Why do People Lie? (Anna Siegel)
During your everyday routine, you exchange many words with people. You talk about your day, about your likes and dislikes, and share secrets and sentiments. When we speak with people, we mostly tend to accept whatever they say as truth. This is partially because we want to, and partially because in that moment, we can't think of a reason for them to be lying. However, the amount of times you lie in even the most mundane of social interactions could shock most people, including maybe yourself. Lying is typically thought of as a very negative thing, but it is as much of a part of a person's social life as many other things. What counts as a lie can be debatable: From a minor exaggeration to "withholding the truth," dishonest behavior comes in many forms. We start our mornings by watching lies on the TV, followed by listening to our friends lie about what they did over the weekend, and responding with many minuscule lies ourselves. Most of us have accepted lies as a part of our everyday lives, but why does it have to be that way?
For starters, there are, of course, the obvious reasons people lie: To keep secrets and avoid stigma, punishment, and damage to our reputations. Still, there are many other smaller reasons people lie. Sometimes, people lie subconsciously. This can either be because the lie is so small that we don't think it will do any damage, or because we have lied so much about this small detail in the past that it has become a habit. If a minuscule lie is kept up for so long, it can become so ingrained in our minds and habits that our subconscious begins to accept it as the truth. Another reason for lying is that some people suffer from a disorder called compulsive lying. This disorder typically begins developing in small children, causing them to lie extremely frequently beyond their control. Though few people suffer from this disorder, many people can lie nearly just as often.
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