Britons ‘overestimate the bad behaviours of other people’

Britons also apparently massively underestimate how much exercise they do and the extent to which they are saving for retirement. People in all countries surveyed (UK, US, Canada, Australia, France and Germany) also reportedly believe that other people are throwing more sickies than they will admit to.

More specifically, the British public think that:

• 69% of their fellow Brits eat more than the recommended amount of sugar, while nutrition surveys show it’s only 47%
• 65% of the population are not saving enough for retirement, when government studies suggest it’s actually 43%
• 36% of the population have avoided paying the full amount of tax on income or purchases in the past year, when only 6% admit to it themselves
• only 42% of their countrymen do the recommended amount of exercise each week, when detailed surveys of physical activity show that 57% do

The survey, of over 6,000 people aged 18-64, showed that people in all countries surveyed were more likely to ascribe undesirable behaviours to their fellow countrymen than they were prepared to admit to themselves.

“Findings from behavioural science show us that people are strongly influenced by what they think their fellow citizens are doing,” said David Halpern, CEO of the Behavioural Insights Team.

“The Behavioural Insights Team, for example, has shown that people are more likely to pay their tax when they are reminded of the truth – that most people pay their tax on time. So this survey has important implications. We underestimate how virtuous our fellow citizens are, and this really matters. If we think others are cheating, not saving enough, or not eating healthily, then we’re much more inclined to do the same ourselves. Our perception of others’ behaviours is often way out of line with reality, and this has consequences for what we ourselves do.”