The 8 differences between honesty and integrity

Honesty, understood as telling the truth, and integrity defined as acting correctly according to morality, are terms that can be linked, but that we cannot use as synonyms.

Despite the similarities that both concepts may show, we will say that integrity is a more general that is always related to a positive connotation and that is considered a trait of personality. On the other hand, honesty is defined as a state, depending more on the situation in which the subject lives, being able to show positive or negative connotations.

In this way, integrity or morality can encompass other concepts such as honesty. We will say that a person of integrity is honest, although not all honest subjects will be of integrity.

In this article we will talk about the differences between honesty and integrity and we will see how these two terms are defined, and how are the subjects that show these characteristics.

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What are honesty and integrity?

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 involves acting fairly, acting as we know 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 linked to, and also depends on, the social norms established in the environment in which the subject lives. 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 with respect to other subjects that they simulate, but in reality they are not. Honest subjects strictly respect the truth, the truth comes before even their own interests, preferences or desires. Their way of acting means that they are considered individuals who respect others and themselves, since who do not deceive other subjects and do not deceive themselves either, acting according to their beliefs and thinking.

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 it is possible that with the communication of this they can favor oneself, therefore, they can 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 integral subject carries out the correct practices and actions considered by society and accepts the ethical and moral principles and makes them his own. Likewise, given their characteristics, they are people who act correctly and responsibly, are polite with 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 subject's mental health.

examples

What examples of integrity we can mention: a couple who have been together for years being faithful; To the student who passes the course without ever cheating or a boss who respects and takes into account her workers. We see that they have the peculiarity that they are behaviors that are maintained over time, continuity is valued.

Some examples of honesty They would be: tell the store clerk that he has made a mistake with the change, either because he has charged us more or less; not cheating in an exam and prefer to have the grade we deserve or tell a person how we really feel about them.

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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?

1. behavior that involves

Thus we can differentiate both terms according to the behavior that it implies. Honesty means telling the truth, in this way it is related to verbal behavior. Instead, integrity implies acting, performing an action correctly. It is considered correct, since the behavior is mostly accepted and well 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, being carried out for example in a selfish way, to favor oneself. Instead, integrity always shows positive connotation.

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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 again, therefore, we can consider it more of a state what an individual's own personality trait.

On the contrary, integrity is defined as a personality trait and as such is independent of the situation, the subject will be integrity without the characteristics of the situation influencing.

4. Intention to benefit oneself

Honesty can hide a selfish intention to get one's own benefit. We can observe how the subject, when 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 for 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 or not. We see how in this case proceeding appropriately goes even ahead of oneself.

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5. Relationship with morals

Integrity is much more linked to society and values, beliefs, attitudes... moral elements supported by it. The integrity behavior will respect at all times the morality of society. As we have already pointed out, it is defined as correct conduct, 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 be done for their own reasons without taking into account the assessment Social.

6. What does each concept represent?

The subject express 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 belief of the subject. That is to say, we will consider that a subject is integral according to what her beliefs are, without depending so much on her external expression.

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7. Other words we can use for each term

We believe 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 it is and not what we think. It makes sense that these three terms are shown as synonyms, since as we know being honest means tell the truth (veracity) and communicate what we know to be true without influencing one's 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 of 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 observed differences. The level of honesty of a subject is valued according to whether or not he tells the truth. That is, depending on whether she expresses what she thinks or says what she sees or knows, therefore, we will say that a person is or is not honest. In contrast, 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 with honesty. As opposed, honesty is not always linked with integrity, as we have seen, is not always a behavior with positive connotations, also being much more variable and dependent on the situation if we compare it with integrity.