Chapter 2
Why and How People Lie
Why You Lie
People lie out of love, hate, or greed. Self-preservation is a form of self love that ranks at the top of the list of reasons why people lie. Usually, it’s not literal self-preservation, but perceived. For example, you come home after a night of hard partying and your wife, who’s just put infant twins to bed, says, “Where’ve you been?!” You could be honest and reply, “Doing tequila shooters at a strip bar with my brother.” Or you could sidestep the truth by saying, “My brother and I got together after work to have a drink and talk about his job. He’s really unhappy.” On the other hand, a killer on trial for first-degree murder has the challenge of literal self-preservation: He lies to save himself ...
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