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Why Do We Lie?
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Our reasons for lying
Where lying is concerned, we just can't seem to help ourselves.
We lie for two reasons: behavioral conditioning and cognitive evolutionary biology.
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Behavioral conditioning
Lying keeps us hooked because we enjoy the reward. The outcomes are unpredictable.
Lying is reinforced every time we get away with it.
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Cognitive evolutionary biology
Lying is a valuable tool in our survival kit. We can spare someone's feelings or build social standing. Lying can keep us out of trouble or even save our lives.
Practicing d...
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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To lie is human
- Lying is something that most people are very practiced in. We lie in big and small ways, to strangers, co-workers, friends, and loved ones.
- Researchers found that people lie on ave...
Lying increases with maturity
The increase in lying is driven by the development of the ability to see the world from someone else's perspective. We gain an understanding of the beliefs, intentions, and knowledge of others.
The more we lie, the easier it becomes. Among two-year-olds, only 30 percent are untruthful. Among three-year-olds, 50 percent lie. By eight, kids learn to mask their lying by deliberately giving a wrong answer or making their statement seem like a guess.
Why we limit our lies
We like to see ourselves as honest because we have internalized honesty as a value taught to us. We generally place limits on how much we are willing to lie.
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Our Delusions
Most people are misleading themselves all the time. Our biases, our ego and our mental traps have held us captive, unable to endorse or support anything that shakes our cage. We believe we are smar...
Reality Distortion
Most of us have evolved to overestimate our positive qualities, as it feels good. This ‘self-enhancement’ is done with the right intentions but is nothing more than a reality distortion in our minds.
Self-Deceptions
We all form impressions about ourselves, and once those impressions have been formed, they stick. It is as if once they are frozen in our minds, having become a part of us, and we don’t want to lose them, even if they are proven to be false.
Example: A study on high school boys showed that having overconfidence (or self-deception) in one’s abilities (athletic or academic) made them popular, even if they weren't really better in any of those abilities.
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Body Language
While body language cues can offer clues to deceptions, it is often not good enough. More accurate signals are:
- Intentionally leaving out important details.
- If the p...
Ask Them to Tell Their Story in Reverse
The passive process of observing a potential liar's body language and facial expressions to spot lies is limited.
Adopt a more active approach by asking the individual to relate their story in reverse order rather than chronological order.
Trust Your Instincts
People often rely on stereotypical behaviors that are often associated with lying such as fidgeting or shifty eyes. But these signs are simply old wives' tales.
Your first gut reactions might be more accurate than any conscious lie detection you might attempt.