It starts with a little lie—that haircut is perfect for you!—but before you know it, you’re bragging about your Olympic gold medal in curling. Now scientists at University College London and Duke University say they’ve figured out why we so naturally progress from little white lies to whoppers. They published their findings in the journal Nature Neuroscience…
Reviewing the brain scans, the researchers could actually watch as participants became accustomed to lying. As the initial fib was taking place, the participants’ brains showed activation in the amygdala and other regions associated with strong emotional responses. It’s as if their brains were saying, “This is not a good idea. Let’s not do this.” But the next lie induced less amygdala activation, and the one after that, less still. It was as though they’d built up a tolerance to dishonesty.
via Mental Floss
