Why do People Lie?

In class this past week, we were exploring the "death" of Mr. Bolos, using artifacts, the Internet, and interviews of those who were close to him to determine who Mr. Bolos and what might have happened to him. During our research, my group questioned Mr. O'Connor, Mr. Bolos' colleague who teaches a long side him. From Mr. Bolos having an ex-wife to Mr. O'Connor visiting Mr. Bolos at the University of Illinois when Bolos was a sophomore, the majority of what Mr. O'Connor had told us about his co-worker was a complete lie. At the conclusion of this project, we had discussed as a class why are biographies of Mr. Bolos would be inaccurate, and one of the reasons was that people lie. We went even further to ask ourselves, why do people in fact lie? Is it because they're in denial? Or they're ignorant? Or maybe they have their own agenda playing in.

Regardless, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Constantly, there are examples in the news of people lying. Whether it's Tiger Woods, living the double life of a family man and a womanizer, to the infamous Bill Clinton speech where he asserted that he "did not have sexual relations with that woman," every one seems to be lying. Childhood heroes turn out to be phonies. I mean look at Roger Clemens, who consistently denies and denies ever using performance enhancing drugs, but is facing being indicted for lying to the Congress.

I found an article on from the New York Times that talks about Lance Armstrong, and how other cyclists are still accusing him of taking steroids. Here's a link http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/sports/cycling/05armstrong.html?ref=lying. Armstrong is arguably one of the most amazing American athletes ever. If these claims are proven true, it's just another cheater and liar in American culture.

To answer my own question, I believe people lie for a few reasons. First, it can be a defense mechanism. Sometimes humans need to protect themselves from others, and lying allows you to keep your secrets to yourself. Another reason I think people lie, is to up hold an certain image. Everybody is always searching for perfection, especially in our society today. Lying allows one to hide their imperfections, because no one wants to seem inadequate or defected. We always want to look better than person next to us. Lastly, I think people lie because it's easy. It's easier to deny doing steroids, than to take the public scrutiny of doing them. Hey, you might even get away with lying about it and then everyone will think you're still a hero or a real athlete. Lying is usually the first instinct.