Why People Lie

[Praxeas]

The person, however, who seems to feel compelled to lie about both the small and large stuff has a problem. We often call these folks pathological liars (which is a description, not a diagnosis). They lie to protect themselves, look good, gain financially or socially and avoid punishment.

Quite often the person who has been deceived knows that this type of liar has to a certain extent deluded him or herself and is therefore to be somewhat pitied.A much more troubling group is those who lie a lot — and knowingly — for personal gain.

These people may have a diagnosis called antisocial personality disorder, also known as being a sociopath, and often get into scrapes with the law. Lying often gets worse with the passage of time. When you get away with a lie it often impels you to continue your deceptions. Also, liars often find themselves perpetrating more untruths to cover themselves.

Why do we dislike liars, especially sociopaths, so much? It’s a matter of trust.

Serious deception often makes it impossible for us to trust another person again. Because the issue of trust is on the line, coming clean about the lie as soon as possible is the best way to mend fences.

If the truth only comes out once it is forced, repair of trust is far less likely.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4072816/

[The Mrs]

Interesting....

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by The Mrs

Interesting....

I started thinking about this because of some accusations against a preacher. If true, why?

[Praxeas]

"It's tied in with self-esteem," says University of Massachusetts psychologist Robert Feldman. "We find that as soon as people feel that their self-esteem is threatened, they immediately begin to lie at higher levels."

But bald-faced lies (whether they involve leaving out the truth or putting in something false), are harmful, as they corrode trust and intimacy—the glue of society.

People are so engaged in managing how others perceive them that they are often unable to separate truth from fiction in their own minds, Feldman's research shows.

Men lie no more than women, but they tend to lie to make themselves look better, while women are more likely to lie to make the other person feel better.


Extroverts tend to lie more than introverts, Feldman found in similar research involving a job-interview situation.



http://www.livescience.com/health/060515_why_lie.html

[Praxeas]

Lying is always a form of control. Some people are pathological liars, having learned that they get a rush from manipulating others with lies. But most people lie when they are afraid of the consequences of telling the truth.

http://peopleoffaith.com/why-do-people-lie.htm

[Praxeas]

Id be interested in Rhoni's comments

[Cindy]

Originally Posted by Praxeas

Lying is always a form of control. Some people are pathological liars, having learned that they get a rush from manipulating others with lies. But most people lie when they are afraid of the consequences of telling the truth.

http://peopleoffaith.com/why-do-people-lie.htm

I do not agree with this as much as I did the first one. It is placing blame on another person for the liar. In other words it is giving the liar an out.

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by cneasttx

I do not agree with this as much as I did the first one. It is placing blame on another person for the liar. In other words it is giving the liar an out.

Read it again. It is saying the LIAR does it to get a rush. It's saying that most people that lie (not the sociopaths) do it to escape consequences. I dont see in there anything about blaming it on someone other than the liar

[Cindy]

Originally Posted by Praxeas

Read it again. It is saying the LIAR does it to get a rush. It's saying that most people that lie (not the sociopaths) do it to escape consequences. I dont see in there anything about blaming it on someone other than the liar

I am talking about the couple Prax, the doctor was saying she was trying to control him, so that is why he was lying about the pornography. It gave him an out to some degree.

[Cindy]

I know someone who is a pathological liar.