Behind the Door of Deceit: Understanding the Biggest Liars in Our Lives

For years, Bella DePaulo (Ph.D., Harvard) asked ordinary people to tell her research team about the most serious lies they had ever told, and about the most serious lies that were ever told to them. One after another, they opened up, describing lies about love and sex, cheating and shoplifting, illness and abuse, kinship and adoption, achievements and resources. They told about lies that resulted in the loss of relationships, reputations, and large sums of money. They even described lies that proved deadly. Some admitted to living a lie. Although there was much pain in their accounts, there were also evidence of some remarkable resilience. There are lessons from these hundreds of stories of major deceptions. Dr. DePaulo shares tips for avoiding the temptation to tell serious lies, and explains why some of the most unlikely people can be vulnerable to getting duped.