Lying Tongues Gather New Moss

Lying, in any medium, creates an urge to clean oneself.

Apparently, your mom had it right when she threatened to wash your mouth out with soap if you talked dirty. Lying really does create a desire to clean the ‘dirty’ body part, according to a study published in Psychological Science. Eighty seven students were asked to play the role of lawyers competing with a colleague, ‘Chris’, for a promotion. Each was asked to imagine that they had found an important document that Chris had lost, and that returning the document would help his career and hurt their own. Each participant was instructed to leave Chris a message by either voice mail or email, telling him who they were and either lying that they could not find his document or telling the truth that they had found the same.

Next, they rated the desirability of several products as part of a supposed marketing survey and reported how much they were willing to pay for each product, which included mouthwash and hand sanitiser. Those who lied on the phone felt a stronger desire for mouthwash and were willing to pay more for it than those who lied on e-mail. And those who lied on e-mail felt a stronger desire for hand sanitiser and were willing to pay more for it. The truthful ones found these products less appealing.