Psychology of lies. The phenomenon of lies and the peculiarities of its understanding by students of the Faculty of Humanities from a scientific point of view

The phenomenon of lying has long been the subject of study of psychological science, thanks to which today we can talk about the emergence of a section in psychology dedicated to research this issue. The study of lies from the standpoint of psychology takes place in two main directions, where one of them concentrates its attention on the causes of lies, and the other on ways to recognize them. It is worth noting that among research work psychologists, the second direction predominates. Probably the reason for this is the state order and corresponding funding for such areas as criminology and criminal psychology. Next, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the issue without such distortions and form a holistic picture of it.

The nature of lies

Lying is generally understood as the deliberate presentation of false information as truthful. Representation can arise only within the framework of the communication process - communication or other exchange of information. A lie always has an addressee, and it makes no sense to consider the phenomenon of lies outside of communication processes. Thus, lying is a mechanism of interpersonal communication aimed at forming distorted ideas about reality in the recipient.

A child's lie and an adult's lie are often considered in psychology as separate phenomena. A child's lie may not be a lie in the generally accepted sense of the word, but may represent a deep experience of his own fantasies. Here we can talk about a form of play behavior of a child, active opposition to which can negatively affect his development. By suppressing fantasy tendencies, parents or teachers can suppress the child’s creative potential.

The relationship between fantasies and the productivity of creative work has been noted by many researchers of the human psyche. When the reaction to children's fantasies is dissatisfaction with adults or their aggression, then there are significant chances of the formation of behavior patterns where the fantasies will be firmly attached to the label of inappropriate behavior, which will also affect the child's attitude towards creativity. The product of such an educational process will be a performer who is incapable of creating something new.

An adult's lie in psychology is often viewed as something that has a reason. The list of reasons that force an adult to lie is almost identical among different authors. Thus, Frei Aldert writes about five main reasons for lying: protection from embarrassment or shame, the desire for personal advantage, avoidance of punishment, the desire to help another and the desire to preserve relationships. Such a list allows us to talk about lying as a way of satisfying a person’s moral needs.

Reasons for lying

The shame or embarrassment Aldert writes about is not only a reason for lying, but also a reason for wearing clothes, wearing cosmetics and perfumes, cutting or combing hair. Thus, a lie is a “clothing” for the human psyche, allowing one to hide its intimate details from others. The truth in this case turns out to be a perversion and a form of exhibitionism, and the demand for truth from another should be considered as a demand to be naked.

The desire for personal advantage or personal gain often appears in public consciousness as the main and only reason for lying. Here, too, we can hardly detect anything unnatural. The desire for benefits is inherent in human nature. According to the principles of the development of living matter, its movement occurs along the path of least energy consumption. A person’s deviation from these principles is a pathological process from both a psychological and biological point of view.

A similar conclusion can be drawn regarding such a reason for lying as avoiding suffering or punishment. Detailed studies of ways to determine whether a person is lying, done within the framework of criminal psychology, relate primarily to lies whose reason is the desire to avoid punishment. How useful these methods will be in identifying lies caused by other reasons is an open question. The reactions of a person avoiding punishment and wanting to help his neighbor are far from identical.

Lying to save another or to present him in a more favorable light is due to purely instinctive reactions, where sexual attraction in conscious or unconscious forms plays the most important role. Such a lie, presumably, does not imply any personal gain for the liar himself, since Aldert distinguished it from lies that stem from a person’s desire for personal gain. Social instincts, which he also identified as a separate block, will not fit here as a reason.

Lying for the sake of preserving social connections and interpersonal relationships, when this does not provide any obvious benefits and does not entail punishment, can be considered as a manifestation of a social instinct that pushes a person to maintain collective forms of interaction in which he is a direct participant. The absence of such lies in a person’s behavior, when and if it is supplemented by active disclosure of the truth, is a symptom of sociopathy.

So, lying is a natural process characteristic of man and reflecting his nature as a living, biological and social organism, endowed with a strong psyche and not prone to mental disorders. The reasons for lying are natural human aspirations, the achievement of which can be ensured by truth. Especially if it will be useful for profit, maintaining connections, helping the object of personal sympathy, or avoiding punishment.

How to recognize a lie

Psychologists have developed many methods for detecting lies, where the greatest recognition has been given to technical solution like a lie detector. The principle of operation of the polygraph is to hardware record changes in rhythms human body when the test taker answers the operator’s questions. Recent studies of the efficiency of the device have shown that the results obtained with its help do not meet the scientific criteria.

Evgeniy Spiritsa presented to readers several books about the psychology of lying. One of them, “How to expose a liar,” contains a fairly extensive description of various manifestations in people’s behavior that may turn out to be signs of lying. Or they may not turn out to be, the author himself writes at the very end of the book: “There is not a single sure sign of a lie. If there were such people, then it would be very easy to recognize lies. However, there are no such signs; neither American polygraph examiners, the founders and legislators of instrumental lie detection in the world, nor P. Ekman, nor we, Soviet and Russian verifiers, have identified them.”

The technique for detecting lies, proposed by Stan Walters, consists of six steps:

  • 1. Finding out the usual standards of behavior of the interlocutor.
  • 2. Observation and tracking of behavioral deviations from the norm.
  • 3. Holistic perception of speech, facial expressions, gestures and search for multifactorial deviations.
  • 4. Identification of special reactions to a question of interest, repeated in different forms.
  • 5. Overcoming personal prejudices and stereotypes regarding the opponent.
  • 6. Minimizing your own influence on your interlocutor.

This method is in many ways similar to all other approaches and seems reasonable enough until the turn of the fourth stage comes up. Its implementation is a separate and very large-scale psychological work on oneself. This condition makes it possible to classify the entire technique as impracticable, at least for the vast majority of people who do not have special training.

S. I. Simonenko in his dissertation “Psychological foundations of false and truthful messages” comes to the conclusion that lies manifest themselves in a mismatch of speech and facial expressions in human behavior. This approach also cannot be considered effective, because a person's concern about any issue does not mean that he is lying. However, the absence of such reactions does not guarantee the veracity of the interlocutor’s words. A person may not be at all concerned about the likely discovery of a lie and the consequences of this discovery.

The above suggests that, according to the widespread belief of psychologists, lying has some connection with both anxiety or anxiety about being discovered and with manifestations of joy when it achieves its goal. The disadvantage of this position is that similar emotions can be expressed by a person who tells the truth, knowing that they do not believe him or doubt his words.

Thus, we can talk about the lack of universal methods for detecting lies in psychological science. Even knowing the truth, it is impossible to say for sure that a person is lying, because he himself can believe in what he claims, without wanting to mislead anyone. The best way to avoid lying in a relationship is not to try to recognize it, but to eliminate the “reasons for lying” that push a person to lie.

List of sources used:
  • 1. Fry O. Lies. Three detection methods. How to read a liar's mind, how to fool a lie detector. - SPb.: Prime-EVROZNAK, 2006. - 284, p.
  • 2.The Polygraph and Lie Detection https://www.nap.edu/read/10420/chapter/1#x
  • 3. Spiritsa E. Psychology of lies and deception. How to expose a liar. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2015. - 300 pp., 79 ill.
  • 4. Walters S. B. The truth about lies. - M.: Eksmo, 2010. - 272 p.
  • 5. Simonenko S.I. Psychological foundations of false and truthful messages. Dissertation Ph.D. M.: 1998.

postgraduate student of the Faculty of Social Sciences of UNN named after. Lobachevsky

Editor: Chekardina Elizaveta Yurievna

Psychology of lies and deception [How to expose a liar] Spiritsa Evgeniy

Chapter 2. Definition of lies and deception

The psychology of lie recognition has been developed for many years in the West, especially in the USA, and now this area is gradually beginning to interest Russian scientists. Unlike Western ones, most of the studies that were published in Russia are largely compilative in nature and are essentially a retelling of the works of Paul Ekman, probably because P. Ekman was the only scientist who visited our country. One way or another, his “Psychology of Lies” was republished in Russia several times.

Instrument-free lie detection is a relatively new and therefore little-studied area of ​​research for Russia, but it is especially relevant for our country. Obviously, in a politicized society, which was first the USSR and then Russia, studies could not be published that revealed methods for determining situations when people tell the truth and when they deceive. That is why the polygraph was classified, and those models that existed in the Soviet Union and a little later in Russia, for the most part, were also inaccessible to the general public. In particular, many methods of lie detection, including non-instrumental ones, were developed in the 30th laboratory of the KGB of the USSR, and it was almost impossible to gain free access to them.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, after perestroika, the situation changed somewhat: scientists appeared who began to study the phenomenon of false information. These studies were mostly highly theoretical, although today they form the basis to which most people who study non-instrumental lie detection refer. One of these works is the article by V.V. Znakova “Western, Russian traditions in the understanding of lies. Reflections of a Russian psychologist on the research of Paul Ekman,” dedicated to the consideration of theoretical entities without taking into account practical issues. Outside the field of view, for example, there are non-verbal signs that need to be paid attention to in the lie detection process. V.V. Znakov describes phenomena of various kinds and defines concepts from a philosophical point of view and not at all from a practical point of view.

From the standpoint of fundamental science, this is very important: it is necessary to determine how a lie differs from a lie, a lie from a deception, a deception from a lie, etc., since we perfectly understand that any question of science is a question of concepts. When we know what lies behind a particular word, concept, phenomenon, it is easier for us to talk about them. However, in the framework of our study, we will not take as a basis various types of approaches to the study of lies, namely legal or ethical. Our approach is purely practical, therefore, our task is not to theorize, but to find out what happens to a person when he tells a lie, so we will not describe the phenomena of deception, lies, tales that V.V. talks about. Signs We will take P. Ekman’s model as a basis; in his studies, he calls everything in one word “to lie”. We, like P. Ekman, will not distinguish between lies and deception and will use these concepts as synonyms. The only point that needs to be made is that at least two people are always involved in the process of lying.

Paul Ekman defines lying/deception as the act of one person misleading another, deliberately, without prior knowledge of his goals and without a clear request from the victim not to reveal the truth. This definition allows us to assert that at least two people are involved in a lie, that is, self-deception is not a lie.

In addition, the scientist introduces into his definition such a concept as intent. I can’t help but remember my favorite saying: “There is intent, and there is crime.” Based on this, we immediately understand that lies are based on such a concept as destructive intent. It is obvious that a person deceives another without prior notice and for his own purposes, but we are interested in something else - why does he do this?

Where lies appear, there is always rent information. What is it and why is it important? Let's take a closer look at this phenomenon.

The term “information” comes from the Latin. informatio (“explanation, presentation, awareness”) and in the broadest sense is directly related to activities in which there is a communicative aspect. Communication presupposes the presence of a system in which there is information; these can be both living systems and machine ones. The process of transferring information between people and objects always takes place in the system. If there is a system, then various problems and malfunctions in its operation are possible. Do you think these failures can be caused, for example, not only by objective (external interference), but also by subjective (interference caused by a person) factors? The answer is obvious: yes. How does this apply to our topic? Truth and lies are some kind of value judgments that do not have clear criteria and definitions. Truth and lies are social categories.

I ask you: who is Robin Hood? Terrorist or counter-terrorist? Criminal or hero?

Context matters! The same phenomenon will be assessed differently in different contexts. For the Norman state, Robin Hood is a criminal, and for the peasants - a hero.

From this point of view, the same statement can turn out to be both true and false, so we will leave the study of abstract categories to philosophers, psychologists and anthropologists.

Let's now look at the second part of the term "rent information". Rent, from the Latin reddita (“given back, returned”) is a type of income regularly received from capital, land, property and not related to business activities. Based on this, we use the word “rental” as a term meaning “bringing some benefit.” Thus, rental information is valuable information that brings some benefit to a person.

Now that we have defined the concept of rental information, we can consider such a phenomenon as a lie. For us, lying is a phenomenon of purposeful concealment of rental information. What does it mean?

In this case, there are only three main, basic situations that we can talk about:

Someone has rental information, but no one knows about it;

The owner of rental information hides information, but does not hide the fact of ownership of this information (this is inherent in the political establishment not only in our country, but in all countries of the world);

The owner of rental information hides not only the information, but also the very fact of possessing it; interested parties know about this and begin to fight for the appropriation of this information (the work of verifiers, profilers, polygraph examiners).

In the process of lie detection we work in typical situation confrontation between the owner of rental information and the applicant for possession of it, in professional language, the culprit, the participant and the verifier. In this confrontation, the owner of rental information, defending his own well-being, will naturally use special methods her protection. In other words, lying is the main way of protecting rental information, which the owner of the information uses in his confrontation with the applicant for receiving it.

Starting from this point of view, we understand that truth is just a generally accepted, socially acceptable, approved set of points of view on some event. Truth and lies, as ambivalent phenomena, will be constructs of our consciousness for assessing the specific actions of a communication partner. These actions can take the form of various forms. The answer to a question can be embodied in a statement, which, on the one hand, can be oral or written, and on the other, short or detailed. Often a person gives an answer to a question non-verbally, that is, he is silent, but with his behavior, facial expressions, and gestures he shows his attitude to what is happening. These reactions can confirm both the veracity and falsity of the information being communicated.

The phenomenon of deliberately hidden information was examined in detail in his works by Leonid Georgievich Alekseev, a famous Russian polygraph examiner, who from 1968 to 1985 worked in the 25th and 30th laboratories of the KGB of the USSR and is the developer of the remote and then contact polygraph, the author of a study of psychophysiology lie detection associated with the study of the work of the polygraph and polygraph examiner. Following L.G. Alekseev, we do not work with such concepts as truth and lies; our activity is based on the phenomenon of deliberately hidden information, rental information, which can manifest itself when a stimulus is presented in the form of short answers “yes” and “no”, in the form of detailed answers, in in the form of acts of facial expression and pantomime. In a situation of deliberately concealed information, these acts will be inconsistent and appear incongruently, which will be obvious to a trained verifier.

Following this logic, the main thing is not what the subject answers to the question, but what makes him answer in one way or another, what is the psychological or neuropsychological mechanism that forms this or that reaction, because there is an infinite number of motives that can initiate a lie , and even more so its shades. A lie can be for the good, out of compassion, it can depend on the state of the soul, it can serve to achieve high (low - more often) goals. Whether the person being tested - a person who is in a state of research - will tell the truth or lie depends only on him, on his unconscious and internal motives. Based on this context, the task of the verifier is to solve the problem, find the culprit and not make mistakes in relation to the innocent.

We constantly turn to the psychology of lies from the point of view of its verification, that is, the use of different techniques, such as instrumental lie detection - a survey using a polygraph - and non-instrumental - profiling, when a person is examined without the use of technical means.

We remember that man is a social being, that is, he is always in conditions where he is evaluated by others; this evolutionary mechanism has existed for a long time. In the conditions of a profiling or polygraph test, the representative of the social environment that forms the opinion about a member of the pack is a verifier-polygraph examiner. It is very important for a person to get out of a situation while saving face, because society sets the rules of the game, and we want to be worthy members of it.

Let's look at how an innocent person will behave. An uninvolved person thinks about one thing - to present himself in the most favorable light for others. As a rule, he does not understand the context in which he finds himself. Agree, it’s not every day that we find ourselves face to face with a profiler or polygraph examiner. A person is in conditions of complete entropy (uncertainty), which is stress in itself, moreover, this can threaten the impossibility of achieving his immediate plans, life goals, and some intended prospects. In this case, the motive of self-preservation, given to a person from birth, begins to work. The initial goal – achieving success – is transformed. If a person is socially reliable, adapted, his thoughts are aimed at the implementation of social ideas and attitudes, then he demonstrates behavior and responses that will be guided by the values ​​of this environment. During testing, these people demonstrate behavior characteristic of their type, character, temperament, basic behavioral reactions, which they always use in their lives in accordance with their value systems, that is, an innocent person demonstrates his natural behavioral patterns, which, as a rule, do not change. If the verifier is safe, then after a while the innocent person calms down and calmly talks with the polygraph examiner, profiler, since it became clear to him that he is being assessed based on ordinary, normal behavioral stereotypes. Society evaluates him the way it always does.

We have a completely different picture when it comes to a guilty subject. The motive that becomes dominant for a person who has committed an antisocial act is the motive of self-preservation, avoiding the threat of punishment, that is, it is based on fear, it is this that forces a person to behave incongruently, to mismatch the signals sent outside. The person involved is also characterized by a desire to prove himself as a social person, he also tries to behave in accordance with his basic behavioral stereotypes, but since there is fear associated with the threat of punishment, there is a committed act that goes against values, a discrepancy in behavioral characteristics arises, which the verifier can see.

As a result, we came to the conclusion that it is not lies, understood as a term denoting the range of phenomena that accompany the process of communication when the motive of self-preservation is active, that underlies the behavior of the person involved, but the fear of exposure and awareness of guilt before society is the cause of reactions. In other words, if a person realizes that he is hiding information about an act committed, and expects possible retribution for what he has done, then there will be a reaction. If a person does not understand that he has committed an illegal act, then there will be no reaction.

Thus, we are more interested not in lying as a verbal phenomenon, but in its communicative manifestations associated with how a person tries to adapt to the verification procedure, so we consider the behavior of the person involved, including lying, as an adaptation mechanism. And like any adaptation mechanism, we will analyze this phenomenon through the prism of three conditional points:

Adaptation mechanism;

Structure of belief;

“double sending,” or incongruent behavior, that is, the contradiction of body signals to words.

All of the above features are interconnected and follow from one another. An emotion arises when there is conviction, and a contradictory message arises when a person does not believe what he is saying, that is, there is no conviction. Agree, it’s not the most comfortable situation when you realize that you have some rental information and have to tell society that such an act did not happen in your past life.

The phenomenon of deliberately hidden information allows us to assert that the verifier is neither a fortune teller nor a psychic. A verifier, profiler, polygraph examiner always work with the “present – ​​past” time line, because a crime: fraud, theft, any other illegal action is located in a person’s past experience. When checking, we do not work with the future, since it is probabilistic, we work with the past, which constitutes the structure of our experience.

From the book Lies [Three methods of detection. How to read a liar's mind. How to fool a lie detector] by Fray Aldert

From the book The Art of Deception [Popular Encyclopedia] author Shcherbatykh Yuri Viktorovich

Part III. Professional Definition of Cheating

From the book Detection of Lies and Deception by Fray Aldert

From the book The Psychology of Deception [How, why and why even honest people lie] by Ford Charles W.

From the book All the Ways to Catch a Liar [Secret CIA Methods Used in Interrogations and Investigations] by Crum Dan

From the book Psychology of Lies and Deception [How to expose a liar] author Spiritsa Evgeniy

Chapter 1. Social psychology of lying and recognizing deception Deceiving people around is an integral part of everyday social interactions. A person may say that he likes the gifts he receives for his birthday, although in reality they

From the author's book

3. PROFESSIONAL DEFINITION OF DECEPTION

From the author's book

Chapter 3 The Biology of Deception A male [baboon], who doesn't like sharing much, caught an antelope. The female crept up to him and began to caress him until she lulled his vigilance. Then she grabbed the antelope carcass and ran away. Kurt Lewin, 1987 Are animals capable of lying? Is there data

From the author's book

Chapter 4 How to learn to lie: developing deception skills Like the truth, lying has its own norms and its own pathology. Arnold Goldberg Most people, despite the famous expression, are not born liars. A person learns to lie through experience. Concepts of truth and lies

From the author's book

Chapter 5 Why People Lie: Determinants of Deception The most common form of lying is lying to oneself. Nietzsche In the previous chapters we looked at numerous factors that influence behavior and can make a person predisposed to deception. It's obvious that

From the author's book

Chapter 6 Styles of Deception: The Role of Personality In her dramatic, attention-grabbing “theatrical” actions, she even went to the extent of deception to get her way. Attracting attention to herself was a way of life for Scarlett, and if she needed to exaggerate, play or even

From the author's book

Chapter 10 Recognizing Deception He who has eyes to see and ears to hear can be sure that no mortal is capable of keeping a secret. If his lips are silent, he speaks with his fingers: betrayal oozes from him through every pore

From the author's book

Chapter 13 Consequences of deception Beliefs are even more dangerous enemies of truth than lies. Nietzsche We recognize that information is an advantage that allows you to increase your influence and surpass your competitors. For those who agree with this statement, self-deception (lying to oneself) appears

From the author's book

Chapter 14 The Psychology of Deception: Conclusion and Conclusions The human race cannot handle much truth. T. S. Eliot We need lies in order to live. Nietzsche In this book we have looked at the many aspects of lying to both oneself and others. Deception -

From the author's book

Chapter 6 Two main signs of deception Believe it or not, in your search for lies you have an unexpected ally - the human body. No matter how hard we try to disguise the fact that when we are stressed, anxious or backed into a corner, our heart beats faster, our palms sweat and

From the author's book

Chapter 5. Basic signs and strategies of deception The previous chapter described the main forms of lying - omission and distortion, in this chapter we will talk about what gives away a liar, and what behavioral strategies liars choose in the hope of deceiving the verifier.P. Ekman

Lying is the deliberate distortion of reliable information for the purpose of self-preservation, gain, or manipulation of another person. Even the use of perfumes, cosmetics and clothing items that hide figure flaws is deception. The following text will discuss in detail the principles of the psychology of lies and deception, ways to identify a liar in your immediate environment, as well as methods that allow you to resist lies and not fall for the bait of scammers.

How to detect lies?

Psychologists have developed many ways to recognize verbal and nonverbal types of deception. The most popular device today is the lie detector. However, it has a high error rate and a low degree of practicality in daily life. The polygraph simply records the fluctuations in the rhythms of the human body and makes a verdict based on the data obtained. Exposing a liar is not an easy task, since there are currently no guaranteed ways to identify deliberately distorted information.

  1. First you need to find out the usual ones.
  2. Then you need to track deviations from the norm of behavior, as well as multifactorial deviations.
  3. You should perceive the gestures, facial expressions and speech of your interlocutor holistically.
  4. It is important to identify specific reactions to questions of interest by asking them in different forms.
  5. It is necessary to overcome stereotypes and personal prejudices regarding the opponent.
  6. It will be necessary to minimize verbal and non-verbal influence on the interlocutor.

In order to use this algorithm in practice, you must first carry out thorough psychological work on yourself. Restless and unusual behavior can be caused by a number of factors, and is not intended to hide the truth. Therefore, only a person with appropriate training or a diploma in psychology can expose a deceiver.

Features of facial expressions

Facial expressions are considered an eloquent source of information received non-verbally during communication with an interlocutor. You can even detect a lie by observing facial expressions, even a stream of words and fake emotions. During a conversation, you should pay attention to the cheekbones and the tension of the muscles in the cheek area. Such signs are inherent in a person who wants to hide behind a veil of lies. For many people, at the moment of lying, their complexion changes to red or acquires a pale tint.

Other signs of insincerity include constant licking, biting, or quivering of the lips, frequent eye blinking, and attempts to look away. A person who is not trying to hide or distort information during a conversation keeps his gaze at eye level with the interlocutor most of the time. Various antics, such as wrinkling the forehead, can be original indicators of lies.

Facial expression

An asymmetrical facial expression, when its two halves express different emotions, often indicates that the interlocutor is trying to hide some information. A similar situation is observed if emotions inadequately emphasize spoken phrases or are noted late. When the opponent is not lying, his facial expression should be harmonious and not resonate with the speeches being spoken. If the face looks “stony” and remains unchanged throughout 8-12 seconds of conversation, it is highly likely that a deliberate distortion of the truth can be stated.

Anyone can learn to detect lies by observing facial expressions with due diligence. There is a pseudoscience called physiognomy, which was mentioned by Hippocrates. This discipline explores stable somatic configurations of facial expressions in order to obtain non-verbal information about behavioral and individual

Gesticulation

Concealing a lie with stony facial expressions and lack of emotion is relatively easy; controlling movements and gestures is much more difficult. Determining deception by the gestures of your interlocutor is a fascinating and interesting activity. At the moment of declaring deliberately distorted information, liars tend to puff out their cheeks, cover their mouths with their palms, and rub their earlobes and nose. If the subject does not suffer from allergic reactions, then such signs eloquently indicate an outright lie on his part. Coughing for no apparent reason, restlessness and constant changes in body position similarly indicate deception.

It is generally accepted that it is more difficult for women to control gestures. Therefore, when communicating, you should pay attention to manipulations with hair (stroking bangs, sorting out strands), frequent glances at the watch dial or screen mobile phone, fiddling with the ring on the finger and other alarming gestures. Most difficult to control left side body, and if the interlocutor during a conversation does not know where to place his left hand or dances with his left foot, most likely he is trying to mislead his opponent.

The reason for this phenomenon is the fact that the left hemisphere of a person is responsible for analytical, intellectual abilities and speech. The right hemisphere controls processes such as imagination, fantasy and creativity. A person who wants to hide the truth from others must first clench his left hand into a fist or place it in his pocket.

Pose

It is organized in such a way that the person uttering a lie tends to be in an even position, stretched out like a string, moving away from the opponent. A sincere interlocutor is in a relaxed position, does not hide his gaze and does not attempt to move away. When a person is lying, his face may break into a smile, but his legs and arms will be in a crossed position. If at the same time the body is moved a little forward, his attitude is unkind or even aggressive.

A lot of useful information can be obtained by observing the hands of your interlocutor. A pinky finger pointed to the side indicates a negative attitude, while a thumb raised indicates agreement. In the case of crossed fingers clasped together, we can talk about increased nervousness and mistrust. Hands that are behind the back during a discussion, coupled with an upturned chin, clearly demonstrate superiority over the interlocutor.

Useful information! Instability of breathing with short exhalations and inhalations and flaring nostrils indicates that the opponent is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, so it is worth leveling the conflict situation as soon as possible. Lowered eyebrows, corners of the lips, a frowning forehead and sidelong glances express distrust and hidden anger.

Gait features

Psychologists say that a person who is positively disposed and enjoys life is distinguished by a slight “fluttering” gait. An angry, sad and prone to lying person walks with his head hanging, stooped and haggard, his head looking down. Scientists have developed a special device capable of recording behavioral and character traits. Using this equipment, you can not only expose a liar, but also diagnose the presence of mental trauma and physical illness in a person.

Verbal signs

The psychology of lies and deception is based mostly on verbal communication, since it is this that is a priority in modern society. Insincere people have the habit of speaking briefly and abruptly, avoiding detailed answers to the questions posed. Liars adhere to such tactics in order not to “break the woods” in the future and not to get confused in a chain of deliberately distorted information. Liars justify their lack of desire to go into details by the lack of reliable information. Another type of deceiver, on the contrary, invents too many non-existent facts.

In a conversation, liars often focus the interlocutor’s attention on their own honesty and correctness. Assurances of this kind are necessary for liars in order to “show off” and ward off possible suspicions of dishonest behavior. Rudeness and harshness in conversation act as a defense mechanism that prevents a liar from being exposed. You can identify a lie by the voice of an insincere interlocutor, who trembles, thereby betraying wicked thoughts. Deceivers tend to change the topic of conversation if it poses a potential danger in the task of revealing false intentions.

Psychology of lies

The psychology of lies studies the cause-and-effect relationships of deception and identifies effective methods for recognizing it. Lying is usually understood as the deliberate provision of incorrect information that is presented as truthful. People resort to lying for various reasons, such as fear, personal gain, or in the absence of a specific intention (out of habit or due to developed imagination). The benefit involves introducing others into the situation. This type of lie is presented in abundance on TV screens in commercial and political commercials.

Advertising uses the principle of providing incomplete or incorrect information in order to create a false image about a product or item in the consumer, as well as to get him to take decisive action (purchase, vote in an election for the desired candidate). The great thinker Plato said that politicians and liars are synonymous words. Therefore, deception on the part of those in power cannot be considered an innovation. However, even if a person who considers himself honest and sincere takes the trouble to analyze his behavior, he will be able to find in it many distortions of the truth.

For example, it is easier for a responsible executive who is late for work due to a quarrel with family members to refer to the fact that the transport was too crowded in the morning or the regular bus was not on the route. A lie provoked by fear is a kind of defense mechanism that protects the subject’s psyche from potential danger. Example: a child who lies to his parents about getting a “B” in order to hide a low grade. A lie in this case acts as a defense against verbal or physical violence.

In some situations, telling the truth will be to your own detriment. If you sincerely tell others about your own weaknesses, the most mercantile of them can take advantage of this information, and not with the most honest motives. Example: a woman decides to express accumulated grievances and complaints against her husband to her best friend, and she, taking advantage of the opportunity, takes her husband away from her. In order to distinguish truth from fiction, it is worth reading the book “The Psychology of Lying: Fool Me If You Can.”

The book “The Psychology of Deception” examines a number of methods to identify the flow of false information:

  1. First you need to talk to the person who is suspected of lying. Under the pretext of explaining unclear points, you should ask your interlocutor to retell everything in a new way. Most often, the deceiver begins to get confused in the information presented.
  2. It is worth asking clarifying questions and listening to your interlocutor as carefully as possible, noting moments that seem strange.

Those who have already read the work of the popular American psychologist “The Psychology of Lies: Lie to Me” and have been able to verify in practice the veracity of the information described in the book are worth visiting YouTube channel Nikita Baturin.

We all lie almost every day. Some lie more, some lie less. This phenomenon is absolutely normal. But you should understand that there are harmless lies, and there is deception on a serious scale.

For example, you are in a bad mood and your friend asked how you are doing. You lied, which was great, because you didn’t want to go into details - such a lie is unlikely to harm anyone. If, for example, a person promised to provide some service for you, but after your payment he disappeared - this is a serious deception that amounts to fraud.

For obvious reasons, in some life situations we want to recognize lies: sometimes just out of curiosity, and sometimes because it is critically necessary. After reading this article, you will learn simple techniques that will help you find out if your interlocutor is lying to you. Interesting? Then we begin!

Psychology of deception: how to recognize a lie

Imagine a picture: you are standing and communicating with someone. How to understand that a person is lying? In fact, it is quite difficult, but there are certain signs of lying that make it easy to spot a liar.

Let’s say right away that the psychology of deception is very complex and multifaceted. For example, your interlocutor may pause in the conversation simply because he is simply nervous, and not lying. Or, let's say, he doesn't look you in the eye because he's shy or he really likes you. Therefore, these signs of lying cannot be considered 100% accurate.

How to recognize a lie by the eyes of your interlocutor

Eyes are the mirror of the soul. The sages never cease to tell us that we can learn anything from them. “The eyes don’t lie,” but know that an experienced deceiver will be able to hide his lies, no matter how closely you look at him.

Fortunately, there are very few real masters of scams, and if the average person lies to you, then look him in the eyes - they will tell you a lot.

How to tell by the eyes that a person is lying:

  • studies have shown that a sincere person looks his interlocutor in the eyes during 70% of the entire conversation, while a liar tries to avoid eye contact and looks only 30% of the time; If we talk about experienced liars, then they look into the eyes almost constantly, which is unnatural and should immediately alert you;
  • the liar is under stress, so you can see sparkle and dilation of the pupils in his eyes;
  • Women look mostly up when they lie, and men look down.

Psychology of lies and deception: watching the gestures of a liar

How to recognize deception by gestures? First, analyze the interlocutor’s posture: if he has crossed arms or legs, it means that he is trying to close himself off from you. If he constantly fidgets, it is quite possible that the person is uncomfortable talking to you about a specific topic.

Lies are often accompanied by absurd contacts: if the interlocutor constantly touches his nose, ears, rubs his palms, he is highly likely to be lying. Analyze how sincere people behave, and then in the future you will immediately notice if someone is lying to you.

You can only detect deception with a lie detector

How to recognize deception with high accuracy? Put a person in front of a lie detector and test him on it - there are simply no other more effective methods. Let's say more: experienced liars can bypass a lie detector in no time; the psychology of lies and deception is too complex (this happened in the movie “Hannibal Rising”). Therefore, the question “How to understand that they are lying to you” cannot be given a definite answer.

Until a person learns to read other people's thoughts, he will not be able to say for sure whether the interlocutor is lying to him.

Therefore, accept that deception has existed, is taking place and will exist at all times until man becomes extinct! We hope that the article was useful to you, and the techniques described in it will help you in everyday communication.

There is a lot of untruth in our world. And even if you personally try to live honestly, you probably lie automatically or in small things at least once a day. Don't rush to be indignant. For example, they wake you up with an important call and ask if you can talk - of course, you agree. And similar events occur throughout the day, when it is easier to tell a small lie than to explain the truth in detail. The psychology of lying is quite complex, but we will try to understand all its aspects and understand why people lie and how to recognize deception in time.

What is a lie?

If we turn to an explanatory dictionary for an explanation of the concept of a lie, most likely, we will receive the answer that it is “a lie, a distortion of the truth.” But what then is the truth? Truth is a real and true reflection of reality, displayed without distortion. Moreover, this concept exists regardless of the desires and ideas of people. But in psychology, the concept of lying is often given a slightly different definition. According to many experts, it is appropriate to correctly decipher this term as “the deliberate misleading of another person or group of persons by reporting incorrect information without prior warning.” To put it simply in simple words, the psychology of lying presupposes intent on the part of the liar when deceiving and the complete insecurity of those to whom they lie. A person who encounters untruth as a listener can never be completely sure whether he is being deceived or not.

Life is a school of lies

Many parents often turn to child psychologists with the question of what to do if young children (aged 3 years and older) lie. More often we're talking about only about harmless childhood fantasies. Many kids have a developed imagination. When combined with vivid fairy-tale images obtained from literature and cartoons, and with a minimum amount of real life experience, their imagination works especially productively. Parents should not be surprised if a monster appears under the bed, elves appear in the forest, and the house cat begins to turn into a tiger at night. The play of imagination is quite harmless as long as negative images do not frighten the child too much, and pleasant ones do not occupy the entire consciousness.

Children usually start to really lie only at school, and we, adults, teach them this. Parents do not have time to notice how their baby is growing up. In a period of endless “Why?” We often, for fun or because of our own laziness/embarrassment, lie to the child. Sooner or later, the little person notices the deception. And indeed: chocolates cannot grow on a tree, and the neighbor, Uncle Vanya, is drunk and smells bad, and not “just tired.” Having understood one of the tools of communication and interaction with others, you really want to try it yourself - this is the psychology of lying. Why do children lie? Most often, they try to lie primarily out of curiosity - whether adults will believe a lie. Another significant reason is fear. If a child does not trust his parents or knows that he faces serious punishment for some offense, it is easier to tell a lie.

Why do we tell lies?

There are many reasons why people lie. Most often it's all about personal gain. Wanting to enlist the support of your interlocutor, to receive some privileges and benefits, you really want to lie. Such lies are most often conscious and thought out. A deceiver can spend several hours creating the most realistic story possible or inventing arguments that are obviously far from the truth. But what other reasons exist for deception, why do people lie? The psychology of lying calls fear of punishment one of the most popular motives that force one to lie. And you shouldn’t think that only schoolchildren cheat for this reason. In fact, many adults are often not ready to take responsibility for their own actions or, on the contrary, inaction. And in this case, it is much easier to lie than to tell the truth and expect retribution.

White lie

We have figured out that most often people cheat for personal gain. But there is another popular type of untruth - a white lie. In this case, by deliberately misleading the interlocutor, the deceiver believes that he is doing the right thing and doing a good deed. But is this really so? Many popular proverbs say that in any situation “the bitter truth is better than a sweet lie.” However, in reality, it is often more convenient for us to hide the death of relatives from older people, the loss of pets from children, and other unpleasant events that can be traumatic. This is a very complex question, and the decision on what to do - tell the truth or lie - must be made directly by the person who knows the truth. If we are talking about a situation that cannot be influenced regardless of knowledge of the truth, it may be acceptable to hide it or reveal it only partially.

To lie or not to lie?

Any person with high morals, before deceiving another, will think about whether it is worth doing this act. Only seasoned deceivers and scammers, for whom this type of communication is the norm, lie carelessly and regularly. From early childhood we are told that lying is bad, we need to live “correctly”, without hiding anything. The psychology of truth and lies is such that, being forced to lie, or faced with the deception of others, we experience discomfort, shame and indignation. Are you familiar with all these emotions? Then maybe it’s worth trying to work on yourself and give up lying as much as possible. Remember, any negative emotions are extra stress and nervous tension. And we all know that such conditions and impacts negatively affect a person’s psychological and physical health.

The subconscious doesn't like to lie

Scientists have proven that all people, without exception, are naturally programmed to tell the truth. Regardless of the degree of deception and the strength of the conscious desire to lie, our subconscious mind resists this action. Moreover, we are talking not only about psychology; the reaction to untruth can be tracked even on physical level. It is not for nothing that so-called lie detectors and other devices that allow one to determine with high accuracy whether a person is telling the truth or not have been used for decades. Of course, this option for exposing liars is not suitable for every day, since such equipment cannot be obtained for home use. But the psychology of lies offers a lot of alternative options for recognizing deceptions. The main condition for someone who does not want to be deceived is utmost attention. Listen to your interlocutor and watch his behavior, gestures, intonations.

Gestures say more than words

Do you want to know the truth, no matter how bitter it may be? You will have to memorize the basics of body language and body language. If during a conversation the narrator constantly, as if “by chance,” touches his face, tries to scratch himself, covers his mouth with his hand as if joking, or simply touches his lips and chin, most likely he has something to hide. Signs that should also alert you are unnecessary touching of the neck, collar of clothing, or jewelry. If a woman fiddles with her earrings and a man rubs his earlobe, these are also “symptoms” of lying.

But it turns out that if you remember all these gestures and consciously avoid them while lying, you can remain undetected? Theoretically, yes, but in practice, even experienced scammers, wanting to lie, completely concentrate on the conversation. They carefully select their words, make sure not to say too much, and try to maintain an even and calm timbre of their voice. The psychology of lying is such that, when lying deliberately, it is difficult to control both your own voice/speech and body at the same time.

How and what does a liar say?

When a person deliberately lies, he will speak briefly and to the point. But at the same time, unnatural and unreasonable deepening into the details of the story is possible at times. Psychology will again help us answer the question of why this happens. How to recognize a lie based on the structure of a story? Even if the deceiver has had time to come up with a suitable story, he will try to tell it as quickly as possible. But, afraid of being exposed, our hero will definitely add several digressions to his story, the purpose of which is to demonstrate the realism of the story. What is important: during a conversation, a liar will definitely inquisitively monitor the reaction of the interlocutor, he must be sure that they believed him.

Many liars speak more slowly than usual when they lie. You can also doubt the reliability of the story if your interlocutor often does not finish sentences or repeats them. Ask the narrator something, does he repeat the question before answering it? This means that the likelihood of deception is quite high.

Psychology of lies and deception: how to expose a liar and not make a mistake?

The easiest way to catch a deceiver is to directly tell him during a conversation: “I don’t believe you.” Fraudsters react sharply to such a statement, often they literally explode, begin to prove that they are telling the absolute truth, and can even feign offense: “Am I lying? Who do you take me for?” Don't rush to apologize. Honest people, when faced with mistrust, most often get really offended and stop talking. If you want to continue the discussion, it is better to apologize first, but continuing the conversation can be quite cool. And such a reaction is also explained by the science of psychology. Detecting lies using an aggressive attack method will help identify a liar with a high degree of accuracy. However, this same psychological technique can seriously offend an honest person and even worsen your relationship.

There are other methods for calculating lies. Ask the narrator to retell the whole story from the end to the beginning (in fact, this is difficult task even for professional deceivers) or ask various additional questions. If a person tells a lie, he will be nervous and sooner or later he will make a mistake when talking about details and some particulars.

We teach a child not to lie

The issue of fantasy and lies in children's stories has already been discussed at the beginning of the article. But if you think that your child is lying too often, and all this has nothing to do with a harmless game of imagination, psychology can help you. Children's lies, as a conscious action, are usually formed during school years. If a preschooler lies, we can say with confidence that, most likely, he copies the behavior of adults. For example, a mother says that she cannot take a longer walk with her child or go to the store for candy because she is sick, and the child will lie about feeling unwell the next time when he does not want to clean up his toys or go to kindergarten.

The older a child gets, the more sophisticated and complex methods of deception he experiences. If you begin to notice lies too often, your first priority as a parent is to try to create a comfortable microclimate at home and instill in your child the idea that he can trust mom and dad with any secrets and tell about all the events of his life. Try to avoid harsh punishments, especially physical ones; instead, don’t be lazy to explain every time exactly what the child is wrong about, and together look for ways to “atone.” For example, if your son gets a bad grade, it is a reasonable punishment to devote an extra hour or two to homework instead of entertainment, and if your daughter breaks a vase, you can instruct her to participate in the cleaning along with her mother.

What to do with adult liars

Having noticed that their own children lie a lot, a parent can always change something in their upbringing. But what to do if an adult was caught in a lie? It all depends on the degree of closeness of your relationship. If a relative or loved one is lying, the problem of deception can be discussed in a calm environment in private. Try to explain that you can be trusted and that lying is not best way building relationships.

The situation is much worse if you encounter outright lies in the business sphere. In this case, it is useless to look for an answer to the question of why people lie. The psychology of lying can only help you notice deception in time. If your personal interests are harmed by misinformation, try to get to the bottom of the truth. Of course, the easiest way is to stop interacting with the pathological deceiver altogether, but if this is not possible, your task is to try to outsmart him.

Psychology of human lies: how to refrain from deception yourself?

Popular wisdom says: lie less, sleep peacefully. And indeed, by eliminating lies and all kinds of intrigues from your life, you become freer. It is much easier to live honestly, without choosing the right words when talking with others and without experiencing the fear of exposure. If you are used to deceiving someone quite often, then it will take some time to wean yourself from such behavior. Day after day, try to track the origin of the very desire to lie and deceive someone. You need to learn to literally force yourself to tell the truth. But over time, such behavior will become a habit and become natural for you. Spend time on self-development and working on yourself every day, and you will notice that life will become much easier and more enjoyable.

Don’t forget that the psychology of lies and the psychology of emotions are not at all boring areas of knowledge. By devoting time to studying them, you will definitely learn a lot of interesting and useful things for yourself.

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