Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Is It Ever Ok To Lie To Your Lover?, Jason B. Whiting

Faculty Publications

The healthiest relationships have a high degree of trust. However, it is surprisingly easy to be deceptive in an intimate relationship. Research has shown that about 10% of interactions between intimates contain deceptive elements, like exaggerations, excuses, or other lies. Not surprisingly, these have a distancing effect. But are all deceptions damaging? Isn’t it kind to protect each other from painful truths? It may depend on the motive.