PREVIOUS : Type of LIARS (Part 1)

SITE :
“Why People Lie “

 

“NORMAL ” vs. PATHOLOGICAL Lying

🤍 WHITE Lies
 These are considered harmless, often well-intentioned lies told to spare someone’s feelings or avoid unnecessary conflict or discomfort. They usually have minimal consequences, & are generally socially acceptable. EXP: praising your aunt’s cooking—even if the meal wasn’t to your liking – to be polite & keep peace.

✐ People who tell white lies don’t think of themself as true “liars”
✐ They justify them as harmless – even beneficial – in the long run
✐ Will tell only part of the truth, so are not suspected of lying at all
✐ May use lying to shield someone from what they believe is a hurtful or damaging truth

Occasional liars
• These people seldom tell lies
• Are respected for trying hard to be truthful
• When they do lie, they’re so surprised or shocked that guilt overtakes them
• Humble enough to admit their mistakes
• Are quick to ask for forgiveness from the person they lied to

🩶 GRAY Lies
These don’t fit neatly into either White – since they’re more serious, but not Real, which  are malicious.
Gray lies can be used to avoid unnecessary conflict or discomfort, but don’t always have such pure intentions.
EXP 1 : By omission – leaving out important facts – which can be as deceptive as Direct ones, such as not mentioning to your friend that their partner has been flirting with someone else, even though you actually saw it.

EXP 2 : By exaggeration, which inflates or embellishes the truth to make a person or story more interesting or to impress others – such as boasting about how much you can bench press by overstating your strength & weight capacity.

Careless liars
• These people go about their normal lives, & easily lie whenever they can
• They aren’t concerned about trying to hide their lies, nor that these make sense
• Everyone knows they’re lying because they’re sloppy at it
• They have very few friends, because people get sick of their obviously twisted stories. 

🤎  REAL Lies
These are deliberate falsehoods, more deceptive, intended to gain personal advantage, conceal wrongdoing & manipulate others. They’re rarer, but planned & executed for a specific reason, possibly with negative social & legal consequences. EXP : falsely claiming that your phone was stolen — to get a replacement from an insurance company — when it was just lost.

Smooth Liars 
• They’re so good with words & body language that others tend to believe them, even when they have a reputation for being a liar
• They’re very entertaining & fun to be around, but when found out, tends to move on to others who they can apply work their dark talents on. 

Compulsive liars (Part 2b)
• Their lying is an addiction, often without a clear motive
• Most report an inability to stop themself, even when wanting to
• Tend to be their “normal” way of responding to any question

INTERESTING
🚩Research shows there are also gender differences in honesty.
♦︎ One paper suggests men are more selfishly dishonest than women. A meta-analysis of over 8,700 observations found that men tell more black lies (for personal benefit) and white lies (altruistic).

♦︎ It was also observed that men are more likely to deceive themself, believing they’re superior & so deserving of special treatment, driven mainly by the exploitative/entitlement facet of narcissism,
♦︎ And regarding self-regulation – men are more competitive, which is associated with a greater willingness to deceive.
Their conclusion : Men are generally more dishonest than women, anywhere it serves a self-interest, & especially in high-rival environments.
Women are less competitive, more guilt-prone, with greater moral-identity strength than men.

🚩 Another study found “a significant link between lying expertise & gender.” Men are twice as likely as women to consider themselves expert liars who get away with it, preferring to lie to your face rather than via text messages, with social media the least likely way.
Previous research concluded that most people tell 1-2 lies per day, but that’s not accurate – most do not lie daily.  40% of all falsehoods come from a small category of deceivers  – the ‘Prolifics’, who lie with impunity (without fear of punishment), especially to those closest to them.’ (MORE….)

NEXT : Type of LIARS (Part 2b)