Don't you know what the difference is between sincerity and honesty? Often the world of synonyms runs the risk of being confused: this is the case of two adjectives such as "sincere" and "honest", which tend to be confused with each other. Sincerity and honesty, on the other hand, are qualities that show the truth in two slightly different ways, and in this Psychology-Online article we will see together the difference between sincerity and honesty.
Sincerity is a virtue that many human beings can possess, it is a principle that can even define the personality of an individual. But what is the value of sincerity? It is not just about telling the truth, because it goes further: sincerity is a attitude that transcends the weather and influences the way of acting, of expressing oneself, in addition to influencing the mood, because being sincere people we feel good about ourselves.
How is sincerity demonstrated?
Knowing how to distinguish a sincere person from one who is pretending is not always easy, but luckily there are signs that can help us understand the people in front of us. Here are the
- I respect. Honest people respect everyone equally; hypocritical people only respect those in power.
- Admiration. Sincere people look up to other people and are not ashamed to say so; hypocritical people only criticize other people to make themselves look better.
- Opinion. Sincere people always give their opinion; hypocritical people always speak behind the back of others. To know more about it, see the following post about Fake friends: how to recognize them.
- Altruism. Sincere people help without expecting anything in return; hypocritical people only help when they get something in return.
- Humble. Sincere people don't brag about their achievements; hypocritical people boast of themselves.
- Self-sufficient. Sincere people don't go out of their way to please others; hypocritical people strive to make a good figure.
- Trust. Sincere people always keep their promises; hypocritical people talk a lot, but do nothing. If you want to know more about the subject, we leave you this article about How to detect a liar?
- Self esteem. Sincere people are not the goal of being the center of attention; hypocritical people go out of their way to get attention.
Honesty (from Latin honestas) indicates the human quality to act and communicate sincerely, loyally and on the basis of moral principles considered universally valid, avoiding reprehensible actions towards others.
On the contrary, there is talk of dishonesty, which in some cases can be classified as a crime punishable, for example, in cases of corruption and violation of public officials and false testimony. Indeed, honesty occupies a central place in social relationships and constitutes one of the core values of the rule of law.
When can we say that a person is honest?
It is not easy to answer this question, because there is no perfectly honest (or dishonest) person, but we can distinguish 5 common characteristics in honest people:
- Self esteem. If you wonder what being honest is, these types of people are characterized by a good level of self-esteem, because they are aware of themselves, without a need approval constant. They do not get discouraged and do not get angry because of different opinions or attitudes in others that they consider unfair, so they know how to receive and process criticism and admit their own mistakes, in addition to accepting those of the the rest. I will develop this point in How to improve self-esteem.
- Welfare. According to research that studied what honesty is, being honest increases the level of psychophysical well-being. Honest people, on average, are in good health, both physically and mentally. And in a good mood.
- Clear language. Speaking clearly and directly is another characteristic of honest people, because it is easier to express what you really feel and think, Bluntly to give a different form to the concepts or to lie. If you want to know more about it, see our article on Assertive communication: examples and techniques.
- Consistency. Not sure where the value of honesty applies? Honest people do what they say, they say what they do. They do not try to modify situations for their own benefit, they don't lie and they do not need or want to appear different from who they really are. They take responsibility for their actions and accept reality for what it is.
- Trust. The last characteristic is trust in others, which is derived from a background optimism and from the conviction that sincerity and loyalty are victorious, in the long run. It is a way of looking at life that is reflected in even the smallest and seemingly insignificant behaviors of each day. If you want to improve your confidence, you can start for yourself in our post How to have confidence in yourself.
Now that you know what it is to be sincere and what it is to be honest. Let's solve what are the differences between sincerity and honesty:
In the first place, an honest person is morally upright, limpid, loyal; It therefore responds to a correction inherent in its own Values system. However, a sincere person is frank, direct, without mincing words, not out of a moral duty towards those before him, but out of authenticity and predisposition to transparency.
In both cases it is assumed that the "truth" is being said - or acted upon; however, one must be attentive to the type of truth transmitted:
- For those who are honest, they see the truth as a shared virtue, therefore they cannot do without the sense of justice that moves your actions and communications;
- On the contrary, those who practice sincerity consider the truth in relation to the opposite, the falsehood: wanting avoid deception, does not hide behind filters, since what interests him is not to say things as they should be, but how they are (or, rather, how it looks from his point of view).
When is excess of sincerity bad?
Now, behind the excuse of "I am only sincere", there is often a unwanted judgment for those who receive it, especially if it is not required. Therefore, should we think that sincerity hides a negative meaning that honesty, on the contrary, lacks?
Certainly, it is difficult to prevent the honest and sincere from manifesting themselves: commitment would run the risk of covering up a truth that they themselves, for one reason or another, they are messengers. If you want to know more about the difference between sincerity and honesty, we recommend you read our article Characteristics of a sincere person.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
