Why Do People Tell Lies? (A Compendium Of Quotations)

Each one of us has, at some point in our lives, lied to somebody about something. We, at that time, rationalized it and justified it to ourselves to put our conscience at ease, and then banished the uncomfortable feeling still persisting, to the back of our minds. What is it in our nature that encourages such marvelous self-deception? It is believed that the circumstances prevailing at that moment compel people to lie. In most cases, people lie to protect their personal interests. However, there are people who lie to deceive others, while some others are just addicted to lying. There are many who lie to avoid criticism from others. Studies have shown that 12% of adults admit that they lie sometimes. Age, it seems, does impart wisdom to people. Some studies, which included only teenagers for evaluating percentage of lying/dishonesty, revealed that 50% lied about issues related to money, and 83% lied to their parents.