‘Fake it till you make it.’ How often have you used this mantra to get out of tricky situations in life? Well, I am sure many of us are guilty of telling white lies quite often than we choose to admit. And believe it or not, people frequently lie in order to maintain their good reputation in front of others.
According to a team of scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Chicago and the University of California, Los Angeles, people apparently lie to their own disadvantage if they feel telling the truth will make them seem dishonest, reports CNN.
Wait, what? Confused as to why people lie when it does them no good? Let us explain.
In a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, researchers conducted an experiment to prove their point. They studied the patterns of 100 working adults in the US. The scenario being –Â You drive frequently for work and get compensated for up to 400 miles per month and you know that your colleagues usually drive 280 to 320 miles every month. And this month you drove exactly 400 miles.
The researchers asked the respondents how much distance would they claim in their expense report. As per the results, 12% of the people lied about the distance they drove, giving an average answer of 384 miles when in reality, they drove 400 miles.