Study Asks: Do men lie more?

Written by Darren Hewer

Would you guess that you tell over 1,000 lies per year? If you’re a man, some scientists think you do. If you’re a woman, you tell about 30% fewer lies than men, according to a recent British survey:

Men lie the most and feel less guilty about it — but women are the better liars … A British man tells an average three lies daily or roughly 1,092 a year, the study by the Science Museum of London found. Women, on the other hand, said they lie twice a day, which adds up to 728 a year. (CNN)

I’m a bit skeptical of the results of this survey. It was based on self-reported data … in other words, asking people how much they lie. The obvious question then becomes: How often were respondents lying?

Do women really lie less often than men, or were they just lying about how much they lie? Or were men lying by exaggerating how much they lie?

Perhaps more interesting that the number of lies is what people most often lie about. The “top 10″ lists for men and women contain some humorous results. On the men’s list, #7 is “Your bum doesn’t look big in that,” while the women’s list includes “I’ve got a headache” in position #5.

Not all lies are humorous though, and the #1 and #2 most common lies (for women and men respectively) are the same: “Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine.” Both women and men reported this as being one of their most common lies.

Why do you think this particular lie is most frequent? Why are we afraid to admit that there is something wrong?

Think back to the last week or two. If you recall instances where you have used this lie that there’s “nothing wrong” when there really is something wrong, it might be time to talk to someone about what’s really been bothering you. While it can be tough to talk to the people you’re closest to (especially if they are part of the problem) but it can help to talk to a caring third party. If you’d like to start a conversation with someone today, confidentially via email, contact a mentor … no need to lie here.