White Lies

Social and Emotional Benefits

Deception, especially in the form of a white lie, probably has emotional benefits for both the listener and the liar. One possible benefit could be that listeners might not always want to hear the truth for adaptive reasons (for example, it might hurt one's feelings to learn another person's true views). Second, contrary to most forms of deception, white lies are less likely to elicit negative emotions from the liar because the individual who tells the white lie has less fear of being caught or feeling guilty for protecting another person's feelings.

White lies help maintain social relationships but also aid in maintaining a sense of privacy. For example, an individual may not want to review his or her true condition and thus claims to be fine even when he or she is not. Another form of white lie is making excuses to protect one's privacy or to avoid hurting another person's [Page 936]feelings. According to social etiquette, in some circumstances telling the truth is impolite. For instance, a white lie may be encouraged in the place of expressing true sentiments after having received a gift. In fact, individuals who continuously express all of their negative impressions and feelings and never tell any white lies may face difficulty fully integrating themselves into social settings and groups.

Self-Centered Lies and Other-Oriented Lies

Distinctions have been made between self-centered lies (that is, ones that benefit the liar) and other-oriented lies (that is, ones that benefit the listener). Other-oriented lies are similar in nature, if not the same, as white lies. Diary studies, designed to record participants' everyday lying behaviors, have revealed that individuals engage in other-oriented lies to protect others from embarrassment, to avoid hurting their feelings, to protect a sense of privacy, to improve another's image, or to regulate another's emotions. Although the primary goal of other-oriented lies, or white lies, is to protect another individual, white lies also seem to help safeguard the liar's well-being by helping him or her avoid arguments and maintain strong relationships. Individuals report telling more self-centered lies to strangers and more other-oriented lies to their friends.

Gender Differences in White Versus Black Lies

Two other types of white lies have been proposed: Altruistic white lies may harm the liar but are beneficial to another individual; whereas a pareto white lies lead to benefits for both the liar and another individual. Women are more likely to tell the former type of white lie than are men, who are more likely to tell the latter type of white lie. Black lies, in contrast, are lies that benefit the liar at the expense of another individual and can be divided into selfish black lies and spiteful black lies. Men are more likely to tell selfish black lies than women are.

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