Deliberate honesty

•Honesty is considered automatic, lies deliberative.•Reduced self-control increases self-serving dishonesty.•We proposed that in tempting settings, honesty requires deliberation.

Studies on lying, especially on inhibiting honest responses and generating dishonest responses, suggest that honesty is the default behavior and dishonesty requires deliberate effort. Here, we argue that when lying serves self-interest, that is, when lying is tempting and lies are easy to craft, honesty may require deliberation. We review studies that support this view showing that in tempting situations decreasing the level of self-control increased dishonesty, while encouraging contemplation and reflection increased honesty.