Blog 3: Free Topic

Why people lie?

I like a lot the psychology, so i was reading a book called “The lucifer effect”  that talks about why the people acts in an evil way, and mechanisms behind this, so I asked to myself why people lies?, and what motivates them to lie. So here are my reflections and research about this theme.

We start defining what is a lie, the dictionary defines it as “ something  that you say or write that is not true and you know is not true”, therefore we understand that the lies are voluntaries, conversely a person who doesn’t  that he is missing the truth, is not a lie but is a mistake.

There are many reasons why people lie, for example to get along with others, to avoid punishment, some lies serve only to cover other lies, to get something or to take revenge on other people. These are all motives that move us to build lies.

 

Let's take a closer look at each of these reasons:

 

*Lies to look good: they are those that we use to be socially accepted. When our self-esteem is deficient and we believe that we will not be socially accepted, we tend to lie to create in the other a different image of ourselves through lies. For example, when someone is ashamed of their job, they will lie and say they have a higher-ranking job than the one they hold.

   * Lies to avoid punishment: our nature pushes us to avoid punishments, therefore lying allows us to get rid of them. For example, when a child breaks a lamp while playing, he may lie to his parents and tell them that he fell alone or simply that he did not go.

    *Lies to cover more lies: when a person lies many times, he will need to cover it with another lie. This requires a double effort; on the one hand you must remember your lie and create another that is consistent with the first. For example, if a person has lied in a job interview regarding their level of English, and this is lower than what they said in the interview, possibly in meetings that take place in that language, they have to invent a lie such as this. sick or who had an unforeseen not to go to them.

    *Lies to get something or instrumental lies: Sometimes people lie as a way to get something from another person, appealing to their feelings, whether it is the guilt or the pain of the other. That is, it uses manipulation. For example, a person can lie playing the role of victim to mobilize in the other person the feeling of goodness and thus achieve their goals.

    *Lies for revenge: some lies are at the service of revenge. There are people who believe lies about others to undermine their credibility and reputation as a form of revenge.

    White lies: These lies are intended not to harm others or hurt their self-esteem.

Lying has a lot of consequences as example: Lying generates a lot of anxiety, isolation, Negative personal image and tendency of keep lying.

 

Even though all lies seem reprehensible, all people lie, either through white lies to avoid suffering others or lying for personal gain even if this may cause harm to other people.

 In any case, there are many reasons why we lie, to look good, to avoid punishment, to hide another lie, to get something from others, for revenge or piously.

 When we lie in a systematic way, we are less sensitive to our regrets until they disappear, but there are other consequences of a social nature that are also present when the lies appear. Feeling anxious and the tendency to isolation are a gift suffered by the person who lies, but social rejection can also appear when their lies are discovered.