Lying
Teens lie the most, according to a new study. Getty Images

Whether it's a white lie, a fib, artful omission, a tall tale or an exaggeration, everyone lies. Over the years, we develop a conscience and feel guilty when we lie and the practice gradually subsides due to self control. At least, we hope so. A new study looked at lying over an entire life span and concluded young adults were the best at it and the elderly were the worst.

Researchers from Ghent University, Vanderbilt University, the University of Amsterdam and Maastricht University examined the art of lying by testing 1,005 individuals ranging in age from 6 to 77. The study, published in Acta Psychologica, measured reaction time -- how quickly subjects responded to a question -- and accuracy answering general knowledge questions.

The results showed that children lied a lot and peaked when they were young adults. At that point, the frequency of lies decreased and hit its lowest point in adults over age 60. Researchers asked participants to calculate how many lies they told in the last 24 hours, according to the British Psychological Society. The lies told over a day followed a similar pattern, with teens telling the most lies -- an average of 2.8.

Another test involving a "stop-signal task" had a sound play indicating the participant should not respond, but the results did not correlate with lying. The researchers believe impulse control played a role in lying, but the test peaked at young adulthood and then stabilized.

While the study is fun, the British Psychological Society notes it has drawbacks and that we shouldn't draw too many conclusions from it. There were skewed results -- half of the participants said they didn't lie in the last 24 hours, but the average was the result of a few compulsive liars -- and the study did not look at how patterns of lying changed over a lifetime.