Liars Find it More Rewarding to Tell the Truth When Deceiving Others

A University of Toronto report based on two neural imaging studies found that individuals are more satisfied by getting a reward from telling the truth rather than through deceit. The findings are based on a new neuroimaging method called near-infrared spectroscopy and are among the first to explore whether or not lying makes people feel better or worse than telling the truth. Two different types of deception were tested. In one situation, the recipient did not know the deceiver was lying. In another, the deceivers were fully aware that the recipients knew they were being lied to. Researchers found that a liar’s cortical reward system was more active when a reward was gained through truth-telling than through lying. Additionally, researchers noted that in both types of deception, telling a lie produced greater brain activity in the frontal lobe — suggesting that lying is cognitively more taxing and requires more neural resources. To read more about this study, click here.