CA Essay Planning Sheet!
Complete this worksheet by the beginning of class on Wednesday (September 9), and submit it to
your rampages blog.
1) Summarize your specific instance of lying. Why did you select this instance? What about it
captures your attention? (50-100 words)
a. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, George lies to his mentally
handicapped friend, Lennie, in order to protect him from the cruelty of life. I want
to examine the motivation of these lies – is George’s deception selfless, as it is
designed to protect Lennie, or is it inherently selfish? My instance is at the end of the
story, when George promises Lennie that they are going to go to their farm together,
and then shoots Lennie in the back of the head.
b. I chose this topic for several reasons; first and foremost, Steinbeck is my favorite
author, so I knew I would enjoy doing a more in-depth analysis of his work.
2) Write your framing question. How does this question apply to the primary text you selected
and the course theme (lying)? Why are you interested in answering this question? (150-200
words)
a. Is lying inherently selfish? (While this is a yes/no question, I feel that the nature of
the question provokes in-depth analysis and thoughts, and requires a deeper answer
than a mere yes/no response).
b. This applies to my primary source, the novella Of Mice and Men because in this work,
lying is used as a tool to protect others, while telling the truth is often portrayed as
garish and offensive. I think that this will be an interesting research topic, as this
scene is one of the most famous of Steinbeck’s, and is well known in the western
canon – however, George’s motivations for lying to Lennie are often automatically
assumed as an act of selflessness.
c. I recently have been having discussions with my friend focusing on whether or not
humans are inherently selfish, so this theme has been at the forefront of my more
philosophical thoughts.
3) Which shared reading (“Natural Born Liars,” “Do Police Interrogations Produce False
Confessions?,” or “Lying in Everyday Life”) are you going to use in your essay?
Cite the source according to APA or MLA standards.
Depaulo, Bella M., Deborah A. Kashy, Susan E. Kirkendol, Melissa M. Wyer,
and Jennifer A. Epstein. "Lying in Everyday Life." Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology 70.5 (1996): 979-95. Web.
Write a summary of the text. Make sure that your summary states the main claim
and the reasons given to support it. Refer to A Writer’s Reference for instructions on
writing a good summary. (75-125 words)
DePaulo, Kirkendol, Epstein, Kashy, and Wyer conducted a diary study of
two different groups, college students and community members (adults) in order to
gather information about lying. Questions they sought to answer included “How
often do people lie? What do they lie about? Whom do they lie about? To whom do
they tell their lies, and in what contexts? What reasons do they offer for telling their
lies?” After collecting the worksheets, the researchers categorized their findings in
both quantitative and qualitative forms in order to better understand the social
function of lying.
List keywords that capture why you think the source is important for your research.
Lying, behavior, social interactions, reasons for lying, frequency of lying,
perception of lying
Identify at least two brief quotes from the reading. Thoroughly explain each quote,
and then articulate why you think it will help you formulate a reasonable response to
your question. Be as precise as possible. (275 words)
“From these perspectives, the ‘self’ that is presented to others in
everyday social life is characteristically an edited and packaged one. […] [T]he
defining characteristic of deceptive presentations is that it is purposefully
designed to foster a false impression.” (DePaulo 979)
In this quote, the researchers are explaining the basis for the research;
in previous studies, researchers determined that social interactions involved
the tailoring of the self in order to foster a more desirable image, whether or
not the interaction involved deception. I think this is pertinent to my
research, as it shows that other’s perception of the presented ‘self’ is central
in any interaction; it shows, to some degree, that every interaction involves
selfishness, and therefore deception would be no different.
“We, too, believe that lies are more often told to serve the self and
others. However, we think that lies are told less often in the pursuit of goals
such as financial gain ad material advantage and instead are much more often
told in the pursuit of psychic rewards such as esteem, affection, and respect.”
(DePaulo 980)
The researchers claim that they believe lying is for selfish reasons, not
for altruistic reasons – however, rather than be for monetary or physical gain,
the intention of deception is to receive psychological recompenses. While
lying may be used to in order to comfort others or to preserve their feelings,
the underlying cause of this deception is inherently selfish, as the liar will
receive positive feedback through approval or avoidance of confrontation.
Copy and paste the claim of the piece from the source. Then state the claim in your
own words.
‘If we are correct in assuming that lies are a fact of social life then we should
find that they are only of minor cognitive or emotional significance to the
people that tell them.” (980)
The researchers’ claim is that deception is not only a consistent aspect of
human social interaction, but is so common that people do not place major
consequence on the lies that they tell – essentially that lying is so pervasive it
is essentially morally permissible.
4) Substantive Source (provide link or .pdf)
Cite the source according to APA or MLA standards.
Martin, Clancy. "Good Lovers Lie." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 07 Feb. 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.
Write a summary of the text. Make sure that your summary states the main claim
and the reasons given to support it. Refer to A Writer’s Reference for instructions on
writing a good summary. (75-125 words)
Martin’s claim is that lying is not only pervasive in our society, but it is
essential for the maintenance of positive relationships. He holds that lying is not only
morally permissible, but it is expected between people in a personal relationship,
especially an intimate one. These smaller surface lies are vital in maintaining a close
bond, and while these surface lies may not be true in specific instances, they reveal “a
deeper truth that is necessary for the love to be sustained.”
List keywords that capture why you think the source is important for your research.
Lying, relationships, love, caring, truth, fearing, betrayed, expectations
Identify at least two brief quotes from the reading. Thoroughly explain each quote,
and then articulate why you think it will help you formulate a reasonable response to
your question. Be as precise as possible. (275 words)
“What is true one hour can become a lie the next, and vice versa.
Some days saying “I love you” doesn’t feel honest at all, but it expresses a
deeper truth that is necessary for the love to be sustained.” (Martin)
In this quote, Martin is trying to express that while lying in a
particular moment may not express one’s present feelings, it can express
more profound, long term-feelings. His theory is that little lies told in a
relationship are used as band-aids during more difficult instances in order to
preserve a meaningful commitment. Additionally, feelings shift and change
during a relationship; smaller undulations of emotion can (and should) be
lied about in order to better represent the underlying, truer emotions.
This idea is pertinent to my research, as it is claiming that protecting
someone else’s feelings is a valid, and sometimes necessary, cause to lie.
While I believe that lying can be used to protect others, in doing so one is
also guarding others’ perception of the self – an act that is more selfish than
being forthcoming with the truth.
“Love is a greater good than the truth. No marriage, no parent’s love
of a child should be scrutinized like a pathologist examining his cadaver.”
(Martin)
This quote is fairly straightforward – love is more complex than
things that can be broken down to chemicals and formulas, and in such a
subjective area pure, brutal honesty is nothing short of “ruthless”.
Copy and paste the claim of the piece from the source. Then state the claim in your
own words.
“Love is a greater good than the truth. No marriage, no parent’s love
of a child should be scrutinized like a pathologist examining his cadaver. Save
your ruthless pursuit of the truth for the laboratory […] Don’t worry so
much about ferreting out the truth. Take care of each other instead.”
In his article, Marin claims that preserving personal relationships is
not only more important than honesty, but that relationships cannot be
preserved without lying. Martin makes the case that lying is a selfless and
expected act in order to maintain peace and love in any relationship.
5) Scholarly Source (provide pdf)
Cite the source according to APA or MLA standards.
Kaplar, M. E. and Gordon, A. K. (2004), The enigma of altruistic lying:
Perspective differences in what motivates and justifies lie telling within
romantic relationships. Personal Relationships, 11: 489–507. doi:
10.1111/j.1475-6811.2004.00094.x
Write a summary of the text. Make sure that your summary states the main claim
and the reasons given to support it. Refer to A Writer’s Reference for instructions on
writing a good summary. (75-125 words)
In this study, Kaplar and Gordon collected narratives of lying from
undergraduate psychology students, male and female, and analyzed the
author’s interpretations of the lies. Participants provided two written
narratives, one an instance of lying to a romantic partner, and an instance in
which they were lied to by a romantic partner. Kaplar and Gordon then
evaluated the similarities and differences in the student’s narrative as a lieteller and a lie-receiver, and their interpretations of the lie-teller’s motives.
List keywords that capture why you think the source is important for your research.
Lying, deception, motivation for lying, altruistic lying, interpretations of lying
Identify at least two brief quotes from the reading. Thoroughly explain each quote,
and then articulate why you think it will help you formulate a reasonable response to
your question. Be as precise as possible. (275 words)
“We assumed that lies, like most behaviors, are multiply determined
and stem from multiple motives, of which, as noted, an individual may or
may not be aware.” (Kaplar 490)
In this quote, the researchers explain that lying usually does not have
one individual cause, but rather a multitude of causes, some of which the
subject may not be cognizant of. This is relevant to my research as I am
trying to analyze the cause of lying and determine whether it is selfish; while
lying may have a multitude of causes, I believe that there is a root cause to all
motivations to lie (the root cause being selfishness).
“Our main hypothesis was that lie-teller narratives would contain
more references to altruistic motivations on the part of the lie-teller than the
lie-receiver narratives. Consistent with this prediction, more lie-teller than lie-
receiver narratives contained references to lie tellers lying to avoid upsetting
and hurting the lie receiver.” (Kaplar 496)
Perspective is essential to the moral interpretation of a lie – however
people tended to think of themselves as more noble and altruistic liars, while
those that were lied to usually thought that the lie was cruel and selfish. This
is relevant to my study as it implies that lies often hurt the ones the lies were
meant to protect, and that ego plays a role in the interpretation of a lie.
Copy and paste the claim of the piece from the source. Then state the claim in your
own words.
“We expected lie tellers to be more likely than lie receivers to construe their
motivations altruistically and less likely to construe their motivations egotistically.”
(Kaplar 493)
In this study, Kaplar and Gordon claim that the motivation for lying is
interpreted differently depending on the participant’s role in the lie, with liars seeing
their lies as acts that are more selfless and kind, but when lied to they interpret the
motivations as malevolent or selfish.
6) Synthesis Matrix
Seeing how various sources fit together is challenging. The synthesis matrix is designed to
establish how your sources converse with one another to help you have a robust understanding
of how they weigh in on your question. You will design a matrix using the four sources (1
shared reading, 1 substantive source, 1 scholarly source, and 1 popular secondary source or
primary text) you will use in your Critical Analysis Essay. This will illustrate the main
ideas/topics of your sources in relation to your question: what they specifically assert regarding
it.
Fill out the template at the bottom of this assignment (page 2). Line up your four sources in
the left hand column of the grid and then write your two or three categories across the top
column. Your categories should be important aspects of the topic of your paper. Example: If I
were writing about a particular song, I might generate the following categories as important
aspects of why it is my favorite: tempo, lyrics, & syncopation. Note: The point here is to weave
together the commonalities between your sources—what do all your sources say about each
category. Be thorough with what each source has to say regarding the categories.
You must write the information in the grid using complete thoughts/sentences. Use direct
quotes from your sources, making sure to provide in-text citations. Additionally, you must
provide nuanced and clear explanations of what each quote reveals about its category.
Framing Question:
Is Lying Inherently Selfish?
Source 1
(Of Mice
and Men,
Steinbeck
Source 2
“Lying in
Everyday
Life”,
DePaulo
Source 3
“Good
Lovers
Lie”,
Martin
Source 4
“The
Enigma
of
Altruistic
Lying”,
Kaplar
Category #1
Category #2
Category #3
Moral
“interpretation” of
lying
Reasons for lying
Nature of Relationship
Lying = protection
and defending the
weak, truth = garish,
offensive, “tmi”
Protecting others
(altruistic)
Close friends
Lying = common in
everyday life, makes
participants
uncomfortable but
not morally “bad”
“Self-motivated” and
“Other-Motivated”
Varied
Lying = essential to
protect relationships,
comes from a place
of love
Protect loved ones’
feelings
Family and romantic
partners
Lying has different
interpretations on
whether you are the
liar or recipient; liar
perceives lies as
altruistic while
recipient perceives
lies as unjust
Different interpretations
based on role in lie /
varied, complex and
sometimes simultaneously
altruistic and selfish
Romantic partners