Self Deception Research Paper

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Everyone has experienced deception at some point in their lives. Some would say that deception is just a cycle of life, almost evolutionary. Often, deception is just an easier path. Choosing to deceive creates an illusion often to better oneself or create an image. This method of escaping from the truth when it is too painful to bear is ironic. It is when one begins to fall in their own deceit, where it becomes too painful to escape the false fascination that has been created.
We all practice deception to a degree. As humans we learn to lie at a very early age of about 2 years old. Psychologist Kang Lee, studied human behaviors indicating the act of deception/lying is a sign of cognitive growth (National Geographic, 2017). Another study conducted by Bella Depaulo surveyed 147 adults who claimed to deceive once or twice a week. This could range from trying not to hurt someone else’s feelings or excuses for not …show more content…

The main idea is, why would have we evolved with the capacity to deceive ourselves, and alter our perceptions? Cognitive Psychologist David Smith reasons self-deception is vital to functioning. He stated, “our society would collapse under the weight of too much honesty” ( Donald M. Braxton, 2004). Most of our self-deception comes from us trying to feel better. In order to handle complete honesty without grief, remorse, or worry is a distraught to our mind. We assume that the human mind is under our control, however many cognitive psychologists have disproved this theory. Our brain works in an automatic manner, we may deceive ourselves into thinking we might be able to hand reality, however that is self deception in itself. It is the illusion of control, but our perceptions are altered

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