Abstract:
We hear between 10 and 200 lies daily depending on the number of people we closely interact with.
As children grow older and go to school and later university, they often do not know that cheating and plagiarism are actually dishonest behaviours.
Men lie eight times more about themselves than they do about other people.
Women lie more to protect other people and married individuals lie on average once for every 10 comments.
Deception, lies, and cheating all represent dishonest behaviour detested by society. Humans lie with their conscious mind while trying to also cover it up consciously, but our subconscious betrays us by displaying more honesty than we desire. By watching for another person’s subconscious clues, the careful observer may uncover dishonest behaviour in his or her homes or workplaces.Laurence Fiddick and colleagues’ research in 2016 taught us that cheaters are not reckless people at all, but rather intentional deceivers.
Last week, Business Talk explored dishonesty in workplaces and how supervisors could clamp down on the practice. This week, we explore the psychology and demography of lying.
Science knows quite a lot about the mental physiology and demographics of dishonesty. Lying proves a complex psychological construct since we both hate it as well as use it ourselves. In humans, we know that the younger the person, the greater the likelihood that they lie. Pamela Meyer’s research delineates how babies cry, then stop and look to see who else is listening or coming towards them, then continue crying. By five years old, the human brain develops outright lies to other people through flattery. Nine-year-olds can even cover-up actions.
