respect for ownership of property (a dimension they called possession); giving complete information, not keeping secrets or omitting information (a dimension they called omission); and giving truthful or accurate information without misrepresentation (a dimension they called commission). Truth telling, then, typically embodies giving both accurate (commission) and complete (omission) information. Lying is considered to be the opposite of telling the truth and, thus, is considered dishonest behavior because it conveys either inaccurate or incomplete information to another person. Note that this would include behaviors such as bluffing, communicating outright falsehoods, and even communicating a false impression through dissembling or impression management.

Integrity

Telling the truth is also widely linked to the concept of integrity. Integrity has been interpreted to mean wholeness or strength of character and is often associated with fairness and trust, like honesty. Truth telling, or being honest, as a behavior is a foundation for establishing the characteristic of integrity. Integrity is considered to be a cornerstone for creating and maintaining relationships with others because it inspires trust, the foundation of such interactions. For example, in their work on integrity, Kathlyn and C. Gay Hendricks suggest that authentic speaking and resonant listening form one of four pillars of integrity in human organizational interactions. What they call “authentic speaking” is, in essence, truth telling. They argue for telling the truth as a means of increasing the degree of integrity in business organizations and destroying the myths that support lying to coworkers. Others have argued that honesty, courage, and respect are three components of integrity and that to create rich and meaningful communities in work organizations, we need to learn how to be more honest, courageous, and respectful of other human beings.

...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles

Read next

More like this

Sage Recommends

We found other relevant content for you on other Sage platforms.

close

Have you created a personal profile? Login or create a profile so that you can save clips, playlists and searches

close
close
close Signed In to profile You are signed in as:
close
Logged in Institution Institution