Why Do People Lie?

We live in a world filled with deceptive practices in everything from advertising to relationships. Most people would be shocked at the amount of lies that assault their ears each day! We live in a world where honesty is not always the best policy, while a convincing lie is the normal practice.

First, you might wonder why might a person lie to you or anyone? This is a complicated question. And would take several books to explain the motivations driving the typical lies. For the purposes of this article we will focus on the common if not always obvious reasons' people might lie to you.

People lie to protect their reputation. For example, a young girl who swears to her suspicious boyfriend she would never cheat on him. Or the crooked politician who tells voters he would never take a bribe.

Jealousy/Image Booster. An office gossip spreads malicious lies about other co-workers because of jealousy or envy rooted in their own lack of self worth. The lies serve to boost the perpetrator's self image while destroying the victim.

Confrontations. When confronted by the co-workers the office gossip vehemently denies spreading the vicious rumors. The cowardly gossiper chooses to hide behind the shield of more lies to avoid a confrontation.

Avoid hurting another's feelings. We've all heard the joke, the husband is approached by his wife who is wearing a skin tight dress, she ask, "Does this dress make me look fat?" The husband fearing hurting his wife's feelings responds with, "No dear, you look wonderful."

Conceal a truth that would cause a personal harm. A boss suspects an employee is stealing business secrets and selling them to a rival company. The suspect is confronted by the boss and strongly denies any such behavior. The liar knows full well such deceptions would end his career.

Ego tripping. The golfer or bowler who exaggerates their score. Or the man who exaggerates his sexual conquest. The angler who brags about the monster size trout caught on his last fishing trip are all lies that serve to boost the liars ego without necessarily hurting others.

Rumor control. Rumors spread that a enormous layoff is on the horizon at a large company. The boss is confronted by concerned workers. The boss is instructed by company management to deny rumors to quell employee fears.

Persuasion. A young man insist he is in love with the young woman so he might get exactly what he wants. Or the advertiser who insist his product is the only product on the market that will wash your laundry sparkling clean. In both situations the persuasive subjects objective is to convince you of his honesty.

Avoiding reality. Many people build a fantasy world around them and want you to
share in their fantasy. Or they simply cannot separate fantasy from reality.
For example, the former football player who insist he still plays like he did twenty years ago. Or the woman who lies to her husband about buying designer clothes they can't afford. Both are avoiding an obvious reality with lies.

Pathological liar. Lies are a rewarded behavior learned in early stages of their life or are intrinsic to their nature. They use lies to get what they desire. Pathological liars do not care about the results or consequences of their actions.

Is it any wonder that in this modern day world filled with deception it is often harder to tell the truth than to lie. Would we recognize the dark if there were no light? Would we recognize the truth if there were no lies?

Learn more about this author, Bb Lee.
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