Study Shows Scientists rated top for honesty

In a study that asked people to rate how honest they believed members of certain professions were, scientists won the top slot for being consider red to be trustworthy. Two out of three people who were polled admitted that they felt that politicians were the least likely of any professional group to speak truthfully, ranked below journalists who also didn’t rate very high on the credibility scale.

Although scientists were rated the most honest of any professional group, artists came in a close second and clergymen ranked a surprising third. The pool about honesty was taken online and responses came from slightly more than 400 residents of the UK. Although 6 percent of those polled insisted that they never lied, as many as 15 percent fessed up to telling at least one whopper every day, with one-third of the respondents admitting to telling at least one lie a week. The top reason given for lying was to spare the feelings of another person, with the second most popular rationale for not telling the truth was to avoid getting into an argument.

Claire Foster-Gilbert, director of the Westminster Abbey Institute, said: “As the survey shows, we admit we tell lies ourselves and think our politicians do too.

“The difference is that politicians’ failures are public ones.

“Those who are brave enough to seek public positions quickly learn ‘there is no effort without error or shortcoming’ (Roosevelt).

“The Institute has been established to support and challenge those in public life, reinvigorating their spiritual and moral values.

“We are starting with the most precious and elusive value of all: truth-telling.”

On The Web:
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breakingnews/offbeat/scientists-rated-top-for-honesty-29678333.html