It is important to understand, why people lie and know what to think of certain types of lies. It is beneficial to be aware of the psychology of lying. Understanding what are the signs of someone lying can help avoid being lied to. There are some ways to tell whether someone is lying or not. Lying is a bad behavior and we should not lie, however don't jump into conclusions, when someone lies to you. Just because someone is a liar does not automatically mean they are a bad person.
Let's see some types of lies and their consequences.
Some Common Types Of Lies
White Lie: A white lie is telling a half-truth to avoid hurting someone's feelings or giving someone bad news. This is a common occurrence in social interaction. A white lie can be a small statement that is technically a lie, but you feel would be bad to say out loud. White lies can be serious in some cases. If you tell a white lie to your boss's wife, you may get fired. On the other hand, telling a white lie to your friend's parents can cause them serious emotional harm.
Red Lie: A red lie is telling a total lie to intentionally hurt or damage someone. When someone is lying to you using this type of lie, they aren't trying to protect their feelings or avoid trouble. They are only trying to harm you and the best way to do that is to tell a lie.
Sly Lie: A sly lie is when someone tells you a white lie with the intention of hurting you in some way by messing with your head. A sly lie is used mainly to mess with people's heads whether it succeeds or not is not the point. The point of a sly lie is to try to throw you off your game by being misleading.
If you think someone is lying to you, it is important to determine whether that person is actually lying or not. There are many types of lies, which are differentiated by their intent.
Signs Of Someone Is Lying
If you are face to face with the person, certain body language cues give away when they are being deceptive. A person who is lying will often look away from you. They may also look down at their hands, move them nervously, or chew on their lips. Eye rolling is another common one, where the eyes are flicked frequently. People who are lying don't always think things through and will jump to conclusions or omit details. They may avoid eye contact or look fidgety.
Other cues, that may suggest the person is lying include:
- Their voice becomes higher pitched
- They start to fidget more
- They avoid your gaze
- They speak too quickly
- They don't answer your questions
- They give irrelevant answers
These are just some of the many cues, that may suggest someone is lying. It is important to take all of these things into consideration along with other factors before drawing a conclusion. The key is being aware, that these things are happening, so that you will not be lied to when this happens in the future.
On the other hand, some people will tell you outright that they are lying. When this happens, it is important to be aware of the signs of a lie and know when someone is lying. Sometimes people will tell lies without thinking it through. This can be embarrassing or even dangerous. People who lie a lot tend to do it more and worse. If a person tells a bunch of lies to you, it may be best to avoid them or their opinions altogether.
Lying Is Not Always Bad
Another thing to remember is that not all lies are bad. For example, sometimes a white lie is told. This isn't the worst kind of lie and can even be beneficial on certain occasions. There are times, when not telling the truth can cause more problems, than telling a white lie. It is important to use your best judgment when you are telling white lies to other people. If someone's feelings are going to be hurt, it may be better to lie, rather than tell the truth.
Lying To Cover Up
Many times, people will lie to cover up their own mistakes. If you find yourself lying on a regular basis, it may be time to question what you are doing with your life. Are you living a fantasy life, because you cannot handle reality? Are you living a lie so others will think positive things about you? Are you so afraid of what others think of you, that you will do anything to avoid responsibility?
Other reasons people lie includes keeping secrets or hiding things. This can apply to both emotions and physical objects. Keeping secrets is a bad habit, that needs to be broken if one is to achieve emotional well-being. Lying to cover up secrets and keeping them can complicate an already complex situation. It can be confusing to know what is true and what is a lie.
Lying As An Act Of Control
A common lie told is that something does not exist when in reality it does. This is an act of control. A person does not want you to have something, that they consider their property. If you have something that they consider their property, then they may feel the need to control you, while still maintaining the appearance of not being controlling. Lying is one way of doing this.
Not all lies are created equal. Big lies are more problematic, than little white ones and usually come with greater intent. A white lie can be told to please someone, but a big lie is being told to convince others while also pleasing yourself.
Many people have a hard time distinguishing reality from a lie. It is common to hear people say they remember something that didn't happen. Other times they'll say they believe something that actually never happened at all. It can be very difficult to tell the difference between reality and a lie.
Sometimes a person will make excuses in an attempt to lie. This is a common thing for people who are nervous. They will make small last minute alterations to their stories in order to make them believable.
Lying To Yourself
Some people lie to themselves to maintain a certain way of thinking. Without realizing it, people do this all the time. It can be something as simple as not eating certain foods due to fear of gaining weight. A more common one is lying to yourself about having a certain relationship with another person. This can be from being in love to merely being infatuated.
The best way to tell if you are lying to yourself is to pause and think about whether what you are thinking is the truth or a lie. If you are lying to yourself, you will be able to tell.
Lying Can Lead To Legal Consequences
People lie all the time on their income taxes or when buying things on credit. When people lie on their income taxes they are breaking the law. When they lie on credit applications, they are breaking the law. Lying to the government is fraud and can lead to serious prison time and fines. Lying on credit applications can lead to serious damage to one's credit score.
Many people also tell lies to try to get out of trouble. This is never a good idea. The best way to deal with a problem is face front and deal with it like a man. If you try to lie, whether it is to the police, the FBI or your mother, you are only going to end up making it worse.
There are two types of people in this world: those who lie and those who get caught. Although it may be to your advantage in the short term, in the long term you are only hurting yourself.
Thanks for reading.
This article is my entry to@JonicaBradley's writing prompt #18: Lies
The organizer was @CoquiCoin this time and I would like to honor this with a big thank you for doing this prompt.
We tell lies truly not to hurt someone. And for some reason, we can be caught lying since we may show body language that will tell that we are doing lies. But I guess I will really tell white lies than to hurt someone directly.