Lying Is Good For You (If I told you lying was good for you, you probably wouldnt believe me. But trust me–Im not lying.) Our default assumption is that people are telling the truth. (And often, we dont actually want to hear the truth. If we hear what we want to hear, we accept it, true or not.) -Feldman So while wed like to say we value honesty, we also value dishonesty.( After all, weve been taught the importance of lying from a very early age. The catch is, we dont call it lying, we call it tact or social grace.) -University of New Englands Smith It takes more work to tell a lie than it does to tell the truth.( You have to not only make up something, but also watch me to make sure Im believing you.) -Maureen OSullivan (psychology professor at the University of San Francisco) But why are we so dishonest so often? Isnt honesty always the best policy? In fact, no. Nobody wants to hear that they look heavier or less attractive. In truth, we consider those who are too honest to be blunt, antisocial and even pathological. A recent study found that adolescents who are most popular with their peers were the ones that were the best at being deceptive. And lying has proven psychological benefits. For instance, theres scientific evidence showing that depressive people are more honest with themselves than nondepressive, or mentally healthy, people. When people recover from their depressions, they become less honest. We lie to avoid awkwardness or punishment. We lie to maintain relationships and please others. And, of course, most of all we lie to please ourselves. Whether were embellishing our credentials or strengthening our stories, we often tell untruths to make ourselves appear and feel better. Simply put, we lie because it works. When we do it well, we get what we want. #WeLieBestWhenWeDontKnowWereLying #WhyWeLie
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 18:59:26 +0000
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