Lying in Everyday Life Flashcards
What is the Definition of Deception
A successful or unsuccessful attempt without forewarning, to create in another a belief which the communicator believes to be untrue
Deception is…
an intentional act (mistakes are no lies)
Deception is defined…
from the perspective of the communicator
State the 2 types of statements
> Incorrect Statements are not necessarily lies (e.g. mistakes)
Correct statements could be lies (e.g., “You won’t find him he fled abroad”)
Who theorised the types of lie
DePaulo et al., 1996
What are the types of lies
> Outright Lies
Exaggerations
Subtle Lies
Define Outright Lies
Information is entirely different from what the liar believes to be the truth
Define Exaggerations
Over - or understatements
Define Subtle Lies
Literal truth designed to mislead and concealments
Why do partners prefer concealment
> They are difficult to detect
Relatively easy to tell as no story needs to be fabricated
Is seen as less negative than outright lies
State the 2 reasons why people lie
> Self-oriented lies: Lies told for your own benefit
> Other oriented lie: Lies told for other people’s benefit
Reasoning behind both self-oriented and other-oriented lies
> Obtain Material gain
Obtain Psychological gain
Avoid Material loss
Avoid Psychological costs
What does Frequency of lying depend on
> To whom the lie is told
Personality
Situation
How often to adults lie
Adults tell an average of 1.5 lies a day and in one of four of their interactions (DePaulo et al., 1996)
Who do we lie to?
Less to people we know well
> Desire to be honest
> Fewer opportunities
> Confidence in other as a lie detector
Does gender affect rates of lying
> No difference in overall frequency of lying
> However, Men tell more self-oriented lies and Women tell more other-oriented lies
Does age affect frequency of lying
> Even young children lie (2.5 years)
To escape punishment
To obtain reward
To protect their self-esteem
Do Type A Secure people lie
Secure people don’t often lie
Do Type B Avoidant people lie
Avoidant people lie to maintain privacy
Do Type C Anxious people lie
Anxious people lie to keep the other person happy
Define Truth bias
The tendency to judge messages as truthful
What are the reasons of a truth bias
> 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
Relational truth bias is..
heuristic:
> people are confident in lie detection ability
> others wouldn’t dare to lie
> putting less effort in detecting deceit
