News
Are You A Good Liar?
It can be a useful skill. Being able to get away with a white lie can save more than a situation.
Some of us are better at it than others, of course. But those who think they’re better at lying than average seem to have a few things in common.
Brianna Verigin from Maastricht University and colleagues surveyed 194 participants on their lying habits.
Apparently, 39% of participants reported telling no lies at all, and just 6 participants were responsible for 40% of all lies.
Those who told more lies felt they were better at deception; high self-reported fibbing ability was also linked to a greater likelihood of telling lies to colleagues and friends, though not to family or authority figures. Those who see themselves as good liars were also more likely than poor liars to do it face to face, and white lies were the most frequent form of deception, followed by exaggerations, hiding information, burying lies and simply making things up.
“Keeping the statement clear and simple” was popular with 17.6% of participants, with “telling a plausible story” (15.1%) and “being vague about details” (13.2%) coming next. Good liars were more likely to use a range of strategies, whilst poor liars were far more likely to use avoidance.
“Prolific liars rely … a great deal on being good with words, weaving their lies into truths, so it becomes hard for others to distinguish the difference, and they’re also better than most at hiding lies within apparently simple, clear stories which are harder for others to doubt,” said Verigin.
The research was published in PLOS One.
Some of us are better at it than others, of course. But those who think they’re better at lying than average seem to have a few things in common.
Brianna Verigin from Maastricht University and colleagues surveyed 194 participants on their lying habits.
Apparently, 39% of participants reported telling no lies at all, and just 6 participants were responsible for 40% of all lies.
Those who told more lies felt they were better at deception; high self-reported fibbing ability was also linked to a greater likelihood of telling lies to colleagues and friends, though not to family or authority figures. Those who see themselves as good liars were also more likely than poor liars to do it face to face, and white lies were the most frequent form of deception, followed by exaggerations, hiding information, burying lies and simply making things up.
“Keeping the statement clear and simple” was popular with 17.6% of participants, with “telling a plausible story” (15.1%) and “being vague about details” (13.2%) coming next. Good liars were more likely to use a range of strategies, whilst poor liars were far more likely to use avoidance.
“Prolific liars rely … a great deal on being good with words, weaving their lies into truths, so it becomes hard for others to distinguish the difference, and they’re also better than most at hiding lies within apparently simple, clear stories which are harder for others to doubt,” said Verigin.
The research was published in PLOS One.