A new study published in the British Journal of Social Psychology focuses on the psychological consequences of deception for the liar. The first part of the study was an online experiment in which researchers found out whether participants lied in sensitive situations for themselves (such as a job interview) and for others (for example, if a friend asks you to evaluate her new dress). In the first case, 41.6% of the volunteers lied, and in the second – 45.5%. In both cases, liars had significantly lower self-esteem and experienced more negative feelings than those who preferred to tell the truth.
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In addition, scientists confirmed the hypothesis that remembering a situation of lying reduces self-esteem, which, however, is not surprising. There is little pleasure in being a deceiver. The experts decided to find out how the situation was developing over time and asked participants to keep detailed diaries. It turned out that 22% of people lie every day, and 19%, on the contrary, extremely rarely tell a lie. The latter were more positive and self-confident in this part of the experiment as well. But the good news is that everyone has a chance to improve. Self-esteem was restored to normal levels if, after an episode of lying, a person told only the truth for several days.
While telling your friend that her terrible new dress looks great may seem like an easy way to avoid an awkward situation, and lying to the interviewer in an interview may seem like a white lie, in the long run, only the truth will make you feel better about yourself.
2024-01-21 06:00:26
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