Do Men Lie More Often?

Experimental research does not support a simple rule that men lie more often than women overall. A meta-analysis of sender-receiver games found small differences that depended on the type of lie: in some experimental settings, men were more likely to tell lies that harm another person and benefit the liar. This does not mean men’s lies are mostly “white lies” told to spare someone’s feelings. Laboratory games do not represent all everyday behavior. [1–2]