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What is it that makes us lie?
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Almost every person lies. And they do it almost every day. Some lie to gain an advantage, others lie "for the good", and others for some other reason. But what really drives us at this moment?
The results of research by scientists from the University of Amsterdam and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, published in the journal Association for Psychological Science, shed light on the reasons and circumstances that make people tell lies.
Previous studies in this area have identified the main reason for lying – serving one’s own interests. It has also been noted that a person can easily lie if he finds a justification for his actions.
Psychologist Dr. Shaul Shalvi and his colleagues, who conducted this study, based on previous results, suggested that under pressure of circumstances, for example, when there is a monetary reward at stake and time limits, people become more inclined to lie. When such “pressing” factors are absent, the need to lie disappears by itself.
"According to our theory, first a person takes care of his own self-interest, and only then thinks about all the social aspects of his behavior," the experts say. "When a person has little time to think, he will make every effort to benefit from the situation. When a person has time to think everything over, he will try, if not to avoid lying, then at least to reduce its amount."
70 volunteers were invited to take part in the experiment. They were asked to play dice and write down the points they scored, adding beforehand that those who scored the maximum number would receive a monetary reward.
The participants were divided into two groups, one of which had to record points within 20 seconds, while the other had no time limits. The subjects carried out all these operations without witnesses. And the degree of honesty was assessed by the scientists by comparing the deviations of the average result of both teams.
It turned out that participants under time pressure wrote down numbers that were higher than those written down by the group that had time to think.
However, when comparing the average number of throws and points calculated by the experts, it turned out that the second group also exaggerated their results, although not as blatantly as the first.
The scientists' second experiment, based on the same principle of time constraints, showed identical results: those who had the least time to think cheated more often.
To sum it up, it turns out that a person driven into a corner will lie instinctively, it is inherent in him by nature. Therefore, if you want to achieve maximum honesty, it is better not to pressure him and do not demand an immediate answer.