Why We Lie: The Science Behind Our Deceptive Ways

Interesting story about lying...we all do it.

Have not read that Issue yet.

Originally Posted by Guest

Have not read that Issue yet.

Highlights...

"Lying, it turns out, is something that most of us are very adept at. We lie with ease, in ways big and small, to strangers, co-workers, friends, and loved ones. Our capacity for dishonesty is as fundamental to us as our need to trust others, which ironically makes us terrible at detecting lies. Being deceitful is woven into our very fabric, so much so that it would be truthful to say that to lie is human."

"The researchers found that the subjects lied on average one or two times a day. Most of these untruths were innocuous, intended to hide one’s inadequacies or to protect the feelings of others."

"That human beings should universally possess a talent for deceiving one another shouldn’t surprise us. Researchers speculate that lying as a behavior arose not long after the emergence of language."

"As lying has come to be recognized as a deeply ingrained human trait, social science researchers and neuroscientists have sought to illuminate the nature and roots of the behavior. How and when do we learn to lie? What are the psychological and neurobiological underpinnings of dishonesty? Where do most of us draw the line? Researchers are learning that we’re prone to believe some lies even when they’re unambiguously contradicted by clear evidence. These insights suggest that our proclivity for deceiving others, and our vulnerability to being deceived, are especially consequential in the age of social media. Our ability as a society to separate truth from lies is under unprecedented threat."

"These lies that my friend and I told were nothing out of the ordinary for kids our age. Like learning to walk and talk, lying is something of a developmental milestone. While parents often find their children’s lies troubling—for they signal the beginning of a loss of innocence—Kang Lee, a psychologist at the University of Toronto, sees the emergence of the behavior in toddlers as a reassuring sign that their cognitive growth is on track."

"What drives this increase in lying sophistication is the development of a child’s ability to put himself or herself in someone else’s shoes. Known as theory of mind, this is the facility we acquire for understanding the beliefs, intentions, and knowledge of others. Also fundamental to lying is the brain’s executive function: the abilities required for planning, attention, and self-control. The two-year-olds who lied in Lee’s experiments performed better on tests of theory of mind and executive function than those who didn’t. Even at 16, kids who were proficient liars outperformed poor liars. On the other hand, kids on the autism spectrum—known to be delayed in developing a robust theory of mind—are not very good at lying."

That's just the from the first half...

Originally Posted by Guest

Highlights...

"Lying, it turns out, is something that most of us are very adept at. We lie with ease, in ways big and small, to strangers, co-workers, friends, and loved ones. Our capacity for dishonesty is as fundamental to us as our need to trust others, which ironically makes us terrible at detecting lies. Being deceitful is woven into our very fabric, so much so that it would be truthful to say that to lie is human."

"The researchers found that the subjects lied on average one or two times a day. Most of these untruths were innocuous, intended to hide one’s inadequacies or to protect the feelings of others."

"That human beings should universally possess a talent for deceiving one another shouldn’t surprise us. Researchers speculate that lying as a behavior arose not long after the emergence of language."

"As lying has come to be recognized as a deeply ingrained human trait, social science researchers and neuroscientists have sought to illuminate the nature and roots of the behavior. How and when do we learn to lie? What are the psychological and neurobiological underpinnings of dishonesty? Where do most of us draw the line? Researchers are learning that we’re prone to believe some lies even when they’re unambiguously contradicted by clear evidence. These insights suggest that our proclivity for deceiving others, and our vulnerability to being deceived, are especially consequential in the age of social media. Our ability as a society to separate truth from lies is under unprecedented threat."

"These lies that my friend and I told were nothing out of the ordinary for kids our age. Like learning to walk and talk, lying is something of a developmental milestone. While parents often find their children’s lies troubling—for they signal the beginning of a loss of innocence—Kang Lee, a psychologist at the University of Toronto, sees the emergence of the behavior in toddlers as a reassuring sign that their cognitive growth is on track."

"What drives this increase in lying sophistication is the development of a child’s ability to put himself or herself in someone else’s shoes. Known as theory of mind, this is the facility we acquire for understanding the beliefs, intentions, and knowledge of others. Also fundamental to lying is the brain’s executive function: the abilities required for planning, attention, and self-control. The two-year-olds who lied in Lee’s experiments performed better on tests of theory of mind and executive function than those who didn’t. Even at 16, kids who were proficient liars outperformed poor liars. On the other hand, kids on the autism spectrum—known to be delayed in developing a robust theory of mind—are not very good at lying."

That's just the from the first half...

Thanks for posting those quotes Don Baldwin.

Originally Posted by Guest

Why We Lie: The Science Behind Our Deceptive Ways

Interesting story about lying...we all do it.

Good article. Thanks for sharing. I agree that we all lie at one point or another in our lIves. Unfortunately, it's part of what makes us the imperfect beings that we are. Instead of judging someone for lying, I find myself intrigued as to why the person is doing so, because to me that says more about the person than the actual act of lying. Then there's the question in some instances, does the person even know they are lying? This article explains a lot of that in more detail.

Originally Posted by Guest

Good article. Thanks for sharing. I agree that we all lie at one point or another in our lIves. Unfortunately, it's part of what makes us the imperfect beings that we are. Instead of judging someone for lying, I find myself intrigued as to why the person is doing so, because to me that says more about the person than the actual act of lying. Then there's the question in some instances, does the person even know they are lying? This article explains a lot of that in more detail.

It's funny...the chart shows 80% of lies are for selfish reasons...for me personally it's closer to 80% for others benefit, the white lies, lies to make the other person feel better...or not get hurt...altruistic.

Originally Posted by Guest

It's funny...the chart shows 80% of lies are for selfish reasons...for me personally it's closer to 80% for others benefit, the white lies, lies to make the other person feel better...or not get hurt...altruistic.

I took the quiz on the left hand side of the article and that's pretty much how it came out for me too - generally to protect another person. Although I will admit to a few blunders in my long ago past where I did so to keep myself from looking bad - fortunately, not related to any serious situations and not where it hurt another person. But looking at that chart does make one wonder.