When Prime Minister David Cameron is giving an important speech, or in the midst of difficult negotiations, he relies on a simple mental trick known as the full bladder technique. The name is not a metaphor. Cameron drinks lots of liquid and then deliberately refrains from urinating, so that he is “desperate for a pee.” The Prime Minister believes that such desperation comes with benefits, including enhanced clarity and improved focus.

* * *

That’s exactly what happened. When people had to pee, they exhibited more “cognitive control” and “their behaviors appeared more confident and convincing when lying than when telling the truth.” They were less anxious and fidgety and gave more detailed answers.

In a second analysis, the scientists asked a panel of 118 students to review clips of the conversation and assess whether or not people were telling the truth. As expected, the viewers were far more likely to believe that people who had to pee were being honest, even when they were lying about their beliefs.

* * *

There is a larger mystery here, and it goes far beyond bladders and bathrooms. One of the lingering debates in the self-control literature is the discrepancy between studies documenting an ego-depletion effect – in which exerting self-control makes it harder to control ourselves later on – and the inhibitory spillover effect, in which performance on one self-control task (such as trying not to piss our pants) makes us better at exerting control on another task (such as hiding our dishonesty). In a 2011 paper, Tuk, et al. found that people in a state of urination urgency were more disciplined in other domains, such as financial decision-making. They were less impulsive because they had to pee.

Read original article


Tags: