Even though I've been in business for 20 years I'll bet the number of people who have knowingly, intentionally deceived me is very low, probably in single digits. Maybe none.
That sounds naive, and maybe it is. But psychological and neurological research all points in the same direction: that people perceive the same situation radically differently, and even remember the same incident differently. There are even physiological artifacts that accompany or cause these divergences. So most of the time when people are 'lying' to me they probably believe what they're saying.
That doesn't answer the original question, but it challenges the assumptions in the article, that lying is commonplace and a constant temptation. It also changes the way I (and I think others) should respond to a 'liar'. Assume the person isn't lying, even if you think they're wrong and should know it. Accept the data, evaluate, verify, and move on. Ascribing motives or morality might be satisfying, but it's unhelpful. Worse, emerging science suggests it may be a mistake.
when people are 'lying' to me they probably believe what they're saying.
One one level yes, this is true. More than true, it's wise. The problem is that we can deceive ourselves into holding self-serving beliefs... sincerely. Upton Sinclair said it best: "It is very hard to make a man understand something, when his job depends on his not understanding it."
And such people aren't lying or dissembling. It's just much cheaper, in terms of mental effort, to develop beliefs that the world is the way you would like it to be.
That sounds naive, and maybe it is. But psychological and neurological research all points in the same direction: that people perceive the same situation radically differently, and even remember the same incident differently. There are even physiological artifacts that accompany or cause these divergences. So most of the time when people are 'lying' to me they probably believe what they're saying.
That doesn't answer the original question, but it challenges the assumptions in the article, that lying is commonplace and a constant temptation. It also changes the way I (and I think others) should respond to a 'liar'. Assume the person isn't lying, even if you think they're wrong and should know it. Accept the data, evaluate, verify, and move on. Ascribing motives or morality might be satisfying, but it's unhelpful. Worse, emerging science suggests it may be a mistake.