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