[lies: the irrepressible truth] * the lack of capital letters in this article is intentional
WHY DO PEOPLE LIE? [according to Forbes, there are three main reasons that cause people to lie. these are • because they fear the consequences of telling the truth (to protect yourself) • these consequences are often negative, so they fear what may happen. • they want people to believe something about them that isn’t true (to promote yourself • the world can be a very judging and hypocritical place, and sometimes in order to fit in, we feel the need to lie • to avoid hurting someone’s feelings (to protect others) • these lies are often simple and reflexes because of human nature]. according to national geographic, one may also lie to impact others, for example with the intent of being malicious. avoidance- 14% personal transgression- 22% • personal gain- 15% • economic advantage-16%• unknown- 7% • pathological- 2% • malicious- 4% • social/impolite- 2% • altruistic- 5%• humour- 5% • self-impression- 8% •
WHAT IS A LIE? [an intentionally false statement] • [NOUN] • [lʌɪ] [of a thing; to present false impression] • [VERB] • [] [of germanic origin] • [old english; lyge] • [] [NB: lies may have varying consequences, so proceed with caution] HOW TO TELL THE TRUTH FROM A LIE . . . . . [difficulty: hard] lying and deception are common human traits. people most commonly lie about small, everyday things. sometimes to protect people and other times to protect themselves.... but how easy is it to tell when someone is lying? [some tell tales] [being vague/offering few details] • [repeating questions before answering them] • [speaking in fragments] • [failing to provide specific details when challenged] • [grooming behaviours] • [vocal uncertainty] • [indifference] some things such as grooming behaviours (like a tendency to run their hand through their hair) will only be recognisable over time as you get to know the person in question. however, things like vocal uncertainty- the voice wavering or being more insecure, may help to tell if someone is lying or telling the truth.
