Details

Parent Category: Advanced News Lessons

Category: Culture Lessons

Written by Chris Cotter

Believe it or not: The average ten minute conversation between two acquaintances will result in several lies per person. It's science not cynicism that provides such a statement. And the fact that everyone lies every day points to the conclusion that untruths are an indivisible part of human nature.

From a very young age, we're told not to lie, but we're also simultaneously lied to about Santa Claus, or about the pet dog's death. We're similarly told to lie in order to avoid hurting another's feelings. All these conflicting messages make it easier to be deceptive later in life.

We lie to ourselves all the time to make problems, fears, and failures seem less daunting. A New Year's resolution, which we'll likely drop by March, can be considered a lie, too. After all, we have little intention of sticking to the promise. Or you'll likely give a positive answer the next time a friend or coworker asks, "How are you?" To do otherwise would be to flaunt social conventions, because your friend or coworker doesn't necessarily want to hear that you're tired, overworked, underpaid, or have problems at home -- at least not at what should just be a passing pleasantry.

Psychologist Paul Ekman offers a number of basic reasons for lying. We lie to escape punishment, to elude uncomfortable social situations, to give ourselves an ego boost, to receive a reward, to protect someone, or to control the flow of information. A large exaggeration, a fib, and everything in between, falls into one of these categories.

Despite the fact that lying is ingrained in our psyche, we can only catch a lie about fifty percent of the time. It's almost as if we don't want to know that another person isn't being honest. Lies, some experts argue, are the glue which holds society together.