Telling Lies

From the time we are young children, many people tell us to tell the truth. However, in
reality, most people lie every day. Bella DePaulo is a psychologist who conducted a study about
lying. She asked over 100 people between the ages of 18 and 71 to keep a diary of all the lies that
they told in a week. She found that people lied once or twice a day—almost as often as they
brush their teeth. So, why do people lie? Psychologists have several explanations for why people
lie.

People often lie so that other people will not reject them. For instance, an employee gets
an email telling him to do something. If he forgets to do it, he might say he never got the email.
The employee would probably not lose his job because he forgot to do something. However, his
boss may start to look at him as a bad employee. Ultimately, when human beings lie, they are
holding onto something extremely basic – survival in a group. They are afraid that if they tell the
truth about something that they did wrong, people will reject them.

People also lie to impress other people. For example, a person might lie about how much
money she makes to impress someone she meets. Again, human beings want to be accepted by a
group. If they feel that lying will make other people look at them positively and accept them,
they may lie.

Of course, sometimes people lie to make other people feel accepted. For example, people
often pretend to like someone’s cooking or artwork more than they actually do in order to make
that person feel better. In fact, Bella DePaulo found that 25% of the lies that people told were to
make another person feel good. People want other people to feel accepted, and they often lie
because they think this will help.

It’s interesting to think of a society where everyone tells the truth all the time. However,
that society does not exist. People lie for several reasons and most people lie every day.
Adapted from Allison Kornet, “The Truth About Lying,” Psychology Today, May 1, 1997.

Writing Directions: Read the passage above and write an essay about it. Summarize the main ideas
of the passage in your own words. In addition, explain how one or more ideas in the passage relate
(connect) to something you have experienced, seen or read, and/or learned in school.
Only a small part of your essay should summarize the passage, but make sure to include all the
author’s main ideas. Most of the essay should explain how one or more ideas relate to something you
have experienced, seen or read, and/or learned in school.
Remember to review your essay and make any changes or corrections that will help your reader
clearly understand your essay. You will have 90 minutes to complete your essay.
 “Telling Lies” Reading Comprehension

1. What is the topic of the article?

The topic of the article is lies.

2. What is the main idea of the article?

From the time we are young children, many people tell us to tell the truth. However,
in reality, most people lie every day.

3. According to the article, what are the three supporting details for the main idea?

a. People often lie so that other people will not reject them, normally it is seen a lot
in the workplace that the worker lies to look good with his boss.
b. People also lie to impress other people. people pretend to be other people just to
please others for a benefit.
c. Sometimes people lie to make other people feel accepted. that happens a lot in
daily life. Some people lie and underestimate themselves so as not to make others
feel bad.

4. Write a summary (5-6 complete sentences) of the article. Remember to use your own words.
Do not copy sentences from the article.
Telling Lies
Growing up, many people persuaded us to tell the truth. In reality, however, most people lie
every day.Bella de paulo is a psychologist who studies lying. She asked more than 100 people
between the ages of 18 and 71 to record all the lies they told in a week.People often lie to keep
others from rejecting them, and often in the workplace you will often see workers lying to be
nice to their bosses.People also lie to impress others. People pretend to be other people just to
please others for profit. Sometimes people lie to make others feel accepted. This often happens in
everyday life. Some people lie and underestimate themselves to avoid making others feel bad.

5. Do you agree with the main idea of the article? Why/Why not? What personal experience do
you have that can support your opinion?
I agree with the article, because it is a situation that is lived day by day and in my personal
experience some people have lied to me with the intention of not hurting or trying to make
me like them.