Lies in everyday life

Question 1

Define deception

Answer 1

A successful or unsuccessful attempt without forewarning, to create in another a belief which the communicator considers to be untrue

Question 2

Can mistakes be considered a lie?

Answer 2

No. Lies/deception are intentional acts

Question 3

Name 3 types of lie

Answer 3

Outright lies. Exaggerations. Subtle lies.

Question 4

What is an outright lie

Answer 4

Information is entirely different from what the liar believes to be the truth

Question 5

What is an exaggeration

Answer 5

Over or under - statements

Question 6

What is a subtle lie

Answer 6

Literal truth designed to mislead and conceal

Question 7

What type of lie do partners prefer

Answer 7

Subtle lies - concealments

Question 8

Why do partners prefer concealments

Answer 8

They are difficult to detect. Relatively easy to tell as no story needs to be fabricated. No need to remember what has been said. Is seen as less negative than an outright lie. May be a way out if detected. (I forgot to tell you or I was just about to tell you).

Question 9

What is a self-orientated lie

Answer 9

Lies told for our own benefit

Question 10

Name 4 reasons why people self-orientated lies

Answer 10

Obtain material gain. Obtain psychological gain. To avoid material loss/punishment. To avoid psychological costs - protect oneself from embarrassment or disapproval.

Question 11

What is other-orientated lies

Answer 11

Lies told for other people’s benefit

Question 12

Name 4 people why people other-orientated lies

Answer 12

Obtain material gain. Obtain psychological gain. To avoid material loss/punishment. To avoid psychological costs - woman pretending to have experienced an orgasm

Question 13

Why do people tell social lies

Answer 13

Conversations could become awkward and rude if the truth was always told

Question 14

Name an important aspect when it comes to investigating frequency of lying

Answer 14

You need to define a lie first.

Question 15

Name questions and methods used when investigating frequency of lying

Answer 15

How often do you lie per day? What was the last lie you told? Show participants hypothetical scenarios and ask them how they would react. Keep a diary

Question 16

On average, how many times do adults lie a day

Answer 16

1.5 times - 1 in 4 of their interactions

Question 17

What percentage of lies do people tell

Answer 17

Self-Orientated = 50%. Other-Orientated = 25%. Outright lies = 67%. Psychological reasons = 60%.

Question 18

Who do we lie to

Answer 18

Less to people we know well. Romantic partners

Question 19

Why do we lie less to people we know well

Answer 19

Desire to be honest. Fewer opportunities. Confidence in other as a lie detector

Question 20

Explain how and why we lie to romantic partners

Answer 20

One in 10 interactions. 92% of people admitted to lying to their romantic partner. Other-orientated lies to not ham partners feelings. self-orientated lies are told to serve privacy needs and to save the relationship.

Question 21

What is the exception with lying less to people we know and why

Answer 21

Students lie often to their mothers - almost half of the conversations. Because still dependent on mother and cares what she thinks.

Question 22

What percentage of respondents admitted to being willing to lie to a prospective date

Answer 22

90%

Question 23

Why do people often lie in the early days to their romantic partner

Answer 23

Worry that their true self is not loveable enough

Question 24

What do men lie often about to women

Answer 24

Career expectations

Question 25

What do women lie often about to men

Answer 25

Looking thinner - wear dark clothes & suck in

Question 26

What percentage of people are willing to lie in their selection interviews

Answer 26

80%

Question 27

Name one difference between males and female lying approaches

Answer 27

Men tell more self-orientated lies and women tell more other-orientated lies

Question 28

Explain the process of lying in development and why children lie

Answer 28

2.5 year olds lie to escape punishment. Then to obtain rewards. Then to protect self esteem.

Question 29

How do parents teach children to tell lies

Answer 29

By encouraging to do so - e.g. if dad asks what we’ve done today tell him this… or don’t tell Grandma I said that. And by punishing them when being honest

Question 30

Discuss how type A attachment style personality

Answer 30

They find it easy to get close to others and can depend on them without trouble, as well as being comfortable with others depending on them. They don’t worry about being abandoned.

Question 31

Discuss how type B attachment style personality

Answer 31

They are somewhat uncomfortable being close to others and find it difficult to trust or allow themselves to depend on others. They are nervous when people get too close.

Question 32

Discuss how type C attachment style personality

Answer 32

They find that others are reluctant to get as close as they would like. Worry that their partners don’t really love them. They want to merge completely with another person

Question 33

Name what the 3 types of attachment style are

Answer 33

Type A - Secure
Type B - Avoidant
Type C - Anxious

Question 34

Discuss Type A personality in terms of lying

Answer 34

Don’t lie often to partners

Question 35

Discuss Type B personality in terms of lying

Answer 35

Lie to maintain their privacy

Question 36

Discuss Type C personality in terms of lying

Answer 36

Lie to keep the other person happy

Question 37

Do psychopaths lie?

Answer 37

Yes - often

Question 38

Do machiavellists lie

Answer 38

Yes - often

Question 39

Why are machiavellists like despite lying

Answer 39

They tend to dominate in conversations and seem relaxed, talented and confident as well as usually being successful

Question 40

Who lies more extraverts or introverts

Answer 40

Extraverts

Question 41

Discuss the argument for and against being good at lie detecting

Answer 41

Because lies can sometimes be harmful, it would be good to detect them. Professionals and the justice system need to be able to tell when someone is lying to avoid wrongly convicting someone or letting a guilty suspect off. However, it often leads to lower self-esteem so people may not want to know harmful things that have been said about them.

Question 42

Explain the truth bias

Answer 42

Tendency to judge messages as truthful

Question 43

Discuss the results when observers were asked to watch a video and then told to indicate whether the statement was truthful or not

Answer 43

Results of a strangers statment: 63% said truth, 48% said lie. 54% in total. Results of a friend/partner: 58% total

Question 44

Explain the reasons for truth bias

Answer 44

Safe option - most messages are truthful anyway. Polite option - rude to judge someone as a liar in case of uncertainty. Social rules prevent people from being suspicious or accusing someone of lying. Stereotypical views of truth tellers are more accurate than those of liars.

Question 45

Discuss relational truth-bias heuristic (Levine et al., 1999)

Answer 45

People are confident in lie detection ability with people they are close to. People assume partners and friends wouldn’t lie to them, and thus put less effort in detecting deceit.