Psychology Behind Lies

Each one of us has, at some point in our lives, lied to somebody about something. We, at that time, rationalized it and justified it to ourselves to put our conscience at ease, and then banished the uncomfortable feeling still persisting, to the back of our minds. What is it in our nature that encourages such marvelous self-deception? It is believed that the circumstances prevailing at that moment compel people to lie. In most cases, people lie to protect their personal interests. However, there are people who lie to deceive others, while some others are just addicted to lying. There are many who lie to avoid criticism from others. Studies have shown that 12% of adults admit that they lie sometimes. Age, it seems, does impart wisdom to people. Some studies, which included only teenagers for evaluating percentage of lying/dishonesty, revealed that 50% lied about issues related to money, and 83% lied to their parents.

Why do People Lie in Relationships? The reasons behind the lies people tell each other in relationships are so many, and so varied, that if one were to recount each of them, it would make a huge tome. Underpinning the motives for lying in a relationship is the fact that people do it when they cheat; they have fallen out of love but do not have the courage to say so; they are not comfortable revealing the truth about themselves or some aspect of their lives; they do not want a showdown over some issue where speaking their mind would only result in their partner getting angry or upset. A person may hide his/her expenditure, in order to prevent incurring the wrath of his/her partner. There are other, subtler motives for lying. People are sometimes apprehensive about revealing some facts related to their past, or about themselves, which they feel would result in their partner exiting the relationship. For example, a person might lie about a previous relationship, stating that it was they, and not their erstwhile partner, who had walked out of