I'm not going to lie, I lie all the time because I know science and science says lies are GOOD
for you.
What's true here?
Do you even know?
Me either.
Lies.
Hey there liars, Trace here for DNews.
My mom always warned me about lying by telling fables and stories and anecdotes… but as
I get older I began to learn that little lies can be good too.
So what's the truth?
Is lying bad or good?
A new study in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B[a] looked at the effects of deception
in social networks, and according to their research, white lies, specifically, smooth
the flow of interactions and facilitate a larger, more integrated social group!
Basically, they're saying white lies are GOOD!
A study published in the Journal of Basic and Applied Psychology found we lie 2.92 times
every 10 minutes!
That's a lot of fibbing.
Kids learn to deceive by 2 or 3 years old and start to manipulate their parents.
4 years olds lie once every two hours, and by six it's every 90 minutes!
We lie all the time!
A white lie, is a harmless or trivial falsification, usually told to avoid hurting someone's feelings
-- the researchers call this a prosocial lie; and they're the good kind.
Lies told that are destructive or deceptive, those are antisocial lies -- and they do the
exact opposite - weakening the bonds between individuals and breaking down the social structure.
They write in their paper, "The balance between prosocial and antisocial lies may set constraints
on the structure of social networks, and hence the shape of society as a whole."
Lies can make or break us y'all.
Using mathematical models, the researchers revealed what most of us already know: when
an individual participates in antisocial lying they slowly isolate themselves from their
social group -- while pro-social liers form stronger bonds and become more integrated.
This also extends to online social networks as well.
A study at California State University, Dominguez Hills // Huh.
I like that name… I wonder why…
// Looked at lies told on facebook and found that they are just as varied as lies spoken
aloud.
How many times have you clicked "like" without ACTUALLY liking it.
Maybe you just want to support them, even if you dislike the post!
Rationalize away, that's white lie, sistah.
Or what if you post a pretty picture of your cruise, but you're seasick and you omit that
from the post -- white lie, brah.
Whether these are pro-social white lies, or antisocial white lies depends on who they're
targeting.
And the intent of the post…
The Journal of Consumer Research found that even though they're beneficial to the whole,
white lies FEEL like lies to our brain.
We KNOW we're being dishonest, so we try to fix it, or make up for our dishonesty to escape
cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance is when your brain thinks one thing and you act differently.
Like if a bad server at a restaurant asks how your meal was -- usually, we lie.
We save the waiters feelings and keep things on an even keel!
According to research into cognitive dissonance, unless the service was REALLY bad, we will
often tip more because we want to make up for our white lie!
It's silly, but it happens on a subconscious level.
It's part of our evolution trying to keep our social networks balanced.
Are you going to think about your lies as pro or anti social lies now?
What's the worst lie you've ever told?
Tell your lies down below in the comments.
I'm not going to lie to you, I'm really excited about this upcoming SpaceOut with NASA JPL.
We're going to hangout and talk about what MSL Curiosity has been doing on Mars for one
Martian Year (about two Earth years).
We've got one of the rover's actual drivers, project scientists, and Bobak Ferdowsi -- the
mohawk guy who helped get it to Mars in the first place!
You should RSVP with the link in the description to join us -- we're going live at 4pm Pacific
on July 30!
COME!
You wouldn't want to miss it.
Thanks for watching DNews -- and please subscribe for more.