What people lie most often about — and how it ruins mental health

mental health

by tracy swartz

In deception we trust.

People tend to lie to make themselves feel better or to avoid shame or rejection, rather than to protect the feelings of others. New research reveals.

Researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands conducted four experiments to find out whether people who lie experience psychological effects such as lower self-esteem and negative emotions (tension, regret, discomfort, unhappiness). It was conducted.

In one test, participants were tasked with recording their own lying behavior for a day. 22% told a self-centered lie, 8% told a lie to protect others, and 69% reported not telling a lie that day.

The findings were published in the British Journal of Social Psychology last month.

In another experiment, volunteers were presented with one of eight dilemmas. Four were classified as self-oriented and four as “other-oriented.”

Below is an example of a self-centered situation. You're being asked if you have experience in relevant aspects of the job, which you don't. ”

“Other-oriented” situation: “Your friend is very happy with her new dress. You don't like it.”

Almost 42% of participants lied in self-centered situations, while approximately 46% lied when faced with “other-centered” dilemmas.

Both groups of liars reported lower self-esteem and more negative emotions than the truth-tellers.

In another test, volunteers were asked to share dilemmas they had experienced.

“Participants who were asked to recall a situation in which they had lied reported lower self-esteem following the situation compared to participants who were asked to recall a situation in which they had not lied,” the researchers found. are writing.

In the final test, volunteers recorded their lying behavior over five days.

Participants lied 45% of the time, 22% reported lying every day, and 19% claimed not to lie on any day.

Researchers found that those who lied experienced a decrease in self-esteem.