Why Do People Believe in Lies: Causes and Remedies

Why Do People Believe in Lies: Causes and Remedies
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Why Do People Believe in Lies: Causes and Remedies
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to identify and assess the factors contributing to people’s faith in lies. The study was based on secondary research synthesized with general observations. The inquiry relies on the insights gleaned from peer-reviewed journals and articles dealing with the given subject matter. The findings reveal that crucial factors at the bottom of self-deceptive tendency include indifference to evidence, conformity between lies and steadfast beliefs, truth as a source of undesired realities, rewards attached to self-deception, and affiliation with liars.
Introduction
A lie is a statement that intends to create a false assertion regarding something or someone to dupe someone. According to Stanley Cohan, a full-fledged lie is “a statement intended to deceive a dupe about the state of the world” (Cohen, 2004). Lying is one socially unacceptable act that also includes illusion, delusion, denial, and deceit. A lie to a person is quite different from self-deception, which is denying the facts to oneself. Believing in truth is a healthy practice that keeps the mind stable and active; on the other hand, believing and indulging in lies leads to delusions and cognitive impairment as the liar and the believer of the liar lose their grip on reality (Petric, 2020). Despite this fact, people have an innate capacity to believe in lies; studies in psychiatry and psychology have identified several reasons for this human behavior. Since there are multiple causes behind people’s tendency to accept lies, this essay aims to undertake a careful analysis to determine the exact role of each factor and establish a valid notion to explain the factors that underlie this human behavior. This analysis will help the reader clearly picture the reasons and motives behind acknowledging the lie. This understanding will help in grasping human psychology and devising ways to adopt remedial measures.
Self-Deception is Rewarding in One Way or Another
Self-deception is a universal term related to human psychology and behavior. It involves deceiving oneself by accepting false beliefs or avoiding details and motives of their actions and beliefs. Self-deception is a human necessity that helps a man interact socially in a self-satisfied manner. It helps humans maintain relationships, work smoothly and enjoy life by making themselves oblivious of harsh realities; in one way, it is a healthy human behavior that is a prerequisite to a healthy, stable, and working society. Self-deception helps humans conform to otherwise unacceptable truths and situations and gives them a feeling of comfort and ease even in the most excruciating and suffocating social environment.
However, with all its luring façade, self-deception is one of the underlying factors of the unacceptable human behavior of acknowledging and accepting lies. Self-deception is such a phenomenon that could have devastating consequences since evading truth for the sake of satisfaction would ultimately lead to unacceptable and shocking consequences. Sometimes self-deception involves deliberate oblivion towards a harsh reality to avoid the blame of the fatal consequences. For instance, people try to avoid knowledge of the truth about the harmful effects of their actions on the environment and ecosystem to excuse themselves from the blame of being a part of it (Goleman, 1985). An important distinction that should be made here is that lying is exclusively an act of speech since actions meant to make someone believe in something are deceptions or tricks and not lies (Garcia, 1998).
At the group level, the phenomenon of self-deception acts more effectively. It compels a person to accept the beliefs, norms, customs, and practices of a particular social or religious group and shun any misgivings and apprehensions for the sake of conformity and discipline (Goleman, 1985). Thus, self-deception accentuates and enhances human blind spots: failure to comprehend and observe reality (Goleman, 1985). A practical example will elaborate on this fact. A patient recalling her childhood memory revealed that after her father had left her mother, her mother pretended to be happy and carefree in front of the child. In order to conform, the woman in her childhood acknowledged her mother’s self-constructed happiness. In doing so, she, as a child, engaged herself in self-deception by accepting her mother’s lie about her life (Gloeman, 1985). Thus, it can be observed from this example how people acknowledge lying for the sake of conformity.
Another reason behind people’s use of self-deception to accept and believe in lies is that this belief in lies rewards a person with ease, tranquility, self-complacency, and self-belief in most instances. People also often tend to boast about their temporary success and lie to themselves by attributing the positive outcomes to their superior intellect (Chance et al., 2011). In a laboratory experiment conducted to observe and understand self-deception, people were given an opportunity to see the answers to the test they had to take; afterward, the participants were given another test without showing the answer. After the first test results, the participants showed indefiniteness, whether their own ability or answers made them perform better in the test. However, it was estimated that the participants, having scored high in the test after seeing the answers, felt more proud of their abilities and fell prey to the self-deception about performing well in the next test (Chance et al., 2011). Thus, this experiment shows how people tend to believe in lies because these lies make them feel superior.
Thus, two crucial factors that compel a person to accept a lie and enjoy it are the tendency or compulsion to conform to a group’s ideologies and beliefs and the soothing effects of lying to oneself. Believing in lies deceives a person and takes him into an illusionary world where he is more privileged than in reality. Additionally, acceptance of lies of peers and associates helps him stay in the group and enjoy the favors and bounties of his group members. Fear of deprivation of all the benefits makes a person go against his grain and acknowledge and sacrifice truthfulness. However, self-deception, whether about one’s own personality or his group, is detrimental, and it blankets a person’s mind from reality, and in the future, he is bound to face hope-shattering experiences.
Paying Little to no Attention to Evidence
Besides self-deception and its rewards, other factors also compel people to accept a lie or unauthenticated information. Another vital factor is the inability to fully grasp a situation, behavior, or phenomenon that results in accepting this behavior without much deliberation or questioning. Adjacent to this cause is the fact that people tend to adhere to lies because they reinforce their views or belief, and for the same reason, they hardly bother to consider empirical and rational evidence. In his book “The Lies We Believe In,” Dr. Thurman mentions one of his patients who believed in lies blindfold as they catered to her own views about different issues (Thurman, 2003). His description of the problem of self-deception using the example of this patient is instrumental in understanding the issue.
For instance, she believed that her husband was the sole cause of her marital problems because, in this way, she could exonerate herself from all the blame. Similarly, she readily accepted the idea that God is angry with her because she had not been acting according to Christian doctrine (Thurman, 2003). However, a careful analysis of these beliefs revealed to Dr. Thurman that she accepted these lies because she could not investigate and verify them. Doing so could have jeopardized not only her own self-belief but also her own vision of life; these two threats deterred her from analyzing her views logically to come up to a conclusion. This case is a prevalent example when people accept lies to satisfy their ego, satisfy a guilty conscience and avert facing the harsh realities of life.
This façade of the discussion about people’s accepting attitude towards lies exposes many dimensions of the problem and clarifies why people have a friendly attitude towards lies. It informs the reader that many people do not want to stay awake to the harsh realities of life as they believe they are too difficult to handle or face; therefore, they find accepting fantastic lies about themselves and the world. This fantasy chase often happens in love marriages which are primarily based on a fantastic vision of post-married life that excludes any rational and realistic analysis of the ensuring events. Another study also supports this notion and claims that acceptance of lies is due to the display of a high level of tolerance for the alluring fabrications. This tolerance results in acceptance of pleasant lies in place of bitter truth (Vrij & Porter, 2010). Giving an example of a perfect couple, Joe and Carol, Dr. Thurman elaborates on this aspect of the problem.
Joe and Carol had got married after an ideal romance because both were a perfect match for each other. However, soon after their marriage, the romantic hallow disappeared, and they were exposed to the harsh realities of marital life. Joe, whose attention made Carol happier, now appeared to her as a controlling maniac. Likewise, Carol’s charming personality now seemed materialistic to Joe. This fallout of harboring an unrealistic vision of married life was the sole reason behind it (Thurman, 2003). This case study explains a lot about why people accept lies and rejects the truth. Both Joe and Carol were so much fascinated by the notion of romantic love and its pleasure that they deliberately rejected rationality and realism to play their part in their future planning. They willingly accepted the lie of an ideally prosperous and happy marital life; consequently, they were devastated when faced with the reality check.
Lies May Lead to Fantasies while Truths Reveal Bare Face of Bitter Realities
Several studies conducted on human psychology and behavior indicate that people’s religious, moral, and ethical beliefs about society compel them to acknowledge lies without a second thought. Since belief in certain notions about society and the world is a significant motivation that keeps a person going, it is a kind of self-deception that people willingly indulge in. According to one study, this kind of self-deception is necessary since it induces optimism, hope, self-satisfaction, a...