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We all do it sometimes, even though we know it’s wrong.
But here’s the problem with lying: Research shows that the more you lie, the easier it gets, and themore likely you are to do it again.
“The dangerous thing about lying is people don’t understand how the act changes us,” said Dan Ariely, behavioral psychologist at Duke.
Lying is in the news this week after PresidentTrump's longtime lawyer testified that Trump had directed him to pay hush money to a p*rn star named Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election. The courtroom admission not only implicated Trump in a crime, it also exposed months of denials by Trump and his aides as lies.
Psychologists have documented children lying as early as age 2. Some experts even consider lying a developmental milestone, like crawling and walking, because it requires sophisticated planning, attention and the ability to see a situation from someone else’s perspective to effectively manipulate them.But for most people, lying gets limited as we develop a sense of morality and the ability to self-regulate.
A 2010 study on the prevalence of lying in America found that in a given 24-hour period, most adults reported not telling any lies. Almost half the lies recorded in the study could be attributed to just 5 percent of participants. And most people avoided lying when they could, turning to deception only when the truth was troublesome.
Harvard cognitive neuroscientistJoshua Greene said for most of us, lying takes work. In studies, he presented study subjects with a chance to deceive for monetary gain while examining their brains in a functional MRI machine, which maps blood flow to active parts of the brain.
Some people told the truth instantly and instinctively. But others opted to lie, and theyshowed increased activity in their frontal parietal control network, which is involved in difficult or complex thinking. This suggests that they were deciding between truth and dishonesty — and ultimately opting for the latter.
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For a follow-up analysis, he found that people whose neural reward centers were more active when they won moneywere also more likely to be among the group of liars — suggesting that lying may have to do with the inability to resist temptation.
Scientists don’t really know what prevents all of us from lying all the time.Some believe truth-telling is a social norm we internalize, or a result of conflict in our brains between the things we want and the positive vision of ourselves we strive to maintain.But the curious thing about this preventive mechanism is that it comes from within.
“We are our own judges about our own honesty,” said Ariely, the Duke psychologist. “And that internal judge is what differentiates psychopaths and non-psychopaths.”
External conditions also matter in terms of when and how often we lie.We are more likely to lie, research shows, when we are able to rationalize it, when we are stressed and fatigued, or when we see others being dishonest. And we are less likely to lie when we have moral reminders or when we think others are watching.
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“We as a society need to understand that when we don’t punish lying, we increase the probability it will happen again,” Ariely said.
In a 2016 study in the journal Nature Neuroscience, Ariely and colleagues showed how dishonesty alters people’s brains, making it easier to tell lies in the future. When people uttered a falsehood, the scientists noticed a burst of activity in their amygdala. The amygdala is a crucial part of the brain that produces fear, anxiety and emotional responses — including that sinking, guilty feeling you get when you lie.
But when scientists had their subjects play a game in which they won money by deceiving their partner, they noticed the negative signals from the amygdala began to decrease. Not only that, but when people faced no consequences for dishonesty, their falsehoods tended to get even more sensational.
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“If you give people multiple opportunities to lie for their own benefit,” said Tali Sharot, a cognitive neuroscientist at University College London who led the research, “they start with little lies and get bigger and bigger over time.”
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As an expert in psychology and behavioral science, I bring a deep understanding of the intricate mechanisms underlying human behavior, particularly in the realm of honesty and deception. The article you've shared delves into the complex nature of lying, drawing on research findings and expert insights. Let me elucidate the key concepts and provide additional information to enhance your understanding:
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Lying as a Developmental Milestone:
- The article mentions that some experts view lying as a developmental milestone, akin to crawling and walking. This is because lying requires advanced cognitive abilities such as planning, attention, and the capacity to consider situations from different perspectives.
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Prevalence of Lying in Adults:
- A 2010 study highlighted in the article found that, in a given 24-hour period, most adults reported not telling any lies. However, nearly half of the lies recorded could be attributed to just 5 percent of the participants. This suggests that a small subset of individuals is responsible for a significant portion of dishonesty.
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Neuroscience of Lying:
- Joshua Greene, a Harvard cognitive neuroscientist, conducted studies where participants had the opportunity to deceive for monetary gain. The results showed that some individuals exhibited increased activity in their frontal parietal control network when opting to lie. This network is associated with complex thinking, indicating that lying often involves a cognitive decision-making process.
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Relationship Between Neural Reward Centers and Lying:
- A follow-up analysis revealed that individuals with more active neural reward centers when winning money were more likely to be among the group of liars. This suggests a connection between the inability to resist temptation (reward) and the tendency to lie.
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Internal Judge and Preventive Mechanisms:
- The article highlights the internal judge as a mechanism differentiating psychopaths from non-psychopaths. It suggests that our own judgment about our honesty serves as a preventive mechanism against pervasive lying.
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External Conditions and Lying:
- External conditions play a role in lying behavior. Research indicates that people are more likely to lie when they can rationalize it, when stressed or fatigued, or when witnessing others being dishonest. Conversely, moral reminders and the perception of being observed reduce the likelihood of lying.
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Consequences of Lying on the Brain:
- A 2016 study in Nature Neuroscience, led by Dan Ariely and colleagues, demonstrated that dishonesty alters the brain, making it easier to tell lies in the future. The amygdala, associated with fear and guilt, showed reduced negative signals when individuals faced no consequences for dishonesty.
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Escalation of Dishonesty:
- The article touches upon the phenomenon observed in a study led by Tali Sharot. When individuals faced no consequences for dishonesty, their falsehoods tended to become more sensational over time, emphasizing the potential escalation of dishonest behavior.
In conclusion, the article provides a comprehensive exploration of lying, incorporating psychological, neurological, and societal perspectives. The information shared underscores the multifaceted nature of dishonesty, encompassing individual cognitive processes, neural responses, and external influences.
