People keep secrets for a multitude of reasons. Maybe they feel embarrassed or shame about something, they feel they might get in trouble (with the law or with a person), or they feel like their relationship with somebody might be destroyed should the big secret be revealed.
People who are secretive often don't let other people get to know them very well, often by keeping secrets about their life. They may do this because they have something to hide or because they don't trust other people. Organizations described as secretive are often those that hide details about their operations.
Ask lots of follow-up questions. The more details you request, the more likely it is that the truth will come out. Drawing it out gives the liar a chance to admit that they “misspoke” and correct themselves without being called a liar.
Pathological lying is a symptom of various personality disorders, including antisocial, narcissistic, and histrionic personality disorders. Other conditions, such as borderline personality disorder, may also lead to frequent lies, but the lies themselves are not considered pathological.
People who are telling the truth want all the facts to be out there so in response to a closed question, they'll often give more than a one word answer. Liars, on the other hand, will say less for fear of revealing their deception. For them, a 'yes' or a 'no' will be plenty.
“Among all the Zodiac signs, Cancer, Gemini, Aries, Leo, Libra, Scorpio and Virgo are classified in the category of the biggest liars,” says our inhouse astrology expert Pratibha Singh.” Cancer will exaggerate to the point where they'll have to lie about it.
When it comes to detecting lies, people often focus on body language “tells,” or subtle physical and behavioral signs that reveal deception. For example, shrugging, lack of expression, a bored posture, and grooming behaviors such as playing with hair or pressing fingers to lips can give away a person who is lying.
Denial is a common reaction when an innocent person is accused, which is why liars will sometimes attempt to deny your accusations. The catch, though, is that because they're acting, their denials tend to be over the top.
Sweating or dryness: Autonomic nervous system changes can trigger liars to sweat in the T-area of the face (upper lip, forehead, chin and around the mouth) or have dryness in the mouth and eyes — the person might excessively blink or squint, lick or bite their lips or swallow hard, according to Glass.
Liars withhold information
Even though good liars can remember small details, they know it's best to avoid getting tangled up in too much information. Liars will also purposefully leave details out of their fabricated stories as a way to manipulate you. Remember: not telling the whole truth is still considered lying.
A narcissistic liar is a person who lies to get what they want. They are often charming and persuasive. But their primary goal is always self-promotion. They want to present themselves in a certain light and believe they can get away with it.
The liar may be angry at his or her target for a variety of reasons, but may believe it is necessary to conceal the anger in order to succeed in the lie. In a similar fashion, a liar may feel disgust toward his or her target. Or a liar may feel either of these emotions about him or her self for engaging in the lie.
Some common synonyms of secretive are reserved, reticent, silent, and taciturn. While all these words mean "showing restraint in speaking," secretive, too, implies reticence but usually carries a suggestion of deviousness and lack of frankness or of an often ostentatious will to conceal.
Those who tended to be more secretive, such as Analysts and Introverts, may have grander designs than others – or at least believe that they do. These personalities may prefer to keep their fantastic dreams secret and unrealized, rather than making a public attempt at them, followed by death by scrutiny.
A closed-off person is someone who probably doesn't want to open up about his or her feelings. They might not feel comfortable sharing personal information or letting others into their world. A closed-off person usually has one main aim — to avoid a strong emotional connection with others.
While multiple challenges exist to accurately detect deception, our data strongly suggested that it may be so difficult to catch liars because it requires more cognitive work to identify false rather than true statements.