Lying to survive

A recent piece by The Independent : The Science of lying, why the truth can really hurt explores the possibility that lying evolved as a survival trait.  If we could survive in the wild better by knowing how to influence animal behavior or the behavior of others, then that might have given us a higher chance to direct their actions.  Used in the context of hunting or being hunted this makes sense, there are even some animals in the wild that will feign injury to lead predators away from nests and young or by predators to lure prey closer.

Robert Feldman, Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts does state in the article that he is hesitant to place lying on the level of pure instinct.  Dr. Feldman does state that once someone realizes the power of lying, there is more than enough reinforcement to keep up the behavior.

Another report from abc.net.au written by Maryke Steffens tries to relate lying to the ability to empathize.  This moves the term lying further away from instinctive deception to a cognitive process only seen in higher level primates. Richard Byrne, Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of St. Andrews in the UK and author of The Thinking Ape, states that the conscious form of deception is different to the plant and animal deception.

Whether instinct or part of a higher level cognitive function lying seems to be part of our daily lives.  Lying can also be an addictive behavior and lead to very serious consequences.  Would society be better off if humans were incapable of lying?  How might we go about becoming more honest or detecting honesty in others?  These are questions many behavioral and evolutionary scientist are wrestling with still today.