4 Ways to Detect Lies - wikiHow Detecting Lies in the Face and Eyes 1 Look for micro-expressions. Micro-expressions are facial expressions that flash on a person's face for a fraction of a second and reveal the person's true emotion, underneath the lie. Some people may be naturally sensitive to them but almost anybody can train themselves to detect these micro-expressions. Typically, in a person who is lying, his or her micro-expression will be an emotion of distress, characterized by the eyebrows being drawn upwards towards the middle of the forehead, causing short lines to appear across the skin of the forehead. 2 Look for nose touching and mouth covering. People tend to touch the nose more when lying and a great deal less when telling the truth. [1] This is perhaps due to a rush of adrenaline to the capillaries in the nose, causing the nose to itch. [2] [3] A lying person is more likely to cover his or her mouth with a hand or to place the hands near the mouth, almost as if to cover the lies coming forth. If the mouth appears tense and the lips are pursed, this can indicate distress. [4] [5] 3 Notice the person's eye movements.

You can usually tell if a person is remembering something or making something up based on eye movements. When people remember details, their eyes move up and to the left if they are left-handed. When right-handed people make something up, their eyes move up and to the right. The reverse is true of left-handed people. People also tend to blink more rapidly ("eye flutter") as they're telling a lie. More common in men than in women, another tell of a lie can be rubbing the eyes. [1] Watch the eyelids. These tend to close longer than the usual blink when a person sees or hears something he or she doesn't agree with. [4] However, this can be a very minute change, so you will need to know how the person blinks normally during a non-stressful situation for accurate comparison. If the hands or fingers also go to the eyes, this may be another indicator of trying to "block out" the truth. [4] Be careful about assessing the truthfulness of someone's statement based on eye movements alone. Recent scientific studies have cast doubt on the idea that looking a certain direction can help pinpoint someone who is lying.

[6] [7] Many scientists believe that eye directionality is a statistically poor indicator of truthfulness. 4 Do not use eye contact or lack of it as a sole indicator of truthfulness. Contrary to popular belief, a liar does not always avoid eye contact . [1] Creatures may naturally break eye contact and look at non-moving objects to help them focus and remember. Liars may deliberately make eye contact to seem more sincere ; this can be practiced to overcome any discomfort, as a way of "proving" that truth is being told. Indeed, it has been shown that some liars tend to increase the level of eye contact in response to the fact that investigators have often considered eye contact as a tell. [4] Clearly, only use eye contact aversion as one indicator in a general context of increasing distress when being asked difficult questions. [4] Method Detecting Lies in Verbal Responses 1 Pay attention to the person's voice. A person's voice can be a good lie indicator. He or she may suddenly start talking faster or slower than normal, or the tension may result in a higher-pitched or quavering tone. Stuttering or stammering may also point to a lie. 2 Pay attention to exaggerated details.

See if the person appears to be telling you too much. An example might be, "My mom is living in France, isn't it nice there? Don't you like the Eiffel tower? It's so clean there." Too many details may tip you off to the person's desperation to get you to believe what is being said. 3 Be aware of impulsive emotional responses. Timing and duration tends to be off when someone is lying. It's either because the person in question has rehearsed their answer (or is expecting to be questioned) or rattles off something, anything, in order to fill the silence. If you ask someone a question and he or she responds directly after the question, there is a chance that the person is lying. This can be because the liar has rehearsed the answer or is already thinking about the answer just to get it over with. Another tell can be omission of relevant time facts, such as saying "I went to work at 5 AM and when I got home at 5 PM, he was not there." In this glib example, what happened in between has been all too conveniently glided over. 4 Pay close attention to the person's reaction to your questions.

Someone who has told the truth doesn't feel much need to defend themselves, well, because they're telling the truth. Someone who hasn't told the truth needs to compensate for their lie by perhaps going on the offensive, deflecting, or another stalling tactic. A truthful person will often respond with even more detailed explanations to expressions of disbelief in his or her story. Someone aiming to deceive won't be ready to reveal much else but keeps repeating what has already been established. [5] Listen for a subtle delay in responses to questions. An honest answer comes quickly from memory. Lies require a quick mental review of what they have told others to avoid inconsistency and to make up new details as needed. Note that when people look up to remember things, it does not necessarily mean that they're lying — this could just be a natural instinct. 5 Be conscious of the person's usage of words. Verbal expressions can give you clues about whether a person is lying. These clues include: Repeating your own exact words when answering a question. Stalling tactics, such as asking for a question to be repeated.

[4] Other stalling tactics include stating that the question asked is excellent, Using words and phrases such as "basically..." And "what happened was....".that the answer isn't so simple as yes or no, or confrontational style responses such as "It depends on what you mean by X" or "Where did you get this information?" [4] Avoiding use of contractions, namely saying "I did not do it" instead of "I didn't do it." This is an attempt to make it absolutely clear what the liar means. [4] Speaking in muddled sentences and not making sense; liars often stop mid-sentence, restart and fail to finish sentences. [5] Using humor and/or sarcasm to avoid the subject. Using statements such as "to be honest," "frankly," "to be perfectly truthful," "I was brought up to never lie," etc. These can be a sign of deception [4] Answering too quickly with a negative statement of a positive assertion, such as "Did you wash those pots lazily?" answered by "No, I did not wash those pots lazily," as an attempt to avoid the impression of a delayed answer.

[4] 6 Notice when the person repeats sentences. If the suspect uses almost the exact same words over and over, then it's probably a lie. When a person makes up a lie, he or she often tries to remember a certain phrase or sentence that sounds convincing. When asked to explain the situation again, the liar will use the very same "convincing" sentence again. 7 Notice the mid-sentence jump. The mid-sentence jump is when a clever liar tries to distract attention away from him or herself by interrupting themselves mid-stream and talking about something else. Someone might try to change the subject in this clever way: "I was going — Hey, did you get a new haircut this weekend?" Be especially cautious of compliments from the subject in question. The liar knows that people respond well to compliments, giving him or her a chance to escape interrogation by complimenting someone. Be wary of someone who delivers a compliment out of the blue. Method Detecting Lies in Body Language Tics 1 Check for sweating. People tend to sweat more when they lie. [8] Actually, measuring sweat is one of the ways that the polygraph test (the "lie detector" in all the movies) determines a lie.

[9] Yet again, taken on its own, this is not always a reliable indication of lying. Some people may sweat a lot more just because of nervousness, shyness or a condition that causes the person to sweat more than normal. It's one indicator to be read along with a group of signs, such as trembling, blushing and difficulty in swallowing. 2 Watch when the person nods. If the head is nodding or shaking in opposition to what is being said, this can be a tell. This is called "incongruence." For example, a person might say that he or she did something, such as "I cleaned those pots thoroughly" while shaking the head, revealing the truth that the pots were wiped briefly but not scrubbed. Unless a person is trained well, this is an easy unconscious mistake to make and such a physical response is often the truthful one. [1] [4] Also, a person may hesitate before nodding when giving an answer. A truthful person tends to nod in support of a statement or answer at the same time it is being given; when someone is trying to deceive, a delay may occur. [1] 3 Watch out for fidgeting.

A sign that someone is lying is that they fidget, either with their own body or with random things around them. Fidgeting results from nervous energy produced by a fear of being found out. In order to release the nervous energy, liars often fidget with a chair, a handkerchief, or a part of their body. 4 Observe the level of mirroring. People naturally mirror the behavior of others with whom they're interacting. It's a way of establishing rapport and showing interest. When lying, mirroring may drop as the liar spends a lot of effort on creating another reality for the listener. Some examples of failed mirroring that might alert you that something's not right: Leaning away. When a person is telling the truth or has nothing to hide, he or she tends to lean toward the listener. On the other hand, a liar will be more likely to lean backward, a sign of not wanting to give more information than is necessary. [4] Leaning away can also mean dislike or disinterest. They want to get out of it. In people telling the truth, head movements and body gestures tend to be mirrored as part of the interplay between the speaker and the listener.

A person trying to deceive may be reluctant to do this, so signs of not copying gestures or head movements could indicate an attempt to cover up. You might even spot a deliberate action to move a hand back to another position or to turn a different way. 5 Watch the person's throat. A person may constantly be trying to lubricate their throat when they lie by swallowing, gulping or clearing their throat. Lying causes their body to increase production of adrenaline, which gets their saliva pumping and then creates very little. While the saliva is surging, the subject might be gulping it down. When the saliva is no longer surging, the subject might be clearing their throat. 6 Check the person's breathing. A liar tends to breathe faster, displaying a series of short breaths followed by one deep breath. [4] The mouth may appear dry (causing much throat clearing). Again, this is because they are putting their body through stress, which causes the heart to beat faster and the lungs to demand more air. 7 Notice the behavior of other body parts. Watch the person's hands, arms and legs.

In a non-stressful situation, people tend to be comfortable and take up space by being expansive in hand and arm movements, perhaps sprawling their legs comfortably. In a lying person, these parts of the body will tend to be limited, stiff, and self-directed. [4] The person's hands may touch his or her face, ear, or the back of the neck. Folded arms, interlocked legs and lack of hand movements can be a sign of not wanting to give away information. Liars tend to avoid hand gestures that we consider a normal part of discussion or conversation. With some caveats, most liars will avoid finger pointing, open palm gestures, stippling (fingertips touching each other in a triangle shape often associated with thinking out loud), etc. [4] Check the knuckles. Liars who stay motionless may grip the sides of a chair or other object until the knuckles turn white, not even noticing what's happening. [4] Grooming behaviors are common in liars, such as playing with hair, adjusting a tie, or fidgeting with a shirt cuff. [5] [10] Two caveats to remember: Liars can deliberately slouch to appear "at ease".

[4] Yawning and bored behavior may be a sign of trying to act just a little casual about the situation so as to cover up deception. Just because they're at ease doesn't mean they're not lying. Keep in mind that these signals may be a sign of nervousness and not a sign of deceit. The subject in question might not necessarily be nervous because they're lying. Method Detecting Lies Through Interrogation 1 Be careful. Although it is possible to detect dishonesty and lying, it is also possible to misread deception where there is none. A range of factors could be causing a person to appear as if he or she is lying when the "signs" might be due to embarrassment, shyness, awkwardness or a sense of shame/inferiority. A stressed person can be easily mistaken for a liar, as some of the manifestations of stress mimic the indicators of lying indicators. For this reason, it is important that any observation of a person suspected of lying involves drawing together a "cluster" of deceptive behaviors and responses, as there is no single "aha!" sign. [4] 2 Look at the big picture.

When assessing the body language, verbal responses and other indicators indicative of lying, consider factors such as: [1] Is the person unduly stressed in general, not just from the situation in which he or she is in now? Is there a cultural factor involved? Perhaps the behavior is culturally appropriate in one culture but is seen as dishonest behavior in another. Are you personally biased or prejudiced against this person? Do you want this person to be lying? Be careful of falling into this trap! Is there a history of this person lying? Namely, is he or she experienced at it? Is there a motive and do you have a good reason for suspecting lying? Are you actually any good at reading lies? Have you taken into account the entire context and not simply zoomed in on one or two possible indicators? 3 Take time to establish rapport with the alleged liar and create a relaxed atmosphere. This includes not showing any signs that you suspect the other person of lying and making an effort to mirror his or her body language and pace of conversation. When questioning the person, act in an understanding, not overbearing, manner. This approach will help to let down the other person's guard and can help you to read the signs more clearly. 4 Establish a baseline.

A baseline is how someone behaves when he or she is not lying. This will help you tell if the way the person is acting currently is any different from how they usually act. Begin by getting to know the person if you don't already and proceed from there — people usually answer basic questions about themselves truthfully. For someone you already know, checking for a baseline might include asking the person about something the answer of which you already know. 5 Learn to spot deflections. Usually, when people are lying, they will tell stories that are true, but are deliberately aimed at not answering the question you asked. If a person responds to the question "Did you ever hit your wife?" with an answer such as "I love my wife, why would I do that?" the suspect is technically telling a truth, but is avoiding answering your original question. This may indicate that he or she is lying or trying to conceal something from you. 6 Ask the person to repeat the story over again. If you're really not sure whether they're telling the truth, ask them to repeat the story multiple times. It's hard to keep track of information that isn't truthful.

In the process of repeating their made-up story, the liar is likely to say something inconsistent, outright false, or telling. Ask the person to tell the story backwards. [5] This is very hard to do, especially when requiring no loss of the details. Even a professional liar can find this reversal of approach a hard one to tackle effectively. 7 Stare at the alleged liar with a look of disbelief. If the person is lying, he or she will soon become uncomfortable. If the person is telling the truth, he or she will often become angry or just frustrated (lips pressed together, brows down, upper eyelid tensed and pulled down to glare). 8 Use silence. It's very hard for a liar to avoid filling silence created by you. [4] He or she wants you to believe the lies being woven; silence gives no feedback on whether or not you've bought the story. By being patient and remaining silent, many deceitful people will keep talking to fill that silence, embellishing and possibly slipping up in the process, without even being asked anything! Liars try to read you to see if you've bought the tale. [5] If you don't show any signs of something to monitor, many liars will feel uncomfortable.

If you're a good listener, you'll already be avoiding interruptions, which in itself is a great technique to let the story unfold. Practice not interrupting others if you have this tendency — not only will it help you to detect lies but it'll make you a better listener generally. 9 Follow through. If you have the means, check out the facts behind what the liar is saying. A skilled liar might give some reason why you shouldn't talk to the person who could confirm or deny a story. These are probably lies themselves, so it might be worthwhile overcoming your reluctance and to check with the person you've been warned against. Anything factual that can be checked should be checked. Community Q&A Why do liars feel stress when there is silence? wikiHow Contributor Silence makes them feel like their message hasn't been accepted by the person they are talking to. Is it bad that I'm here just to learn what could get me caught -- is that bad? wikiHow Contributor You know it is or you'd not be asking, especially repeating "is it bad"? It's also smart though, you're clearly a reverse engineer kind of person, so whatever works for you. Just be realistic about how being a liar will affect your life.

People won't trust you, close relationships will be impossible and you'll be more on your own than if you were honest and open about things. What do you do if someone thinks you're lying but you're not? wikiHow Contributor This is a tough one because some people do give off seemingly suspicious signals out of anxiety, fear, a desire to please or ironically, as a result of being too honest, and many people wrongly assume that they can actually tell when someone is lying. It might help to suggest that the person in question is being unreasonable and has no proof that you're lying other than their willingness to believe it to be so. Perhaps ask them why they're so keen to consider you a liar - that can open up a wider conversation provided you ask nicely and with a real intention to discuss it further. Stay confident and stick to your truths, the truth will always out in the end. Does this apply to both males and females, or are the tells different depending on the gender? wikiHow Contributor It depends. Men blink more rapidly when they lie, but women don't. Basically the concepts are the same, but the details may be different. What if you accuse someone of lying, and then it turns out that they're not lying?

wikiHow Contributor That's awkward. But if it happens, apologize immediately and explain why you thought that way. Then say you will trust them, and coat it over with another "sorry"' and a hug/high five/ smile/something similar to appease them. Be super nice for a while after. What if I believed someone when she swore she was telling me the truth, but she was really lying? wikiHow Contributor Don't trust the person again and remember that some people will lie after swearing they are telling the truth. What if this person chews their nails all the time? I don't know if they're lying or not. wikiHow Contributor Look for other signs of lying. Some people just have a bad habit of chewing fingernails. If you think your friend is lying, you would have already known if it's just a bad habit or not. Should I trust someone who has lied to me before? wikiHow Contributor It depends. You can trust someone who has told small lies or has lied to not hurt your feelings. However, If it was a big lie you still remember, maybe you should give the person one more chance and then leave them. How can I tell if someone is lying when they know all the lie indicators and can avoid them?

wikiHow Contributor Use emotions to get the truth out. Appeal to their humanity by asking them to tell the truth and make them feel guilty for lying. Can people act the same way when they are telling the truth? wikiHow Contributor Yes, while most people can't control themselves, there are trained people who can. Some people do what actors do: they memorize and become the story. Some can even brainwash themselves, but this is usually done with the help of someone else. If this question (or a similar one) is answered twice in this section, please click here to let us know. Tips A good way to practice your lie detection skills is to watch a court television program like Judge Judy and see if you can tell who's lying. Trust your instincts and then watch carefully to see if you can detect some lying tells of the person you least trust in the case (although sometimes they are both lying!) If you agree with the judge's verdict then you have probably detected the same signs she has. You should also check if the lie makes sense. When most people lie, they get more nervous and tend to make up something that doesn't make sense. If they tell you too many details, they could be lying.

Ask them to tell you their story multiple times and make sure they say the same idea as before. Make sure you're positive they're lying before you call them on it! You wouldn't want to ruin your friendship/relationship for no reason. The more you get to know someone , the better you will become at recognizing their thinking style and the better you will become at knowing when they may be straying from the truth. Liars might use objects around them to help put detail into their lies. For example, there might be a pen on the table and then they will include a pen in their story. This could be another give away that the person is lying. Changing the subject quickly or making a joke out of it could indicate lying. Also getting very defensive and looking away or trying to convince you with direct eye contact. Sometimes they will start questioning you to get the attention off of them. Some people are very good liars and don't show any real signs. You have to rely on your own feelings and evidence that you notice. Some of the behaviors of a liar listed above also coincide with reactions and behavior of someone who might not be lying at all. People who are nervous, shy, easily frightened, guilt-ridden for some other reason, etc.

can react nervously and poorly when interrogated or placed under pressure. Such people can easily become defensive if accused of lying, particularly those with a strong sense of honesty and justice. This may seem like they're lying, but they're often just shocked or ashamed to be put at the center of attention unexpectedly. If you think someone is lying, ask for more details. If they hesitate or touch their face, this is an indicator that they may be lying! Some people may have reputations for lying. Keep this in mind, but don't let it lead your opinion. People change all the time and the effect of turning over a new leaf can be destroyed by a lack of faith in a person due to his or her past reputation. Prior reputation isn't everything––as with the signs of lying, it has to be taken as part of the broader context, on a case-by-case basis. Consider too that sometimes those with prior reputations are particularly to be set up by another who might benefit from this person taking the blame. It's easier to know if someone is lying if you know them well. Although any one of the given examples may seem as though they may be telling a lie, a combination of many is a great indicator of lying.

Most people tell the truth most of the time and will cherish their reputation. Liars will "sail close to the wind"––they'll artificially bolster their reputation so that they seem more credible or desirable than they actually are. Some people are just shy, and might not be really lying if they fidget a lot or don't meet your eyes. So never rule that out. Some people are extremely experienced or even professional liars. They have told their made up story so many times that they are actually believable, getting all their days, dates and times down perfectly! In reality, our memories are reformed a little every time we retell them, so making up memories to deceive oneself isn't so unusual either. Sometimes, you may need to simply accept that you can't catch every lie all the time. Liars don't talk too much. If you ask, did you do it? They will answer a simple no or yes. Be careful. Also asking did you break the pot? How did you do it? May get the truth out. If you say " I don't believe you" or if you say "That doesn't sound true" the liar might get mad or talk louder than usual.

Try to be negotiating, instead of accusative or verbally abusive. Some liars will give more information than is needed. When someone is trying to lie they start to stutter or fidget and they try everything to make you believe them like: crying or pleading. They also give you exact eye contact too so you might want to watch out for that too. Those established as clinical psychopaths or sociopaths may lie for a living, as they manipulate reality to conform to what they prefer to see. Rather than trying to catch out such people, look after yourself first and don't get caught up in their webs of deceit. Such people care naught for anyone but themselves and won't hesitate to pile lie upon lie, no matter how much hurt it inflicts upon you. Some of the behaviors outlined above may occur when somebody concentrates deeply on speaking (for example, when the topic is sophisticated or the person is stressed). Also watch for rapid eye movement. The liar will try to look at you, but instead will not make eye contact and look around the room. Instead of interrogation you can ask them a related question each day. When the alleged liar will recall events, their gaze may shift down as they think, naturally.

If they keep staring at you and don't think about it, it means the story could be rehearsed and they are lying. Liars may slowly and clearly say the shortest answer possible, stopping for a second every now and then, closing their mouth. Study body movements, voice tone changes, and their eyes. Those usually give away when someone is lying. Botox or other plastic surgery may also interfere with tells and give false positives. It's hard to express yourself clearly when your face is frozen in place by cosmetic treatments... Be wary of constant agreement. Some inexperienced liars just go along with what you say. So try to avoid suggesting things all together ie. "And after that you woke up and the dream ended?" If you know the person very well and know if they are stressed, there is a better chance of them telling the truth. If a person of your opposite gender knows you have a crush, and say they are already in a relationship, then they might be lying, to get attention. These sort of statements are common to be lies, so you should definitely check with them. Many people will try to look extra casual when lying, because they think being tense will give themselves away.

Most liars will; loosen their shoulders, breath less often, tilt their head, act as though you are being silly, shake their head with narrow eyes, and lean back. They will also deny things very calmly. Warnings Some people have really dry throats and will naturally swallow and clear their throats often. Body language is one indicator; it is not a fact. Don't punish a person simply because of your reading of body language and tells. Always find concrete evidence before drawing final conclusions. Moreover, don't turn unearthing a liar into a "I'll be played for a fool if I don't take this seriously" situation; leave your personal sense of righteousness to one side and look for facts, motive and broader consequences. While you have every right to feel betrayed and hurt if someone has lied in a way that has caused you harm, wanting someone to be a liar because this fits in with your own biases can cloud your judgment. Be aware that some people like to stare at you eye-to-eye. They may have trained themselves to do this, they may use it as a way to put others on edge or they might just think it's being polite because someone told them to maintain eye contact as a matter of courtesy!

Be careful of how often you appraise others' truthfulness. If you are always looking for lies, people may avoid you out of fear of a grilling. Being on the offensive and suspecting everyone all the time is not vigilance––it's a sign of an obsessive lack of trust in others. Forcing a smile is often just an attempt to be polite; don't take this personally. If someone fakes a smile for you, it can also mean that he or she wants to make a good impression on you, valuing you as a person and showing respect. Some people fidget when they need to go to the toilet or are too hot/cold. Studies show that interrogations of a suspected liar should always be performed in his/her mother tongue as even expert speakers of a foreign language will not show the same reactions (in spoken language as well as body language) if questioned in a language acquired later in life. Be aware of disabilities. A disability can affect the way someone interacts, so applying non-disabled standards could lead to misinterpretation. Find how they normally act, and then notice deviations from that. Autistic people (including those with Asperger's) may fidget and avoid eye contact as part of their natural body language .

Anxiety (notably social anxiety and PTSD ) can sometimes look like lying; a person may avoid eye contact, avoid people, and act nervous. Deaf or hard of hearing people may need to watch your mouth instead of your eyes in order to lip read or better understand what you are saying. Bipolar (manic depression) symptoms include fast talking during a manic phase. How to Detect Lies - body language, reactions, speech patterns Interesting Info -> Lying Index -> How to Detect Lies How to Detect Lies Become a Human Lie Detector (Part 1) Warning: sometimes ignorance is bliss. After gaining this knowledge, you may be hurt when it is obvious that someone is lying to you. The following deception detection techniques are used by police, forensic psychologists, security experts and other investigators. Introduction to Detecting Lies: This knowledge is also useful for managers, employers, and for anyone to use in everyday situations where telling the truth from a lie can help prevent you from being a victim of fraud/scams and other deceptions. This is just a basic run down of physical ( body language ) gestures and verbal cues that may indicate someone is being untruthful. Remember: these signs don't indicate someone is lying, just that they are more likely to be lying.

If you got here from somewhere else, be sure to check out our Lie Detection index page for more info including new research in the field of forensic psychology. Last update: April 10th, 2013. Signs of Deception: Body Language of Lies: • Physical expression will be limited and stiff, with few arm and hand movements. Hand, arm and leg movement are toward their own body the liar takes up less space. • A person who is lying to you will avoid making eye contact. • Hands touching their face, throat & mouth. Touching or scratching the nose or behind their ear. Not likely to touch his chest/heart with an open hand. Emotional Gestures & Contradiction • Timing and duration of emotional gestures and emotions are off a normal pace. The display of emotion is delayed, stays longer it would naturally, then stops suddenly. • Timing is off between emotions gestures/expressions and words. Example: Someone says "I love it!" when receiving a gift, and then smile after making that statement, rather then at the same time the statement is made.

• Gestures/expressions don’t match the verbal statement, such as frowning when saying “I love you.” • Expressions are limited to mouth movements when someone is faking emotions (like happy, surprised, sad, awe, )instead of the whole face. For example; when someone smiles naturally their whole face is involved: jaw/cheek movement, eyes and forehead push down, etc. Also see our article on micro expressions & lying . • A guilty person gets defensive. An innocent person will often go on the offensive. • A liar is uncomfortable facing his questioner/accuser and may turn his head or body away. • A liar might unconsciously place objects (book, coffee cup, etc.) between themselves and you. Verbal Context and Content • A liar will use your words to make answer a question. When asked, “Did you eat the last cookie?” The liar answers, “No, I did not eat the last cookie.” •A statement with a contraction is more likely to be truthful: “ I didn't do it” instead of “I did not do it” • Liars sometimes avoid "lying" by not making direct statements. They imply answers instead of denying something directly.

• The guilty person may speak more than natural, adding unnecessary details to convince you... they are not comfortable with silence or pauses in the conversation. • A liar may leave out pronouns and speak in a monotonous tone. When a truthful statement is made the pronoun is emphasized as much or more than the rest of the words in a statement. • Words may be garbled and spoken softly, and syntax and grammar may be off. In other words, his sentences will likely be muddled rather than emphasized. Also see our article on Statement Analysis for a more in-depth look at word analysis techniques used by interrogators. Other signs of a lie: • If you believe someone is lying, then change subject of a conversation quickly, a liar follows along willingly and becomes more relaxed. The guilty wants the subject changed; an innocent person may be confused by the sudden change in topics and will want to back to the previous subject. • Using humor or sarcasm to avoid a subject. Final Notes: Obviously, just because someone exhibits one or more of these signs does not make them a liar. The above behaviors should be compared to a persons base (normal) behavior whenever possible.

Most lie detecting experts agree that a combination of body language and other cues must be used to make an educated guess on whether someone is telling the truth or a lie. Why people lie — and how to tell if they are - TODAY.com Today.com Why people lie — and how to tell if they are 2004-01-31T19:58:35.000Z comment () Everybody lies. It may only be “white” lies, but everyone tells lies or “omits the truth” sometimes. We start lying at around age 4 to 5 when children gain an awareness of the use and power of language. This first lying is not malicious, but rather to find out, or test, what can manipulated in a child’s environment. Eventually children begin to use lying to get out of trouble or get something they want. White lies, those concocted to protect someone’s feelings, are not a big deal at all. The person, however, who seems to feel compelled to lie about both the small and large stuff has a problem. We often call these folks pathological liars (which is a description, not a diagnosis).

They lie to protect themselves, look good, gain financially or socially and avoid punishment. Quite often the person who has been deceived knows that this type of liar has to a certain extent deluded him or herself and is therefore to be somewhat pitied. A much more troubling group is those who lie a lot — and knowingly — for personal gain. These people may have a diagnosis called antisocial personality disorder, also known as being a sociopath, and often get into scrapes with the law. Lying often gets worse with the passage of time. When you get away with a lie it often impels you to continue your deceptions. Also, liars often find themselves perpetrating more untruths to cover themselves. We hold different people to different standards when it comes to telling the truth. We expect, for example, less honesty from politicians than from scientists. We have a vision of purity about those who are doing research, while we imagine that politicians will at least shade the truth about themselves in order to get elected. Why do we dislike liars, especially sociopaths, so much? It’s a matter of trust. When a person lies, they have broken a bond – an unspoken agreement to treat others as we would like to be treated.

Serious deception often makes it impossible for us to trust another person again. Because the issue of trust is on the line, coming clean about the lie as soon as possible is the best way to mend fences. If the truth only comes out once it is forced, repair of trust is far less likely. As a parent, the most important message you can send your children about lying is that you always — always — want them to come clean with you. No matter how big a whopper they have told, remind them that you would always rather hear the truth, no matter how bad it is, than be deceived. Tell them there is really nothing more sacred in your relationship than your trust of each other. Of course, all this presupposes that we have discovered an untruth — some people are so expert at deception that it often takes a long time to find out that we have been lied to. How, then, can we best detect whether we are being misled? There is no foolproof way, but there are often clues you can see in behavior that should make you suspicious: Avoidance of eye contact: Usually someone makes eye contact at least half the time they are talking to you.

If you notice them avoiding eye contact or looking down during a specific part of a conversation, they may well be lying. Change of voice: A variation in pitch of voice or rate of speech can be a sign of lying. So can lots of umms and ahhs. Body language. Turning your body away, covering your face or mouth, a lot of fidgeting of hands or legs can indicate deception. Contradicting yourself:. Making statements that just don’t hold together should make you suspicious. If you lie all the time, even about unimportant things, you are likely to have a problem that will eventually -- if it hasn’t already -- cause you real relationship, financial or legal troubles. Figuring out what is driving you to lie in the first place will help heal this self-destructive behavior. This may mean going into treatment with a therapist to discover why you feel the need to deceive. Dr. Gail Saltz is a psychiatrist with New York Presbyterian Hospital and a regular contributor to “Today.” For more information, you can visit her Web site, . Why People Lie - What Motivates Lying? | The Psychology of Lies | Blifaloo.com Interesting Info -> Lie Detection -> Why Do People Lie?

The Psychology of Lying Why People Lie - and The Psychology of Lying What Motivates Lying - Research, Statistics and Resources In previous articles we have discussed various techniques for detecting lies . But, what motivates people to lie? Psychologist Robert Feldman cites self-esteem as one of the biggest culprits in our lying ways: "We find that as soon as people feel that their self-esteem is threatened, they immediately begin to lie at higher levels." Feldman believes many lies are simply for the purpose of maintaining social contacts by avoiding insults or discord. Small lies that avoid conflict are probably the most common sort of lie...and avoiding conflict is a top motivator for deception. For example: someone lying about traffic holding them up, rather than sleeping in... or a "no, you look great in those pants" -- both sorts of lies achieve the effect of avoiding social conflict. They are "make life easier" kinds of lies. Back to the self-esteem angle: The farther one's true self is from their ideal self, the more likely they are to lie to boost themselves up, in others' eyes or their eyes... or perhaps how they perceive others to perceive them. Hmmm...

that is a hard train of thought to follow, but lying is a complex phenomenon. How often do people lie? One study, published in the Journal of Basic and Applied Psychology, found that 60 percent of people had lied at least once during a 10 conversation between two strangers. On average, the subjects lied almost 3 times in a 10 minute conversation. Another study of 2000 Britons claims men tell six lies a day with women averaging 3 lies a day. The same research found the most common lie (told by both sexes) being "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine." A similar study found similar conclusions. In the United States, one study had 77 college students plus 70 community members keep a diary detailing their deceptions. The students admitted to lying an average of twice a day, while the community members lied about once per day. More statistics from this study here . Why People Lie - Resources Recommended Links and Books: Lies We Tell Kids – “Adults lie constantly to kids.

I’m not saying we should stop, but I think we should at least examine which lies we tell and why…” Why We Lie from LiveScience - Discusses the motivation of lies with Robert Feldman - Psychologist, lying and author, along with other lying researchers. Have a suggestion, comment or question? Please use let me know . More on Lying and Detecting Deception: Features here on Blifaloo. A selection of articles covering different theories of lie detection, both through body language gestures and verbal cues. Learn the secrets to become a human lie detector. General overview of both verbal and non-verbal cues that signal deception. This has long been the most popular article on Blifaloo.com How to tell if someone is lying based on the movements of their eyes. Read the research behind this theory of eye direction and what it can reveal about our inner state of mind. Micro Expressions betray us when we lie. We can try to cover our feelings with fake smiles, but involuntary face muscles reveal this hidden emotions. Good introduction with plenty of links and resources. Introduction to the process used by investigators for analyzing a person’s words to determine if the subject is being truthful or deceptive. By guest author Mark McClish, Retired U.S.

Secret Service Federal Marshall. Detecting Deception Using Statement Analysis. Mark McClish explains how the word "never" can be a signal of deception...if you know what to look (or listen) for. When people use the word “actually” they are comparing two thoughts. Take a look at the following article for Mark McClish's expert take on this unique word in its relation to deception. Bored? Learn Something: Intro to Magic - Learn the secrets behind magic tricks. Understanding magic is a path to a logical mind. Stock Investing for Beginners - How to avoid common mistakes, useful links, and other handy advice. Liar, Liar .. What Personality Types Lie The Most? | The Huffington Post Liar, Liar .. What Personality Types Lie The Most? 09/12/2011 12:33 am ET | Updated Nov 12, 2011 410 Bella DePaulo Author, 'Singled Out' Who lies? My best guess is that everyone does. That's what my research, and other work, too, suggests.

For example, in one of the sets of studies that my colleagues and I conducted, two groups of people -- 77 college students and 70 people from the community -- kept diaries every day for a week of all of the lies that they told and all of their social interactions lasting at least 10 minutes. The college students lied in one out of about every three of their social interactions, and the people from the community lied in one out of every five interactions. Over the course of the week, only 1 percent of the college students and 9 percent of the people from the community claimed to have told no lies at all. (Yes, my first thought was -- they are lying about not lying.) Even though my best guess is that everyone lies, it is clear that some people tell lies much more readily than others. In my diary studies, for instance, the lie-telling "champ" told 46 lies over the course of the week, or close to seven lies a day. Who are these people who tell lies much more frequently than the rest of us? I'll set aside the clinically diagnosable in this post, and just consider everyday liars. Do they share certain personality characteristics? Are there sex differences?

Does age matter? Is the tendency to tell lots of lies linked to the quality of your relationships? The Personality of a Liar In the diary studies, all participants filled out a number of personality measures. We used that information to see if certain kinds of personality types are especially likely to tell lots of lies. When I posed the question, "who lies?" did a stereotype pop into your mind? Did you guess that frequent liars are more likely to be manipulative and scheming people than are more honest folks? If you did, surprise! I'm not going to tell you to abandon your preconceived notions about liars. People who are more manipulative (as measured by a Machiavellianism scale and a measure of Social Adroitness) lie more often than people who are less manipulative. Manipulative people tend to care about themselves, so you might also think that liars are generally people who do not care about other people. That's not totally true. Frequent liars can also be people who care too much about other people. What they care about, in particular, is what other people think of them. This personality type describes people who are always worrying about the impression they are making on other people.

"Oh, what will she think if I say that?" "Will he think I'm a total loser if I do this?" This is the impression-management personality type, and those people tell lots of lies, too. Interestingly, these kinds of people know that they lie more than other people do. That's noteworthy, because like the citizens of Lake Wobegon, the participants in our diary studies believed that on the average, they were above average in honesty. Guess who else lies more? Extraverts. Here's where it mattered that we kept track of people's social interactions and not just their lies. If we only counted lies, then extraverts would have many more opportunities to tell lies than introverts, because they spend more time around other people. Instead, we looked at rates of lying -- the number of lies people told relative to the number of opportunities they had to tell lies. Extraverts lied at a higher rate than introverts (though the difference was not big). Why do extraverts tell more lies than introverts? I think it is because the little lies of everyday life can make social interactions run smoothly.

Extraverts are versed in social niceties, and practice them so often that they probably do not even realize how often they are lying. In fact, we found some evidence for that among the college students. At the end of the week, when the extraverts saw the total number of lies they had told, they said that they were surprised at how often they had lied. We don't really know for sure, though, why extraverts lie more, so feel free to share your insights. The results for one other personality trait are totally obvious. That trait is responsibility, as measured by a scale by the same name that picks out people who are responsible, honest, ethical, dependabl, and reliable. Responsible people were less likely to tell lies than less responsible people -- especially the kinds of lies that are self-serving. Click here to learn about sex differences in lying, the connection between lying and the quality of your relationships, and whether age matters in the tendency to tell lies. If you are interested in more of the details of the diary studies, including the issue of whether the participants may have been lying to us about their lies, you can find the original journal articles in "The Lies We Tell and the Clues We Miss" .

A more reader-friendly version is available in "The Hows and Whys of Lies" . Also relevant to deception is this post on the screening of airport passengers by observational techniques. More: BBC - Ethics - Lying O what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. Sir Walter Scott, Marmion Lying is probably one of the most common wrong acts that we carry out (one researcher has said 'lying is an unavoidable part of human nature'), so it's worth spending time thinking about it. Most people would say that lying is always wrong, except when there's a good reason for it - which means that it's not always wrong! But even people who think lying is always wrong have a problem... Consider the case where telling a lie would mean that 10 other lies would not be told. If 10 lies are worse than 1 lie then it would seem to be a good thing to tell the first lie, but if lying is always wrong then it's wrong to tell the first lie... Acknowledgement Nobody who writes about lying nowadays can do so without acknowledging an enormous debt to this groundbreaking book: Lying: Moral choice in public and private life, by Sisela Bok, 1978.

What is a lie? Lying is a form of deception, but not all forms of deception are lies. Lying is giving some information while believing it to be untrue, intending to deceive by doing so. A lie has three essential features: A lie communicates some information The liar intends to deceive or mislead The liar believes that what they are 'saying' is not true There are some features that people think are part of lying but aren't actually necessary: A lie does not have to give false information A lies does not have to be told with a bad (malicious) intention - white lies are an example of lies told with a good intention This definition says that what makes a lie a lie is that the liar intends to deceive (or at least to mislead) the person they are lying to. It says nothing about whether the information given is true or false. This definition covers ordinary cases of lying and these two odd cases as well: the case where someone inadvertently gives true information while believing that they're telling a lie I want the last helping of pie for myself, so I lie to you that there is a worm in it.

When I later eat that piece of pie I discover that there really is a worm in it the case where nobody is deceived by me because they know that I always tell lies Lying and statements Some philosophers believe that lying requires a statement of some sort; they say that the liar must actually speak or write or gesture. Sisella Bok, author of a major philosophical book on the subject of lying, defines a lie as: an intentionally deceptive message in the form of a statement Others stretch the definition to include doing nothing in response to a question, knowing that this will deceive the questioner. Others include 'living a lie'; those cases where someone behaves in a way that misleads the rest of us as to their true nature. Why is lying wrong? There are many reasons why people think lying is wrong; which ones resonate best with you will depend on the way you think about ethics.

Lying is bad because a generally truthful world is a good thing: lying diminishes trust between human beings: if people generally didn't tell the truth, life would become very difficult, as nobody could be trusted and nothing you heard or read could be trusted - you would have to find everything out for yourself an untrusting world is also bad for liars - lying isn't much use if everyone is doing it Lying is bad because it treats those who are lied to as a means to achieve the liar's purpose, rather than as a valuable end in themselves Many people think that it is wrong to treat people as means not ends Lying is bad because it makes it difficult for the person being lied to make a free and informed decision about the matter concerned Lies lead people to base their decisions on false information Lying is bad because it cannot sensibly be made into a universal principle Many people think that something should only be accepted as an ethical rule if it can be applied in every case Lying is bad because it's a basic moral wrong Some things are fundamentally bad - lying is one of them Lying is bad because it's something that Good People don't do Good behaviour displays the virtues found in Good People Lying is bad because it corrupts the liar Telling lies

 may become a habit and if a person regularly indulges in one form of wrong-doing they may well become more comfortable with wrong-doing in general Some religious people argue Lying is bad because it misuses the God-given gift of human communication God gave humanity speech so that they could accurately share their thoughts - lying does the opposite Some philosophers say lying is bad because language is essential to human societies and carries the obligation to use it truthfully When people use language they effectively 'make a contract' to use it in a particular way - one of the clauses of this contract is not to use language deceitfully What harm do lies do?

Lies obviously hurt the person who is lied to (most of the time), but they can also hurt the liar, and society in general.

The person who is lied to suffers if they don't find out because: They are deprived of some control over their future because They can no longer make an informed choice about the issue concerned They are not fully informed about their possible courses of action They may make a decision that they would not otherwise have made They may suffer damage as a result of the lie The person who is lied to suffers if they do find out because: They feel badly treated - deceived and manipulated, and regarded as a person who doesn't deserve the truth They see the damage they have suffered They doubt their own ability to assess truth and make decisions They become untrusting and uncertain and this too damages their ability to make free and informed choices They may seek revenge The liar is hurt because: He has to remember the lies he's told He must act in conformity with the lies He may have to tell more lies to avoid being found out He has to be wary of those he's lied to His long-term credibility is at risk He will probably suffer harm if he's found out If he's found out, people are more likely to lie to him If he's found out he's less likely to be believed in future His own view of his integrity is damaged He may find it easier to lie again or to do other

 wrongs Those who tell 'good lies' don't generally suffer these consequences - although they may do so on some occasions.

Society is hurt because: Eventually no-one is able to believe anyone else and society collapses When is it OK to lie? The philosopher Sissela Bok put forward a process for testing whether a lie could be justified. She calls it the test of publicity: The test of publicity asks which lies, if any, would survive the appeal for justification to reasonable persons. Sissela Bok, Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life, 1978 If we were to apply this test as a thought experiment we would bring together a panel of everyone affected by a particular lie - the liar, those lied to and everyone who might be affected by the lie. We would then put forward all our arguments for telling a particular lie and then ask that 'jury' of relevant and reasonable persons if telling this lie was justified. But what could we do in the real world?

First inspect our own conscience and ask whether the lie is justified Second, ask friends or colleagues, or people with special ethical knowledge what they think about the particular case Thirdly, consult some independent persons about it This sort of test is most useful when considering what we might call 'public' lying - when an institution is considering just how much truth to tell about a project - perhaps a medical experiment, or a proposed war, or an environmental development. One executive observed to this writer that a useful test for the justifiability of an action that he was uncertain about was to imagine what the press would write afterwards if they discovered what he had done and compared it to what he had said in advance. In most cases of personal small scale lying there is no opportunity to do anything more than consult our own conscience - but we should remember that our conscience is usually rather biased in our favour. A good way of helping our conscience is to ask how we would feel if we were on the receiving end of the lie. It's certainly not foolproof, but it may be helpful. Bok sets out some factors that should be considered when contemplating a lie: Are there some truthful alternatives to using a lie to deal with the particular problem?

What moral justifications are there for telling this lie - and what counter-arguments can be raised against those justifications? What would a public jury of reasonable persons say about this lie? Lying and ethical theory Lying and ethical theory Different theories of ethics approach lying in different ways. In grossly over-simplified terms, those who follow consequentialist theories are concerned with the consequences of lying and if telling a lie would lead to a better result than telling the truth, they will argue that it is good to tell the lie. They would ask: ‘Would telling the truth or telling a lie bring about the better consequences?’ In contrast, a dutybased ethicist would argue that, even if lying has the better consequences, it is still morally wrong to lie. Consequentialists (Utilitarians) and lies Consequentialists assess the rightness or wrongness of doing something by looking at the consequences caused by that act. So if telling a particular lie produces a better result than not telling it, then telling it would be a good thing to do. And if telling a particular lie produces a worse result than not telling it, telling it would be a bad thing to do.

This has a certain commonsense appeal, but it's also quite impractical since it requires a person to work out in advance the likely good and bad consequences of the lie they are about to tell and balance the good against the bad. This is hard to do, because: consequences are hard to predict measuring good and bad is hard how do we decide what is good and what is bad? for whom is it good or bad? what system of measurement can we use? what consequences are relevant? how long a time-period should be used in assessing the consequences? it requires a person to value everyone involved equally and not to give extra value to their own wishes it requires a person to consider the consequences to society in general of telling lies as well as the consequences for those actually involved So most Utilitarian thinkers don't apply it on a case by case basis but use the theory to come up with some general principles -- perhaps along the lines of: Lying is bad, because it causes harm to people it reduces society's general respect for truth; but there are some cases - white lies or mercy lies - where it may be OK to tell lies. This is an example of 'rule-utilitarianism'; considering every single action separately is 'act-Utilitarianism'.

These two forms of Utilitarianism could lead to different results: An act-Utilitarian might say that telling a lie in a particular case did lead to the best results for everyone involved and for society as a whole, while a rule-Utilitarian might argue that since lying made society a less happy place, it was wrong to tell lies, even in this particular case. Deontologists Deontologists base their moral thinking on general universal laws, and not on the results of particular acts. (The word comes from from the Greek word deon, meaning duty.) An act is therefore either a right or a wrong act, regardless of whether it produces good or bad consequences. Deontologists don't always agree on how we arrive at 'moral laws', or on what such laws are, but one generally accepted moral law is 'do not tell lies'. And if that is the law then lying is always wrong - even if telling the truth would produce far better consequences: so if I lie to a terrorist death squad about the whereabouts of the people that they’re hunting, and so save their lives, I have in fact done wrong, because I broke the rule that says lying is wrong.

Most of us would accept that an unbreakable rule against lying would be unworkable, but a more sophisticated rule (perhaps one with a list of exceptions) might be something we could live with. Virtue ethics Virtue ethics looks at what good (virtuous) people do. If honesty is a virtue in the particular system involved, then lying is a bad thing. The difficulty with this approach comes when a virtuous person tells a lie as a result of another virtue (compassion perhaps). The solution might be to consider what an ideal person would have done in the particular circumstances. Every liar says the opposite of what he thinks in his heart, with purpose to deceive. St Augustine, The Enchiridon Christian theologian St. Augustine (354-430) taught that lying was always wrong, but accepted that this would be very difficult to live up to and that in real life people needed a get-out clause.

St Augustine said that: God gave human beings speech so that they could make their thoughts known to each other; therefore using speech to deceive people is a sin, because it's using speech to do the opposite of what God intended The true sin of lying is contained in the desire to deceive Augustine believed that some lies could be pardoned, and that there were in fact occasions when lying would be the right thing to do. He grouped lies into 8 classes, depending on how difficult it was to pardon them. Here's his list, with the least forgivable lies at the top: Lies told in teaching religion Lies which hurt someone and help nobody Lies which hurt someone but benefit someone else Lies told for the pleasure of deceiving someone Lies told to please others in conversation Lies which hurt nobody and benefit someone Lies which hurt nobody and benefit someone by keeping open the possibility of their repentance Lies which hurt nobody and protect a person from physical 'defilement' Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas also thought that all lies were wrong, but that there was a hierarchy of lies and those at the bottom could be forgiven.

His list was: Malicious lies: lies told to do harm Malicious lies are mortal sins 'Jocose lies': lies told in fun These are pardonable Other types of lying Mental reservations This legalistic device divides a statement into two parts: the first part is misleading, the two parts together are true - however only the first part is said aloud, the second part is a 'mental reservation'. Here are some examples: "I have never cheated on my wife" (except last Thursday) "I did not steal the cakes" (on Thursday afternoon) "I did not touch the painting" (but my glove did) This device seems outrageous to the modern mind, but a few centuries ago it was much used. One common occasion for mental reservations was in court, when a person had sworn an oath to tell the truth and expected God to punish them if they lied. If they'd stolen some sheep on Tuesday they could safely tell the court "I did not steal those sheep" as long as they added in their mind "on Monday". Since God was believed to know every thought, God would hear the mental reservation as well as the public statement and therefore would not have been lied to.

Sissela Bok says that this device is recommended to doctors by one textbook. If a feverish patient, for example, asks what his temperature is, the doctor is advised to answer "your temperature is normal today" while making the mental reservation that it is normal for a person in the patient's precise physical condition. Lying to those with no right to the truth The Dutch philosopher and lawyer Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) taught that a lie is not really wrong if the person being lied to has no right to the truth. This stemmed from his idea that what made a wrong or unjust action wrong was that it violated someone else's rights. If someone has no right to the truth, their rights aren't violated if they're told a lie. This argument would seem to teach that it's not an unethical lie to tell a mugger that you have no money (although it is a very unwise thing to do), and it is not an unethical lie to tell a death squad that you don't know where their potential victim is hiding.

In practice, most people would regard this as a very legalistic and 'small print' sort of argument and not think it much of a justification for telling lies, except in certain extreme cases that can probably be justified on other grounds. Lying to liars If someone lies to you, are you entitled to lie to them in return? Has the liar lost the right to be told the truth? Human behaviour suggests that we do feel less obliged to be truthful to liars than to people who deal with us honestly. Most moral philosophers would say that you are not justified in lying to another person because they have lied to you. From an ethical point of view, the first thing is that a lie is still a lie - even if told to a liar. Secondly, while the liar may be regarded as having lost the right to be told the truth, society as a whole still retains some sort of right that its members should use language truthfully. But is it a pardonable lie? The old maxim 'two wrongs don't make a right' suggests that it isn't, and it's clear that even if the liar has lost their right to be told the truth, all the other reasons why lying is bad are still valid.

But there is a real change in the ethics of the situation; this is not that a lie to a liar is forgivable, but that the liar himself is not in a morally strong position to complain about being lied to. But - and it's a big 'but' - even this probably only applies in a particular context - if I tell you lies about the number of children I have, that doesn't entitle you to lie to me about the time of the next train to London, although it would make it very hard for me to complain if you were to lie to me about the number of children in your family. Nor does it justify lying to someone because you know they are an habitual liar - once again all the other arguments against lying are still valid. Mutual agreed deception There are cases where two people (or groups of people) willingly engage in a mutual deception, because they think it will benefit them. Sisela Bok puts it like this: Such deception can resemble a game where both partners know the rules and play by them. It resembles, then, a pact of sorts, whereby what each can do, what each gains by the arrangement, is clearly understood.

Sissela Bok, Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life, 1978 An example of this is a negotiation in which both parties will lie to each other ('that's my best price', 'I'll have to leave it then') in a way that everyone involved understands. Lies that don't deceive are not sinful lies...or are they? If both parties know that the liar's statement is NOT intended to be taken as a definitive and important statement of the truth then it may not count as a sinful lie, because there's no intention to deceive. There are many cases where no reasonable person expects what is said to them to be genuinely truthful. That may let us off the hook for things like: Flattery: 'you look lovely' Gratitude: 'that's just what I wanted' Formal language conventions: 'sincerely yours', 'pleased to meet you' Bargaining: 'my best price is £500' Generalisation: 'it always rains in Manchester' Advertising: '#### washes whitest' If believing the advert might lead to bad consequences - for example in medical advertising - this would not count as a guilt-free lie.

Jokes: 'there was an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman' Unpredictable situations: 'it won't rain today' Sporting tips: 'Pegleg is unbeatable in the 3:30 race' False excuses: 'he's in a meeting' Conjuring tricks: 'There's nothing up my sleeve' It's not always easy to see the difference between these statements and white lies. Incidentally the Ethics web team disagreed amongst themselves as to the status of lies that don't deceive - your thoughts are very welcome. White lies A white lie is a lie that is not intended to harm the person being lied to - indeed it's often intended to benefit them by making them feel good, or preventing their feelings being hurt. For example, I go to a dinner party and my hostess asks how I like the dish she's prepared. The true answer happens to be 'I think it tastes horrible' but if I say 'it's delicious' that's a white lie. Most people would approve of that white lie and would regard telling the truth as a bad thing to do.

(But this lie does do some harm - the hostess may feel encouraged to make that dish again, and so future guests will have to suffer from it.) White lies usually include most of these features: they are not intended to harm the person lied to they are not intended to harm anyone else they don't actually harm anyone (or only do trivial harm) the lie is about something morally trivial they aren't told so often that they devalue what you say White lies are not a totally good thing: the person being lied to is deprived of information that they might find useful even if they found it unpleasant the person telling the lies may find it easier to lie in future and they may come to blur the boundary between white lies and more blameworthy lies White lies weaken the general presumption that lying is wrong and may make it easier for a person to tell lies that are intended to harm someone, or may make it easier to avoid telling truths that need to be told - for example, when giving a performance evaluation it is more comfortable not to tell someone that their work is sub-standard.

Question: Someone who tells lies is what sort of person?
Answer: Mendacious