Self-deception has many guises, which also contributes to its being difficult to identify. There are the more familiar forms of denial, rationalization, and minimization.

For this to work, it has to happen via diagnostic self-deception, meaning that I have to convince myself that I am actually not cheating.” This form of cheating isn't always deliberate.

The upside of being moderately deluded. Few traits are more celebrated than self-awareness, broadly defined as the ability to ...

Without self-deception his chances fall considerably because of lack of funding by Wall Street. Feynman’s advice of not fooling yourself may not be such great advice for Musk or Tesla.

Why? Because self-deception—the lie we keep telling ourselves—is a disaster waiting to happen. Here are five ways it messes things up for leaders: It hides the truth about who you really are.

Overcoming Self-Deception: 5 Steps Toward Genuine Innovation To break free from self-deception and truly enhance the customer experience in banking, banks could take deliberate and reflective actions.

Journal Reference: Sara Loughran Dommer. Acting Immorally to Self-Enhance: The Role of Diagnostic Self-Deception. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2025; 000 DOI: 10.1086/732915 ...