The Truth will Set you Free: Guilt Builds Up

No. We're not all Eagles' fans. But chances are, you can spot a white lie in the eyes of a loved one or friend. And often times, something small can snowball into something much bigger than expected.

A recent study shows how guilt can build up and take a mental toll on the body and the mind. In fact, whether a big or small untruth, researchers found in most cases, it was just best for that individual to get the guilty feelings off his or her chest once and for all.

"Confessing to only part of one's transgressions is attractive to a lot of people because they expect the confession to be more believable and guilt-relieving than not confessing," said lead author Eyal Pe'er, PhD, who ran the studies at Carnegie Mellon University and is now at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, via a press release. "But our findings show just the opposite is true."

For the study, researchers recruited 4,167 Americans to participate in five online experiments that involved cheating. For the first experiment, 2,113 participants played a virtual coin tossing game in which they had to predict answers for 10 tosses and report their results. For every correct answer earned, there was a 10-cent bonus. The group was composed of 58 percent males, all an average of age 30. The findings showed that 35 percent cheated, with 19 percent of this group confessing. Out of this group, 60 percent confessed the entire truth while 40 percent confessed partial truths.

In the second group, researchers had 719 people with 65 percent of them male, play the same coin tossing game. The average age range was 29. For the experiment, researchers asked participants how they felt before and after making the decision to confess. Results showed that people who reported higher levels of negative emotions tended to be those who cheated the most and confessed the least amount.

The third experiment recruited 357 participants composed of 60 percent males, an average of 30. The participants were asked to describe a time when they decided to either tell the entire or partial truth. The study showed that people who confessed partial truths reported the highest levels of regret.

At the end of the experiments, researchers concluded that for individuals who cannot handle feelings of guilt, may be better may simply be better off confessing the whole truth.

"Paradoxically, people seeking redemption by partially admitting their big lies feel guiltier because they do not take complete responsibility for their behaviors," Pe'er concluded, via the release. "True guilt relief may require people to fully come clean."

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found via the American Psychological Association.