Desire to Maintain a Positive Self-Concept

• People sometimes lie to themselves or others out of a need to see themselves positively. 
• People often experience greater positive emotions when exaggerating their intelligence or skill to themselves or others.
• Liars driven by the desire to see themselves positively can forget that their dishonesty contributed to their success. Consequently, they may make misguided bets about their future performance. 

When a desire for material gain motivates lying, the consequences are likely to be negative. 
One factor that prevents people from lying for personal gain is the need/desire to see oneself as a moral person.