Honesty, understood as telling the truth, and integrity defined as acting correctly according to morals, are terms that can be linked, but we cannot use them as synonyms.
Despite the similarities that both concepts may show, we will say that integrity is a more general concept that is always related to a positive connotation and is considered a personality trait. On the other hand, honesty is defined as a state, depending more on the situation that the subject is experiencing, and can show positive or negative connotations.
In this way, integrity or morality can encompass other concepts such as honesty. We will say that an upright person is honest, although not all honest subjects will be upright.
In this article We will talk about the differences between honesty and integrity and we will see how these two terms are defined, and what the subjects who show these characteristics are like.
Honesty is defined as a human value that consists of acting sincerely, expressing what one thinks and, therefore, not lying or trying to hide information from another person. We could say that being honest means acting fairly, acting according to what we know about reality. In this way, the true relationship between what we think and what we communicate is respected and expressed. The subject acts according to his beliefs, without hiding anything
This coherence between what we think and what we communicate is also linked to, and depends on, the social norms established in the environment that the subject inhabits. That is, our behavior will be considered correct in relation to the norms established at the social level.
Honest people show a characteristic profile , which helps to identify them compared to other subjects who simulate, but in reality are not. Honest subjects respect the truth strictly, the truth even comes before their own interests, preferences or desires. Their way of acting makes them considered individuals who respect others and themselves, since they do not deceive other subjects and they do not deceive themselves, acting according to their beliefs and thoughts.
Even so, although they express the truth at all times, they do may show self-serving intentions We mean that they do not hesitate to tell the truth, but communicating it may help oneself, therefore, they may show selfish behavior.
Likewise, there are other traits that are observed in honest people such as: they are fair, decent, honest, reasonable, they are people with whom you can talk and reason about different issues. We will say that they are transparent individuals who express and act according to what they feel or what they think.
For its part, Integrity is a trait that is part of the personality of each subject , that is, it shows a certain constancy. The whole subject carries out the correct practices and actions considered by society and accepts the ethical and moral principles and makes them his or her own. Likewise, given their characteristics, they are people who act correctly and responsibly, are polite to others and are attentive.
There are three different types of integrity. Moral integrity is linked to the freedom and rights that people have to live according to their beliefs and interests, as long as they respect others. Physical integrity, as the name indicates, refers to the union of the different parts of the subject’s body, relating to physical health. Mental integrity, in this case, is linked to the mental health of the subject.
Examples
As examples of integrity We can mention: a couple who have been faithful together for years; To the student who passes the course without ever copying or to a boss who respects and takes her workers into account. We see that their peculiarity is that they are behaviors that are maintained over time, continuity is valued.
Some examples of honesty They would be: telling the store clerk that he made a mistake with the change, either because he charged us more or less; not cheating on an exam and preferring to have the grade we deserve or telling a person how we really feel about them.
Differences between honesty and integrity
Once you understand the definitions of honesty and integrity, it will be easier to identify and understand the differences between these two concepts. When is it appropriate to use one or the other.
Thus we can differentiate both terms according to the behavior it implies. Honesty means telling the truth, in this way it is related to verbal behavior. Instead, integrity involves acting, performing an action correctly It is considered correct, since the behavior is mostly accepted and highly valued by society.
2. Connotation of the action
Honesty, although it can be valued positively and, therefore, have a positive connotation, the verbal expression of the truth can also show negative connotation , carried out for example in a selfish way, to benefit oneself. On the other hand, integrity always shows a positive connotation.
3. Continuity of action
Another distinction that the terms show refers to the degree of continuity of each one. Honesty is situational, which means that it depends on the situation and therefore a subject can be honest on one occasion and not be honest again, therefore, we can consider it more of a state than a characteristic of the individual’s personality
On the contrary, integrity is defined as a personality trait and as such it is independent of the situation; the subject will have integrity without the characteristics of the situation influencing it.
4. Intention to benefit oneself
Honesty can hide a selfish intention to achieve one’s own benefit. We can observe how the subject, by communicating the truth, achieves something that favors him, thus valuing the action as intentional. It may seem like the goal was to be honest and not hide anything from the other person, but really the ultimate goal is to win yourself
On the other hand, as we have mentioned before, integrity always has a positive connotation and, therefore, the subject will act correctly and appropriately, without contemplating or considering at any time whether this action benefits him or not. We see how in this case proceeding appropriately goes beyond oneself.
5. Relationship with morality
Integrity is much more linked to society and values, beliefs, attitudes. Moral elements supported by it. Upright behavior will at all times respect the morals of society. As we already pointed out, it is defined as correct behavior, and this assessment is established according to the beliefs and thoughts of the society where the subject lives.
For its part, honesty does not show this close link with society, therefore, its objective may not respect morals and ethics and may be carried out for its own reasons without taking into account social valuation.
6. What each concept represents
The subject expresses honesty through language Being honest consists of saying what one thinks, thus representing honesty, the behavior of verbally communicating what we believe to be true.
In contrast, integrity represents the subject’s belief. That is, we will consider that a subject is integral according to what his beliefs are, without depending so much on his external expression.
7. Other words that we can use for each term
We consider that individuals who are honest are also objective and truthful In other words, honesty is synonymous with truthfulness, telling the truth and objectivity, which means expressing what is and not what we think. It makes sense that these three terms are shown as synonyms, since as we know, being honest means telling the truth (truthfulness) and communicating what we know to be true without influencing our own beliefs (objectivity).
Regarding integrity, the term that is most closely linked to this is morality, more specifically a high morality As we have mentioned in previous points, being with integrity consists of acting correctly, taking into account the morals and ethics of the society where the person lives.
8. Globality of concepts
Regarding the globality of the concepts, we also observe differences. The level of honesty of a subject is valued according to whether or not he tells the truth That is, depending on how she expresses what she thinks or says what she sees or knows, therefore, we will say that a person is honest or not. On the other hand, integrity is a more global, broader concept that takes into account other variables or factors such as morality or even honesty itself.
In this way, we can consider that people of integrity are also honest. Integrity is typically linked to honesty. As opposed, Honesty is not always linked to integrity As we have seen, it is not always a behavior with positive connotations, and is also much more variable and dependent on the situation if we compare it to integrity.
