From a young age and at the very start of our childhood,
everybody learns that one of the greatest virtues we can
have as a human being is to be honest, live honestly, be
truthful, and not tell lies. We’re told to own up and take
responsibility for our actions and the things we say and
to be honest with those around us. We’re told to tell the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and
convinced that lying can get us into very deep trouble
with our friends, families, and communities.
Yet, paradoxically, we’re lied to and tell other people lies
constantly. Even though your parents would say to you
that lying is wrong (at least they would if they were
decent parents), they would still have lied to you all the
time. Going back to your very earliest childhood years,
you were probably told stories about the existence of
Santa and the Tooth Fairy. While this kind of lie may
seem somewhat harmless, you were perhaps lied to
about where your pets go when they pass away, the
shocking things that would happen if you didn’t eat your
5
How to Spot a Liar
vegetables, and where you’d end up in life if you didn’t
try your hardest at school.
It’s funny because even while humans are this young and
were told lies of this context, even young children can
still sense the difference between the truth and a lie. We
have a gut instinct when something is wrong. This is why
children will argue with their parents. They’re simply
testing out and exercising their ability to tell right from
wrong. They will also start to push their boundaries and
tell more lies themselves.
Studies show that kids as young as three years old will
lie to their parents to get away with certain things. One
popular study had researchers place kids in a room with
a new, expensive toy which the children were then told
not to look at. Of course, being curious kids, they had to
take a peek the moment the researchers left the room.
When they returned and asked the kids whether they
had looked or not, the children would lie through their
teeth.
