Why do people lie?

Lying, deception and more broadly unethical behavior are part of human behavior. People often engage in such behavior unaware of societal consequences.

“People lie to gain access to tangible or intangible benefits and once they manage to get the opportunity, it acts as a positive reinforcement strengthening their beliefs about the act of lying or deceit. Liars are apt to try deceit at the workplace too by taking credit for work they are not entitled to and use unfair means to climb up the professional ladder.

Psychologists say that people with low self-esteem and trust deficits are prone to lie as they try to fill the gap between the “real self” and the “ideal self”.

People with personality disorders could lie in order to manipulate and deceive others without much hesitation as the act of lying gives them a sense of control and power. They do not require specific reason to lie.

Deception has been defined as a social behaviour in which an individual attempts to persuade another to accept as true what the deceiver believes to be untrue. “Deception is the part of natural world”. Organisms deceive one another because evolution made them that way.

“Human beings are part of this picture. We, too, are part of this big picture and this helps us to become more successful. Humans learn how to lie”.

Human beings have taken deception to new levels by their power of thinking. The sense of morality in humans is also important in the context of deception. When forced to react quickly to a situation, people’s tendency to lie is more: when they have time to think it over they lie less.

Ref: Mint-Tuesday, December, 17, 2013, Delhi