--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Locks won’t protect you from the thieves…" description: "\"“Locks won’t protect you from the thieves, who can get in your house if they really want to. They will only protect you from the mostly honest people w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/dan-ariely-1899_door_locks-won-t-protect-you-from-the-thieves_368202.png" --- # Locks won’t protect you from the thieves, who can get in… ![“Locks won’t protect you from the thieves, who can get in your house if they really want to. They will only protect you from the mostly honest people who might be tempted to try your door if it had no lock.” quote by Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/dan-ariely-1899_door_locks-won-t-protect-you-from-the-thieves_368202.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/dan-ariely-1899_door_locks-won-t-protect-you-from-the-thieves_368202.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/dan-ariely-1899_door_locks-won-t-protect-you-from-the-thieves_368202.png) > ““Locks won’t protect you from the thieves, who can get in your house if they really want to. They will only protect you from the mostly honest people who might be tempted to try your door if it had no lock.”” [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Locks give a false sense of security; people may act honestly when no barrier exists, but barriers can also deter honest behavior. **In simple terms:** Security can change behavior, sometimes encouraging honesty. Key Takeaway Consider how security measures affect trust and behavior. Themes trust security human behavior Mood thoughtful critical Type explanatory philosophical When to use this quote - home security - online passwords - organizational policy Key Concepts Psychology behavioral economics trust dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Do locks make us more honest or just complacent? - How can we design security that encourages integrity? A Different Perspective Overreliance on locks may erode trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Honest people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-people/) ## Related quotes > [One percent of people will always be honest and never steal," the locksmith said. "Another one percent will always be dishonest and always try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/one-percent-of-people-will-always-be-honest-and-never-steal-the/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [If someone wants to walk out of your life you're better off holding the door for them so you can lock it behind them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony/if-someone-wants-to-walk-out-of-your-life-you-re-better-off-holding/) Tony > [Salvation happens every time someone with a key uses it to open a door he could lock instead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/salvation-happens-every-time-someone-with-a-key-uses-it-to-open-a/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [Life's simple rules; If you are at peace with who you are and where you are protect it with all your being. Be honest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammi-post/life-s-simple-rules-if-you-are-at-peace-with-who-you-are-and-where/) [Tammi Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammi-post/) > [that when given the opportunity, many honest people will cheat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/that-when-given-the-opportunity-many-honest-people-will-cheat/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“Just as creativity enables us to envision novel solutions to tough problems, it can also enable us to develop original paths around rules, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/just-as-creativity-enables-us-to-envision-novel-solutions-to-tough/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [I've discovered that I love to be honest with people, that's it's brutal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevinterribly/i-ve-discovered-that-i-love-to-be-honest-with-people-that-s-it-s/) KevinTerribly > [How desperately difficult it is to be honest with oneself. It is much easier to be honest with other people.What is true is invisible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/how-desperately-difficult-it-is-to-be-honest-with-oneself-it-is-much/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“Every day, on the roads of Delhi, some chauffeur is driving an empty car with a black suitcase sitting on the backseat. Inside that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/every-day-on-the-roads-of-delhi-some-chauffeur-is-driving-an-empty/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [I'd wish the government took honest people into consideration, it shows enough consideration for scoundrels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/i-d-wish-the-government-took-honest-people-into-consideration-it/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [“Only honest people take you at your word. Liars and thieves expect the same in return. Unfortunately for him, I didn’t have a problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-augustine/only-honest-people-take-you-at-your-word-liars-and-thieves-expect-the/) [Donna Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-augustine/) > [“You have to be yourself. Be very honest about who and what you are. And if people still like or love you, that's great.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sting/you-have-to-be-yourself-be-very-honest-about-who-and-what-you-are-and/) [Sting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sting/) > [“Plato argued that good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will always find a way around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/plato-argued-that-good-people-do-not-need-laws-to-tell-them-to-act/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [I think that, you know, this is a different year than most years. We've got to tell the American people that we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-buck/i-think-that-you-know-this-is-a-different-year-than-most-years-we-ve/) [Ken Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-buck/) > [Honest people don't hide their deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/honest-people-don-t-hide-their-deeds/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) ## More by Dan Ariely > [If you think of people as making decisions actively, every time we think about the cup of coffee, we say, "How much will I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-think-of-people-as-making-decisions-actively-every-time-we/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [ “\[..\] we human beings are ready and willing to steal something that does not explicitly reference monetary value - that is, something that lacks… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/we-human-beings-are-ready-and-willing-to-steal-something-that-does/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/it-is-true-that-from-a-behavioral-economics-perspective-we-are/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“Contrafreeloading,” a term coined by the animal psychologist Glen Jensen, refers to the finding that many animals prefer to earn food rather than simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/contrafreeloading-a-term-coined-by-the-animal-psychologist-glen/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [One of the big lessons from behavioral economics is that we make decisions as a function of the environment that we're in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/one-of-the-big-lessons-from-behavioral-economics-is-that-we-make/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Not all debt is bad. From time to time we should get into debt when there's a good reason for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/not-all-debt-is-bad-from-time-to-time-we-should-get-into-debt-when/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“This result suggests that cheating is not driven by concerns about standing out. Rather, it shows that our sense of our own morality is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/this-result-suggests-that-cheating-is-not-driven-by-concerns-about/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“ONE OF THE main differences between standard and behavioral economics involves this concept of “free lunches.” According to the assumptions of standard economics, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/one-of-the-main-differences-between-standard-and-behavioral-economics/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Money is all about opportunity cost. Every time you spend on something, that's something you can't spend on something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/money-is-all-about-opportunity-cost-every-time-you-spend-on-something/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [The people that lend you money basically give you an answer based on the risk that they are willing to take. But just because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/the-people-that-lend-you-money-basically-give-you-an-answer-based-on/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“Upton Sinclair once noted, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/upton-sinclair-once-noted-it-is-difficult-to-get-a-man-to-understand/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [If you get people to feel that they are putting something, that they are creating it and so on, their love for the project…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-get-people-to-feel-that-they-are-putting-something-that-they/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [If I gave you now, $10 as a gift, how happy would you be? Would you be happy, is the marginal $10, the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-i-gave-you-now-10-as-a-gift-how-happy-would-you-be-would-you-be/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Imagine you have six loans, small to huge. People want to close loans and because of that, they try to pay off the small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/imagine-you-have-six-loans-small-to-huge-people-want-to-close-loans/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“he started by selling his Porsche Boxster and buying a Toyota Prius in its place.4 “I don’t want to live the life of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/he-started-by-selling-his-porsche-boxster-and-buying-a-toyota-prius/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) [Explore all 198 Dan Ariely quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) ## More Door quotes > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When one door closes another doesn't just open, you can either open the same door or open a different one...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-one-door-closes-another-doesn-t-just-open-you-can-either-open/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [We can't love a place or a person if we always have one foot out the door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/we-can-t-love-a-place-or-a-person-if-we-always-have-one-foot-out-the/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [Kindness unlocks doors that were thought to be closed forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/kindness-unlocks-doors-that-were-thought-to-be-closed-forever/) Unkown > [Dear parents,knocking while open the door to my bedroom kind of defeats the purpose of knocking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-parents-knocking-while-open-the-door-to-my-bedroom-kind-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [I won't be managing the Mets. I am closing the door on managing the Mets and probably everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-torre/i-won-t-be-managing-the-mets-i-am-closing-the-door-on-managing-the/) [Joe Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-torre/) > [If opportunity doesnt knock, build a door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-opportunity-doesnt-knock-build-a-door/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Couples Therapy' is pretty big for me because it's opening the door to a new audience - a hip-hop following, which I feel is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-carrera/couples-therapy-is-pretty-big-for-me-because-it-s-opening-the-door-to/) [Carmen Carrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-carrera/) > [“Happiness isn't something that you plan for. It comes knocking unexpectedly, just like opportunity. And it's up to you to answer the door and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autumn-doughton/happiness-isn-t-something-that-you-plan-for-it-comes-knocking/) [Autumn Doughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/autumn-doughton/) > [Nothing attracts me like a closed door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bourke-white/nothing-attracts-me-like-a-closed-door/) [Margaret Bourke-White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-bourke-white/) > [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Hayley Haslett raised her hand and tapped on the door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rose/hayley-haslett-raised-her-hand-and-tapped-on-the-door/) [Carol Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rose/) > [I think you've still got to try to be good, day-to-day. You see a granny, you hold the door open for her. You just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sami-zayn/i-think-you-ve-still-got-to-try-to-be-good-day-to-day-you-see-a/) [Sami Zayn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sami-zayn/) Browse all 3,104 Door quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Locks won’t protect you from the thieves, who can get in your house if they really want to. They will only protect you from the mostly honest people who might be tempted to try your door if it had no lock.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Ariely" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/locks-won-t-protect-you-from-the-thieves-who-can-get-in-your-house-if/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Door" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/locks-won-t-protect-you-from-the-thieves-who-can-get-in-your-house-if/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/dan-ariely-1899_door_locks-won-t-protect-you-from-the-thieves_368202.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/dan-ariely-1899_door_locks-won-t-protect-you-from-the-thieves_368202.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/dan-ariely-1899_door_locks-won-t-protect-you-from-the-thieves_368202.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Locks won’t protect you from the thieves, who can get in your house if they really want to. They will only…” — Dan Ariely", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dan Ariely", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Locks won’t protect you from the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/locks-won-t-protect-you-from-the-thieves-who-can-get-in-your-house-if/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/locks-won-t-protect-you-from-the-thieves-who-can-get-in-your-house-if/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```