September 2009 When asking why lies fail, it’s important to remember this: Not all do. “Can’t talk now, just on the way out the door”. “I love your new dress.” “What a great evening, thanks so much.” “Sorry, couldn’t get a babysitter. Which lies fail? Instead of asking why lies fail or succeed, instead turn your attention to the type … Read More
Verbal Deceit
Why liars choose their words carefully
Excerpt from Telling Lies by Paul Ekman, PhD What liars pay attention to When lying, people usually do not monitor, control, and attempt to disguise all of their behavior; they probably couldn’t even if they wanted to. Instead, we tend to participate in verbal deceit, showing the most concern about choice of words. Liars censor what they say, carefully concealing messages … Read More
Why Do People Lie?
9 Motives for Telling Lies
Original excerpt from “Telling Lies” (p. 329-330) September 26, 2018 Reading between the lies Why do people lie? Such a simple question should come with a simple answer (but doesn’t, unfortunately). There are indications, however, that most of us share the same the motives for telling lies. Numbers don’t lie My data collected during interviews with children and from questionnaires completed by adults suggests that telling … Read More