Lies Are Good For Society - Scientists

 

We preach the value of honesty to our children, and we espouse honesty as one of the most valued goals of society, yet most people lie every day. And now researchers say that lies may be good for us. Let’s puzzle it out together.

One study found that most people lie at least once a day and some as often as two to three times every 10 minutes. We have an ambivalent relationship with lying. We believe it to be morally wrong but have no compunction about lying when it serves our purpose.

But researchers are saying that those little white lies may be good for us. “We use lies to grease the wheels of social discourse. It’s socially useful to tell lies,” University of Massachusetts psychologist Robert Feldman says.

Psychiatrists say we bend and embellish the truth for all sorts of reasons. We lie to protect ourselves and those we love, to seek an advantage at work, to excuse poor behavior, to appear more important, and to pump up our self-esteem.

Experts believe that slightly inflating the truth can have a positive psychological effect and may even create a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Although a few innocent lies maybe OK, don’t let it get out of hand or you may soon find yourself being diagnosed as a sociopath who lives in a fantasy world.