Estimates of how often we lie range from as little as once a day to as much as two to three lies every 10 minutes.
Despite our expertise in telling lies, we are not so good at separating fact from fiction. Even if we know which body language clues to watch for, we can typically only detect about 54% of lies.
Men’s Lies vs. Women’s Lies
Although some studies suggest that men lie more than women, others find that men and women lie about the same amount, but for different reasons.
Men’s lies are often intended to make themselves look better to other people.
Women’s lies frequently strive to make others feel better or to avoid hurt feelings.
Men commonly exaggerate their height and earnings.
Women commonly minimize their weight and age.
Men tend to feel less guilty about lying than women.
Why We Lie
We might not like the idea of being untruthful, but we justify lying for the following reasons:
To shift blame and avoid punishment
To save face
To avoid conflict
To get our own way
To get out of doing something
To be nice or avoid hurting someone’s feelings
To make ourselves look better — for fear of rejection or in order to gain something
Because it’s easier than telling the truth
Because we can get away with it
Types of Lies
Lying is so embedded in our social behavior that we have developed many different kinds of lies, including:
Barefaced / bold-faced lies — obvious lies
Big lies – major lies
Bluffing – pretending that you are going to do something or are capable of doing so when you are not
Bulls*** – misleading nonsense
Contextual lies – giving false impressions by only telling part of the truth
Exaggeration – stretching the truth
Minimization – shrinking the truth
Fabrication – representing something that is made up as the truth
Fib - an insignificant or minor lie
Half-truths – lies that contains some element of truth
Lying by omission – deception by leaving out important facts
Perjury – lying under oath
Polite lies – lie told to meet standards of politeness, such as “I really enjoyed the party,” or declining an invitation due to “scheduling difficulties.”
White lies - small lies mostly considered harmless or tactful
Pros and Cons of Lying
Pros:
People who exaggerate their achievements may actually end up fulfilling higher goals for themselves.
People who lie to themselves may be happier than those who don’t.
Frequent liars may be perceived as friendlier than those who are more prone to bluntly telling the truth.
Cons:
Liars may feel guilty and fear getting caught.
People who frequently tell significant lies may wind up being viewed as untrustworthy.
Honesty is one of the characteristics we most value in others. We don’t like being lied to and see it as a betrayal.
Telling major lies may be bad for your health: it speeds up your heart rate, raises your body temperature, and makes you tense.
Worst Month For Lying
According to a poll, we are more prone to tell lies in January compared to other months of the year. These lies may be about:
How celebrations were spent
Broken New Year’s resolutions
Christmas gifts
Alcohol intake
Money spending
Being too sick to go to work on cold winter mornings
Excuses to avoid socializing in the cold weather
Famous Liars
There are little white lies, then there are giant whoppers. Here are some of the biggest lies of all time:
Bill Clinton – “I did not have segxwal relations with that woman.”
Richard Nixon – “I’m not a crook.”
George H W Bush – “Read my lips: no new taxes.”
Bernie Madoff – admitted that his Ponzi scheme was “all just one big lie” after conning investors out of approximately $50 billion
Charles Ponzi – the original Ponzi schemer who raised millions by scamming investors
Janet Cooke – won the Pulitzer prize for her report on an 8-year-old-heroin addict who didn’t exist
James Frey – Oprah Winfrey was not pleased when this author’s memoir, ‘A Million Little Pieces,’ was revealed to contain fictional events
Milli Vanilli – had to return their Grammy after a lip-synched performance and the discovery that they hadn’t actually sung on their records
Elmyr de Hory – forger of master artists, including Picasso
Victor Lustig – con man who “sold” the Eiffel Tower for a suitcase of money
Benedict Arnold – traitor of the American Revolutionary War
Anna Anderson – claimed she was Princess Anastasia of the Russian royal Romanov family and that she had escaped execution in 1918
Frank Abagnale – fraudulent check casher who posed as a pediatrician, attorney, college professor, and even as an airline pilot
Kenneth Lay - Enron chairman who convinced investors that the company earned billions more per year than it actually did
Rosie Ruiz – first woman to win the Boston marathon but who actually only ran the last half mile and had previously taken the subway during the New York marathon
Common Lies
Many lies are repeated countless times daily all around the world. How many of these popular lies have you told?
“I’m fine, thanks.”
“I haven’t had too much to drink.”
“No, your butt doesn’t look big in that.”
“I had no signal on my phone.”
“You’re looking great.”
“It’s not you — it’s me.”
“My battery died.”
“The check is in the mail.”
“I’ll call you.”
“This is delicious.”
“We’re just good friends.”
“She’s in a meeting.”
“I never got the message.”
“It was on sale.”
“I can quit anytime I want.”
“I’m not ready for a relationship.”
“I’m too sick to come in.”
“Sorry, I’m busy that night.”
Movie-Watching Lies
According to a British poll, four out of five people lie about what movies they’ve seen in order to impress. The top movies people don’t want to admit they haven’t watched are:
The Godfather
Casablanca
Taxi Driver
2001: A Space Odyssey
Reservoir Dogs
This Is Spinal Tap
Apocalypse Now
Goodfellas
Blade Runner
The Great Escape
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