A Gene For Lying? (people) - Psychology -Emotional health, personality, intelligence, anxieties, self esteem... - City-Data Forum

oregonwoodsmoke · 05-03-2014, 12:19 PM

I'm interested in opinions. Is there a gene for lying? Do some people have it and other don't?

My brain can comprehend the dictionary definition of lies and I can do the social lie (Your new hairdo is so cute!!!). But the entire web of fantasy that everyone is completely invested in is completely mystifying to me.

I grew up in a family where the word "dysfunctional" was invented just for them. I'm not genetically related to any of them and their world where reality is never allowed to intrude is incomprehensible to me.

If lying is a learned behavior, would I not have learned it? It's not like I didn't have constant role models for how to make stuff up and aggressively insist that it was true, or lacked role models for how to live in denial.

I just can't see what the point of the whole fabrication thing is all about.

corijei · 05-03-2014, 09:42 PM

I really think lying is a inherited trait. My oldest brother lie about most things. His daughter lie worse than him, and her son lies a lot. My bro just had another kid, he's almost 1 and I'm sure he'll grow up and be the same. Not sure if his dad's a liar, so I'll just say it started with my brother and he passed it down.

Billy_J · 05-04-2014, 08:42 AM

I'm not sure if you are talking about people who intentionally lie as opposed to people who live a life of fantasy and are detached from reality.

With the latter, people will say things which are not true, but they think that is the truth! This is mainly due to them watching TV and movies constantly (fiction, not real-life documentaries based on reality and facts). And/or play video games. And only talk with other like minded people.

This is called "misinformation". That can also be due to ignorance or laziness. People do not know how to search the internet for truthful facts. And they do not know a reputable source as opposed to a pure opinion/fantasy source such as Facebook or forums. (For example reputable being a government medical site like CDC or NIH. Or WebMD. Or a national news source which checks its facts like the New York Times.)