Keeping negative interpersonal secrets can diminish well-being, yet people nevertheless keep negative information secret from friends, family, and loved ones to protect their own reputations. Twelve experiments suggest these reputational concerns are systematically miscalibrated, creating a misplaced barrier to honesty in relationships. In hypothetical scenarios (Experiments 1, S1, and S2), laboratory experiments (Experiments 2 and 6), and field settings (Experiments 3 and 4), those who imagined revealing, or who actually revealed, negative information they were keeping secret expected to be judged significantly more harshly than recipients expected to judge, or actually judged, them. We theorized that revealers' pessimistic expectations stem not only from the cognitive accessibility of negative information (Experiment S3) but also from a perspective gap such that the negative outcomes of disclosing this information, compared to positive outcomes, are more accessible for prospective revealers than for recipients. Consistent with this mechanism, revealers' expectations were better calibrated when directed to focus on positive thoughts or when they considered revealing positive information (Experiments 5, 6, and S4). Revealers' miscalibrated expectations matter because they can guide decisions about whether to reveal information or conceal it as a secret (Experiment S5). As predicted, calibrating revealers' expectations increased their willingness to reveal negative information to others (Experiment 7), suggesting that miscalibrated fears of others' judgment create a misplaced barrier to honesty in relationships. Overestimating the reputational costs of disclosing negative information might leave people carrying a heavier burden of secrecy than would be optimal for their own well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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随它去吧：夸大披露负面信息的声誉成本会如何鼓励人际关系中的保密。

保守负面的人际秘密会降低幸福感，但人们仍然会对朋友、家人和亲人保守负面信息，以保护自己的声誉。十二项实验表明，这些声誉问题被系统性地错误校准，为人际关系中的诚实造成了错误的障碍。在假设场景（实验 1、S1 和 S2）、实验室实验（实验 2 和 6）和现场设置（实验 3 和 4）中，那些想象揭露或实际揭露他们保守秘密的负面信息的人预计会受到的评判比接受者预期评判或实际评判要严厉得多。我们的理论是，揭露者的悲观预期不仅源于负面信息的认知可及性（实验S3），而且还源于视角差距，与正面结果相比，未来的揭露者更容易获得披露该信息的负面结果。收件人。与这种机制一致，当暴露者被引导关注积极的想法或考虑透露积极的信息时，他们的期望得到了更好的校准（实验 5、6 和 S4）。揭露者错误校准的期望很重要，因为他们可以指导决定是揭露信息还是将其隐藏为秘密（实验 S5）。正如预测的那样，校准揭露者的期望会增加他们向他人透露负面信息的意愿（实验7），这表明对他人判断的错误校准恐惧对人际关系中的诚实造成了错误的障碍。高估披露负面信息的声誉成本可能会让人们背负比最适合其自身福祉的更重的保密负担。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2023 APA，保留所有权利）。