Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Neuroscience and Morality
- 2 Morality and the Mind
- 3 Beyond the Mind Zone
- 4 The Moral Brain
- 5 Bad without Conscience
- 6 The Biology of Choice
- 7 Sex and the Single Moral Code
- 8 Brain Biology and Sex
- 9 Deception
- 10 The Biology of Money
- 11 The Bad and the Mad
- 12 Creating a Moral Brain
- Notes
- Glossary
- Index
9 - Deception
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 October 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Neuroscience and Morality
- 2 Morality and the Mind
- 3 Beyond the Mind Zone
- 4 The Moral Brain
- 5 Bad without Conscience
- 6 The Biology of Choice
- 7 Sex and the Single Moral Code
- 8 Brain Biology and Sex
- 9 Deception
- 10 The Biology of Money
- 11 The Bad and the Mad
- 12 Creating a Moral Brain
- Notes
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
Among the factors that most undermine human relationships is “lying,” and particularly as it involves betrayal. We have all been taught that since early childhood. Most of us have also been told we will be punished if we are caught in a lie. Yet children lie frequently. They often exaggerate what happens to them or hide the facts to make them look better in the eyes of their parents. They may make up stories – some fanciful, others with a semblance of what would seem to be a reasonable pattern of facts. Or, they may twist the truth to their advantage, or just plain deny their involvement in some disallowed activity.
What is fascinating about children lying is that they don't need to be taught how to do it, nor do they need to be encouraged by others. Lying seems to come about naturally, as if something innate in a child enables him or her to deny what is even obvious or construct complicated stories to avoid an unpleasant or punishing reaction from parents, teachers, or friends. To a large extent lying is both self-protecting and exciting. It is similar to the thrill we experience from getting a bargain at a sale. Similarly, lying offers the excitement of manipulating a situation to our benefit and getting away with it. For the most part, young children lie about actions – something they have or have not done. They are not sophisticated enough to lie about how they feel until they get older – at least nine or ten years of age.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Hardwired BehaviorWhat Neuroscience Reveals about Morality, pp. 114 - 123Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005