Blog #3 – why is lying negative?

#1 why has lying become negative?

Lying is beneficial to those who want to maintain relationships and their own confidence; however, the same people at the same time are at a risk of being found out every moment of their lives about the lie. Lying is mainly human based, meaning it is an action a human may choose to do when they want to lift their spirit, cover the real truth about a mistake, surprise, or something they want to keep a secret. Moreover, lying is not always viewed as bad because there are different types of it. One type can be a prosocial lier. This type of lier tends to blend the truth, so it benefits the person they are either lying to, or lying about. Though those who are unaware different types of lies exist they will still think that a prosocial lie will give people false hope and it will be “rude” when the person finds out about the lie. Lying is not acceptable when it is about a serious situation, and information is needed. Now many may use the excuse of “I did not know that the information is important” or somethings along the line of that, but common sense is the main key point needed to know when lying is okay and when it is not (1). Though some situations are difficult to know whether lying is the right choice, people may know you are lying as you could appear to be very uncomfortable, you could be seen avoiding eye contact and constantly denying it. However, some ways to know if lying is the right choice is if lying. One should reflect if the lie will deeply affect someone, and one should reflect to see if the truth is worth covering up (2). The amygdala, is the part of the brain that adapts to lying. The more a person does it, the more that part pushes your brain to do it more, or the more it creates the feeling of guilt for lying. Temptation is the greatest weakness for lies, and it is the main thing that causes the though of lying to be a negative thing, though it can be very positive in certain situations (3). In conclusion, though lying is seen as a negative thing, it can benefit and change many peoples life in a good way, it can cause them to be happy, it can help them overcome something, and it can give them hope. It is very important to know when lying is okay, and when one does and lies “properly” it will have more of a positive outcome.

(3) Beasley, B., & Adkins, C. (2021). What dishonesty does to your brain. Ethical Leadership.nd.edu. Retrieved 2021, from https://ethicalleadership.nd.edu/news/what-dishonesty-does-to-your-brain-why-lying-becomes-easier-and-easier/.

(2) Holloway, B. (2018). Truth about lying . Urmc.rochester.edu. Retrieved 2021, from https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=1&contentid=528.

(1) Wiltermuth, S., Newman , D., & Raj, M. (2015). The consequences of Dishonesty . Spsp.org . Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://www.spsp.org/news-center/blog/the-consequences-of-dishonesty#Author.