PhotoWhat, exactly, is the problem with hypocrisy? People object, in other words, to the misleading implication — not to a failure of will or a weakness of character. In fact, his hypocrisy now makes his activism seem not just not-positive, but negative: How dare he go around telling other people to switch off their lights when he doesn’t do so himself! This dislike of hypocrisy is emotionally intuitive, but if you pause to think about it, it constitutes a psychological puzzle. Together, our studies clarify why your co-worker’s hypocrisy is so irritating, even though he has a positive environmental impact by encouraging people to reduce their consumption.

Source: New York Times January 13, 2017 15:44 UTC