Recent events in my life have caused me to question a basic human flaw, and that flaw is lying. I decided to try to better understand exactly why people engage in deceit and that is why I have written this article. I did a bit of amateur research and the reasons behind lying seem to boil down to only 2 things. These two things are inborn instincts within each and every one of us, after all every single one of us has been dishonest at some point in our lives.

The first reason people lie is to avoid trouble. Think back to when you were a child. Think back to when you stole some change from your mother's purse. If you were anything like me you were caught very quickly. When confronted by your mother, did you "fib" about taking the money? I know I did and I know that a lot of others did as well. Why did I do that? I did it because I had hoped to avoid trouble. I thought (mistakenly) that if I could avoid admitting guilt I would escape punishment, I was very wrong. It's not just children that lie to avoid trouble, adults do as well and they do so for the same reasons as the child in my example. Let's talk about a more recent example of lying for the purposes of self-preservation; Enron. In the case of Enron there was not just one, but several adults engaged in wholesale fraud and fabrications to cover up the dire condition of the corporation. They did this to avoid trouble.

The second reason people lie is to gain some sort of advantage. We can again take an example from childhood. When your parents gave you a few cookies for dessert you ate them. You then probably asked for another one telling your mother that you'd had one less than you actually had. Why did you do that? Obviously you were dishonest because you wanted another cookie. You attempted to use a falsehood to gain a small advantage. This is a trivial but accurate example. As adults this type of deception is just as prevalent as when we were children. Adults "fudge" on time cards so that they are paid for more hours than they actually worked, they lie to get a better deal on a new car and in any situation where a perceived advantage can be had by not telling the truth.