Melissa Guest Blogs: A longer nose leads to poorer health?

Melissa Chaung, one of Dr. T’s Health Psychology students, guest blogs again!:

Only if you’re Pinocchio that is! But yes, people always say that “Honesty is the best policy,” and a recent study at the University of Notre Dame has found some support for that claim. It turns out that being honest could be linked to positive side effects for our health. Researchers assigned one group of participants to try their best to not tell lies during the course of the study while the other group was not given any directions about lying except that they had to document any lies they told each week. This study lasted for ten weeks. Results showed that both groups decreased in the number of lies they told each week; however, the group that was specifically told not to lie reported fewer mental health and physical complaints compared to the control group. The experimental group also reported having better personal relationships and social interactions. So even though it may not make your nose smaller, sticking to the truth has positive ramifications for your social life and even your health.