Lying in Everyday Life

Question 1

What is the Definition of Deception

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Deception is…

Answer 2

an intentional act (mistakes are no lies)

Question 3

Deception is defined…

Answer 3

from the perspective of the communicator

Question 4

State the 2 types of statements

Answer 4

> Incorrect Statements are not necessarily lies (e.g. mistakes)
Correct statements could be lies (e.g., “You won’t find him he fled abroad”)

Question 5

Who theorised the types of lie

Answer 5

DePaulo et al., 1996

Question 6

What are the types of lies

Answer 6

> Outright Lies
Exaggerations
Subtle Lies

Question 7

Define Outright Lies

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Define Exaggerations

Answer 8

Over - or understatements

Question 9

Define Subtle Lies

Answer 9

Literal truth designed to mislead and concealments

Question 10

Why do partners prefer concealment

Answer 10

> They are difficult to detect
Relatively easy to tell as no story needs to be fabricated
Is seen as less negative than outright lies

Question 11

State the 2 reasons why people lie

Answer 11

> Self-oriented lies: Lies told for your own benefit

> Other oriented lie: Lies told for other people’s benefit

Question 12

Reasoning behind both self-oriented and other-oriented lies

Answer 12

> Obtain Material gain
Obtain Psychological gain
Avoid Material loss
Avoid Psychological costs

Question 13

What does Frequency of lying depend on

Answer 13

> To whom the lie is told
Personality
Situation

Question 14

How often to adults lie

Answer 14

Adults tell an average of 1.5 lies a day and in one of four of their interactions (DePaulo et al., 1996)

Question 15

Who do we lie to?

Answer 15

Less to people we know well
> Desire to be honest
> Fewer opportunities
> Confidence in other as a lie detector

Question 16

Does gender affect rates of lying

Answer 16

> No difference in overall frequency of lying

> However, Men tell more self-oriented lies and Women tell more other-oriented lies

Question 17

Does age affect frequency of lying

Answer 17

> Even young children lie (2.5 years)
To escape punishment
To obtain reward
To protect their self-esteem

Question 18

Do Type A Secure people lie

Answer 18

Secure people don’t often lie

Question 19

Do Type B Avoidant people lie

Answer 19

Avoidant people lie to maintain privacy

Question 20

Do Type C Anxious people lie

Answer 20

Anxious people lie to keep the other person happy

Question 21

Define Truth bias

Answer 21

The tendency to judge messages as truthful

Question 22

What are the reasons of a truth bias

Answer 22

> Safe option (most messages are truthful)
Polite option (Rude to judge someone as a liar in case of uncertainty)
Social rules prevent someone of being suspicious or accusing someone of lying

Question 23

Relational truth bias is..

Answer 23

heuristic:
> people are confident in lie detection ability
> others wouldn’t dare to lie
> putting less effort in detecting deceit