The research outcome was based on small psychological study (which means the findings may not be reproducible, but they are certainly interesting). For the study, 22 students were required to complete a questionnaire about relatively controversial social or moral issues.
Following this, the students were interviewed by a panel. Before going in front of the panel, New Scientist reports, the students were asked to lie about their opinions on two issues they felt strongly about. Another thing happened before the panel session. Half of the students were instructed to drink 700 milliliters of water, and the other half were asked to drink 50 milliliters. The drinking of the water took place 30 minutes before the panel session started. The intention was so that 50 percent of the students would have fuller bladders, whereas half would not (although they clearly took in some liquid).
The outcome was that the interviewer panel managed to detected lies less often among the students with a full bladder, compared with those who had not drunk very much. Moreover, the students who, by the time the panel took place, needed to urinate showed fewer signs they were lying and they also provided longer and more detailed answers.
The research mirrors a bigger 2011 study that showed people with full bladders are better able to resist short-term impulses; such people also appear to make decisions that led to bigger rewards in the longer term.
The research was carried out at the California State University in Fullerton. The research is published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition. The study is titled “The inhibitory spillover effect: Controlling the bladder makes better liars.”
