Why Do People Lie Essay

One day a little schoolboy forgot to do his homework and was scared to tell his teacher the truth. The teacher was taking up the homework and asked the child, “Where is your homework?” Instead of telling his teacher that he did not have the homework completed and accepting responsibility for his actions, the child replied, “My dog ate my homework.” This specific lie is something that has been used as an excuse from school children for years on end to avoid the consequences that come with forgetting to do their homework. Lies have become a dominant part of everyday life in today’s American society, good and bad. This brings up the question, “Why do people lie?” There are many reasons that deception is such a large part of society. People lie …show more content…
A person may not lie in every altercation they have. but statistics show that an average person lies during one of every five confrontations. It is also not easy to detect when one is being lied to. Researchers have found that on a regular day a person can be lied to anywhere from ten to two-hundred times at least. The question remains, “Why do people lie?” In an interview with Robin Roberts, Robert Feldman, someone who has researched the subject of lies and deception for twenty plus years, said “We do it because it’s easy and because we get away with it and because it helps us in life” (Firestone). The human mind often assists in lying by helping the liar believe that by not telling the truth they are protecting someone else or themselves (Firestone). People are able to put their minds at ease when lying by convincing themselves that it is not that bad and that they are not doing anything wrong (Anonymous). It is not uncommon for people to only share information that they deem “safe” to tell and not tell everything; that is still a lie. It is a lie of omission, which at times is the worst kind of lie (Firestone). Lies are wrong even if they are created with the intention of being nice (Anonymous). People lie because they need approval and acceptance from their peers and to cover up their own insecurities; the truth will not always make a person …show more content…
For example, if there is a person who does not like conflict, he or she may tell a lie to fix the problem (Ford 98-99). People will also lie to other people by leaving out less desirable information that might hurt the other person emotionally. Lisa Firestone wrote “Even lies told in the name of protecting others can leave you feeling pretty bad about yourself, because you don’t feel like an authentic, strong individual when you aren’t being honest” (Firestone). The most common reason that lies by omission are told is to prevent unpleasant situations from occurring, even if it causes one to feel guilty (Firestone). People who have a big heart or cannot stand the thought of hurting someone or embarrassing them typically will lie to the other person by leaving out the more displeasing details. This same type of kind hearted person is also going to be more likely to cater to what the person wants to believe to aid in the other person’s self-deception (Ford 95-98). It is always a good thing to consider other people’s feelings, and people will often tell a lie if they think that it will save someone from hurt feelings. Lies, of good intentions included, tend to destroy a person’s trust in the liar (Firestone). Constructive criticism is a good and necessary thing for people to be able to become better citizens. When people with good intentions lie to a person to save them pain, they prevent the