Abstract

Posted: January 4th, 2023

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Abstract

Lying is common in the community and is responsible for various challenges in social relations, working atmosphere, and governance issues, among others. People develop into liars in any stage of growth, and dishonesty does not need to start from the initial stages of growth. The study illustrates how a child who grows in an environment where the conditions are severe or not favorable may develop into liars more quickly compared to children in situations that present little threat. Furthermore, the study elaborates on how a lack of knowledge may lead someone into lying the same to inappropriate social influence where a person lies because others give false information. According to psychological studies, the extent of dishonesty increases gradually when an individual is exposed to lying. The studies elaborate that after the first lie, individuals are more prone to lying as psychological barriers diminish, and lies seem to be increasingly necessary. The paper analyzes how people develop into liars and the possible ways of protecting society from lies. It shows that it is possible to prevent someone from becoming a liar by transmitting and acquiring relevant knowledge, observing ethics, engaging behavior analysts, and building trust.

An Analysis of Lying

Introduction

Lying has significant effects on our personal lives, public relations, and institutions. The social world is highly characterized by dishonesty acts that influence a range of social activities, ranging from finance, politics, mass communication, and personal relationships. According to psychological studies, the degree of a person being dishonest increases gradually after an individual lies for the first time. The studies elaborate that after the first lie, individuals are more prone to lying as psychological barriers diminish, and lies seem to be increasingly necessary. Consequently, the capability to make sound judgment can get worse, and the liar’s perception of the chances of being caught may decline. These studies report that the amygdala, part of the brain that regulates emotions, adapts to continuous lies, allowing individuals to be more dishonest without feeling bad about it. The processes through which people develop into liars and reasonable practices to protect individuals from being deceived are analyzed in this paper.

Processes by Which People Develop into Liars

Language is central to the development of lying because it occurs in the context of communication among individuals. Language is an essential tool for enhancing deception and may be a cause for deceit and violence that Bok (71) terms as the two features of deliberate assault on people. Bok (74) informs that deceit can push people to act beyond their desire and will and that when harm occur to victims it does so mostly through deceit. It is fundamentally based on the trust between people in society through communication that initiates the approach of lying as the most advantageous strategy to strengthen relations. The differences in language-related cognitive capacities, emotional makeup, and social status have implications on an individual’s ability to be dishonest (Dol 22). Lying is more of controlling one’s emotions since an individual has to prevent their face and body from betraying their intentions.

It is surprisingly accurate that lying may start at a very early stage in a child’s life. The behavior develops gradually into adulthood since most human behaviors are reinforced by initial and direct exposure to the vice. However, people develop into liars in any stage of their life, and dishonesty does not necessarily start from the initial stages of growth. Beginning to tell lies at an early stage in life gradually develops into full-fledged liars (Dol 26). The development of individuals in saying and doing dishonest deeds is influenced by different processes, as discussed.

Life exposes us to different situations which require us to make critical choices. People develop into liars by choice. Various circumstances in society are responsible for the decision of individuals, to tell the truth, or not. Dol (27) informs that a person’s capacity to lie and get away with the misleading information largely depends on their social status. To this extent, deliberate assaults on human beings through deceit and violent deeds can coerce individuals to act against their will in telling the truth. Individuals develop into liars because of the different consequences that they may have to face if they tell the truth. For instance, in criminal investigations, lack of trust between the public and the police triggers people to tell lies to avoid being implicated. Lying is associated with the parties’ choices to either withhold or reveal vital information or actions whose truth is only determined by the respective parties. In this capacity, people become liars by choice for self-defense and avoidance of punishments; the punishments could be against acts that they may have either committed or not.

Besides, the knowledge about issues in society is also a significant determinant of individuals transiting into liars. Lies distort information and the perception of the problems at hand changes ultimately. The community needs to be up-to-date with emerging issues to prevent the possibility of frequent lies. In most cases, people lie to other parties because they do not have adequate knowledge about community issues. However, the moment the society realizes that dishonesty is morally wrong and creates uneasiness, the urge to acquire knowledge will be more robust (Garrett et al. 1728). Based on expertise, people develop into liars by misinforming others to achieve personal objectives at the expense of the truth. The transition into deception is greatly influenced by choices mainly aiming at getting out of a mess, to safeguard one’s reputation, and to prevent hurting other people’s feelings.

Imitation is a common aspect in different settings of human existence. People transit into liars through the adoption of would-be liar’s perspective on which successful events in the community have occurred from dishonest deeds. People may believe that the good things that happen in society are initiated by individuals with little regard for honesty and good faith. They think that they can use the power of lies to enhance societal development with confidence in their ability to explain situations through which significant occurrences compliment their choices to lie. For instance, in the education set up, some students may cheat in exams because they have witnessed their colleagues excel by cheating without being caught. Dol (29) gives an example of a situation where being exposed to lies increases a person’s chance of providing misleading information by illustrating how a person who has never lied is likely to become a liar by intermingling with those who give misleading information. Imitation of lies by other individuals in the community results in the development of people into liars.

How Individuals and Societies Could Be Protected from Being Deceived 

People act in a certain way in the community while already knowing the consequences of their actions. Similarly, the discrepancy of perspectives underpins the ambiguity associated with lying. Usually, people engage in fraudulent activities while knowing the aftermath of their actions. Discrepant attitudes outline the implementation of the golden rule, which strains one’s false actions as the agent and recipient of deception. The golden rule implies that we should base our activities aimed at other people, considering our expectations of how they should treat us. Different actions can be implemented to protect individuals from dishonest practices.

Acquiring knowledge is the most crucial aspect of preventing deception. Individuals and societies should be exposed to sufficient knowledge about issues to prevent them from being misled by those claiming to know much about diverse issues in the setting, and it is essential to gain cognitive awareness because the brain plays fundamental roles in influencing someone into lying or telling the truth (Garrett et al. 1729). Educating the community about appropriate ways of filtering information content and analyzing whether what they get is true or false is essential in minimizing the spread of lies. For instance, the American Psychological Association outlines that people should be taught about how to examine the behavior of others during conversations as a measure to determine any anomalies.

Besides, ethics play a vital role in shaping standards in society. Ethical considerations in the community should be encouraged in all aspects of performance. People should be encouraged to be honest in their words and actions and maintain their integrity at all times despite the fact that deceit remains a substantial part of the society, influencing areas ranging from politics and personal relationship to economics (Garrett et al.). This approach is essential because it discourages deceptive acts in society. Cultural ethics in the community should design contingencies that support good behavior that discourages common vices such as lying. The absence of a specific design would encourage individuals to continue with selfish practices in the community; this would jeopardize the community’s well-being and other members.

The discipline of deception has expressed the significant need to be monitored closely in psychology. The rise of many behavior analysts in society is vital in containing the vice of deceit. Behavior analysts are specialized in the prevention of lies through studying the behavior of people in the community. They have learned interventions that target to maximize the correspondence between what one says and does, and similarly, between what they did and what they say they did. Incorporating the specialists may help to address the different effects that comer with lying because Dol (31) informs that lying affects people differently. This body of research explains the possibility of how people can accurately describe one’s behavior if accurate descriptions are reinforced. People in the community can be protected from deception, as the presence of behavior analysts discourages the development of liars with the fear of being caught.

Lastly, trust is significant in the prevention of lies. Bok (77) writes that some level of trust must exist while communicating with each other to avoid deceptive practices and to relay truthful information. However, it is difficult to gain one’s confidence once it is determined that lying has made inroads among relations. Achieving trust makes one vulnerable to lies, while at the same time can be useful in the prevention of the lies. Having trust among society members will encourage honesty and transparency in their actions and communication. It is the reason why Bok (78) argues that it is the reason why some measure of truth has always been perceived as an imperative to human society. For example, to enforce the law and maintain order in society, the police need to secure the trust of the general public in their officers. Despite the dilemma, trust between parties can be used as a measure to prevent individuals and society from deception.

Conclusion

Lying is common in the community and is responsible for various challenges in social relations, working atmosphere, and governance issues. People may develop this habit at any time of their lives, and this social evil has nothing to do with age. Once an individual opens the account of lying, they tend to practice it more, as the psychological barrier that was there initially is breached. People develop into liars by choice and imitate other people’s actions, aiming at their gain or protecting others from harm. Different measures to protect society from deception are outlined in the paper. Besides ethical considerations, acquisition of knowledge, presence of behavior analysts, and enhancing trust among parties inhibit dishonesty.

Works Cited

Bok, Sisela. II. Truthfulness, Deceit, and Trust. Lying: Moral Choice in Private and Public Life. Vintage Books, 1978.

Dol, Daniel. “The Darker Side of Imagination.” The Instruction of Imagination: Language as a Communication Technology. Oxford University Press, 2015.

Garrett, Neil et al. “The Brain Adapts To Dishonesty.” Nature Neuroscience, vol. 19, 2016, pp. 1727-1732.