Maurice Schweitzer is a Wharton professor whose research explores trust, deception, negotiation, decision-making and the way we manage how other people see us. In this conversation, we start with a deceptively simple question: what makes you, you? From there we get into how culture and travel shape identity, whether AI can deceive us, why humans lie, and the strange line between dishonesty and kindness.
We also explore the downside of goal setting, why ambitious targets can sometimes encourage unethical behaviour, and how easy it is to lose sight of the bigger goal while chasing the one directly in front of us. Maurice also talks about impression management, authenticity, prosocial lies, the cost of bad feedback, and his latest work on how the metaphors we use can shape the way we understand the world.
If this one's got you thinking about goals, I built something for exactly that.
The Chapter System: https://bit.ly/4gw6m6x
Chapters:
00:00 What makes you, you?
02:51 How travel and culture change who we are
06:37 AI, context and what makes us human
11:30 Can AI be deceptive?
15:44 Why do humans lie?
20:22 British small talk and socially acceptable deception
22:50 Prosocial lies: when kindness and honesty collide
25:33 The hidden cost of polite dishonesty
30:58 Surprise parties, proposals and “good” deception
35:25 Can goals make us unethical?
41:26 Goal hierarchy, values and knowing when to stop
43:46 Work, travel and competing priorities
46:07 Impression management and authenticity
49:33 How metaphors shape the way we think
🎙️ MY STUFF
The Chapter System (the PDF):
https://bit.ly/4gw6m6x
All my other stuff: https://awakenoutofcontext.com
Maurice Schweitzer:
Wharton: https://oid.wharton.upenn.edu/profile/schweitz/
X: https://twitter.com/me_schweitzer
Friend & Foe: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/205841/friend-and-foe-by-adam-galinsky-and-maurice-schweitzer/
