Why do People Accept Lies?

We all have been lied to whether we know it or not. When some people get lied to and they know that they are being lied to they just accept it and move on. But why do people just accept a lie? In my opinion I think there are many different reasons that a person would accept a lie. One reason could be that the lie is not a big enough lie to get worked up about. Some people know when to pick their battles and know that some things aren’t worth fighting over. Another reason could be because we don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. An example of this is when parents lie to their children about the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, etc. and the child knows that it is all a lie. The child continues to go along with the lies because his/her’s parents think that the child still believes and the child doesn’t want to ruin the holiday spirit for his/her’s parents. Another example of why people accept lies is because they are afraid of ruining the relationship they have with the person lying. Some people also accept lies because they want to see if the truth will eventually come out. People accept lies because some live by the motto “forgive and forget”. Being lied to will happen no matter what and some people just move on from it.

Why People Lie

Humans lie all the time. Most lie daily, some lie hourly and there are a select few that lie every time they open their mouth. But what exactly is a lie? A lie is a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive. People lie for many reasons. People want to fit in, they are afraid of being judged, they want to change the subject, they don't want to hurt someone’s feelings, or they do it to get out of trouble. When someone lies it's not necessarily with bad intentions. Some people do it for the good of someone else. People lie more to strangers than they do coworkers, extroverts lie more than introverts, men lie more about themselves than others, and women lie to save someone's feelings. There are three types of lies and deception: the butler, the sock puppet, and the Chinese water army. The butler is used to save the relationship between two people. To preserve one’s identity the type of lie that is used is the sock puppet. And the Chinese water dragon is used by companies to give themselves good reviews and positive feedback. People lie abundantly for many reasons. Sometimes it's for good reasons sometimes for bad reasons, but the kind of lie that's told usually depends on the situation the person is in.

The website below is where I got the definition of “lie”. And my information was found in two Tedtalks “The Future of Lying” presented by Jeff Hancock and “How to Spot a Liar” presented by Pamela Meyer.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lie?s=t