National Geographic did a short piece on lying where theyreported on some recent research conducted by a CommunicationStudies professor on the reasons people lie. Below are six of thosereasons. For each type of reason, assume that the person who hastold the lies has told them all before.
For each kind of lie, identify if the telling of the lie (that'sthe operant) has been positively reinforced, negatively reinforced,positively punished or negatively punished. Explain why you chosethe type of reinforcement or punishment that you did.
a. Lied to cover up a personal transgression, e.g. lied to keepan affair from becoming public
b. Lied to avoid someone, e.g., lied to get off the phone withsomeone you don’t want to talk to c. Lied for financial gain, e.g.,lied on a tax return to get a bigger tax refund
d. Lied for non-monetary benefits, e.g., lied to get people tovote for you
e. Lied to make a good impression, e.g., lied on an onlinedating profile so more people will say yes when you ask to meetthem
f. Lied to be polite, e.g., lied about liking someone’s shirt toavoid making the person feel bad
