Purposes and effects of lying

Abstract

This paper reports the results of three exploratory studies aimed at describing the purposes and consequences of lies. Observational modes were: a partly open‐ended questionnaire, content analysis of several tape‐recorded interviews, and a large‐scale survey. Several results appeared in all three studies. Two of three lies are told for selfish reasons, and three of four are told to social or economic superiors. These and other results are interpreted to mean that a dominant reason for lying is to equalize imbalanced interpersonal relations. Furthermore, liars are consistently more satisfied with their lies than with themselves. Therefore, the report concludes that the social proscription against deceit creates personal costs for the liar. As a consequence, lying takes place only when rewards are both large and assured. Many lies are told repeatedly—in identical situations—and so are presumably field‐tested for both costs and benefits.