The direction of their eyes: A 2012 study published in Plos One debunked the myth people look to the left when lying. A study by the University of Michigan found when participants lied, they maintained eye contact 70% of the time.
Signs of Lying
Repeating questions before answering them. Speaking in sentence fragments. Failing to provide specific details when a story is challenged. Grooming behaviors such as playing with hair or pressing fingers to lips.
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.
Body language red flags are verbal or nonverbal signals that show an incongruence where we should dig deeper. They don't always mean that someone is guilty or showing a negative emotion; however, they may be good indicators in some cases.
Tightened jaw and forehead
Liars also tend to tense up when they're not being truthful, and this can include tightening the jaw and forehead. Both are connected to the "mental effort and stress" associated with telling a lie, according to Wenner.
When people lie and they are confronted with evidence that contradicts those lies, they may change their story or deny the truth altogether. They may also try to manipulate others to maintain their false story. Blaming others for their lies. They may try to deflect blame or shift responsibility onto others.
We lie to save face, to avoid hurting other people's feelings, to impress others, to shirk responsibility, to hide misdeeds, as a social lubricant, to prevent conflict, to get out of work, and many more reasons.
However, of the most common motives for telling lies, avoiding punishment is the primary motivator for both children and adults. Other typical reasons include protecting ourselves or others from harm, maintaining privacy, and avoiding embarrassment, to name a few.
The narcissistic liar
This type of person never admits to making a mistake, even when the mistake could be a growth opportunity for your PR team. He or she is often a "people person" seeking attention when things go right, bragging or exaggerating accomplishments, while being quick to place blame and criticize others.
People who lie pathologically often tell lies about things that don't matter, for no apparent reason. They may do it unconsciously and may not even realize they're lying in the moment, although they can often tell afterward.
They Leak Cues In The Cluster of “Three”
For example, a person may touch their nose, then their neck, and then their face. Or, they may scratch their head, ear, and chin. A liar might also answer with a question infection.
Calm down, think, and then deal with the situation. Listen to your partner's explanation and try to understand why they lied. Try to forgive them and leave the lie in the past. Do not remind your partner about past lies every time you are in an argument.
Impact of Deception on a Relationship
The more lies they tell, the less you trust them or have faith in their honesty. Diminished compassion and empathy: Lying makes it harder to detect someone's emotions, which in turn, can diminish the compassion and empathy you feel toward that person.
Rebuilding trust takes a significant amount of time and patience. It might take us several months or even years to fully be able to trust our loved one again. Along the way, we need to continue working on reestablishing trust slowly under the guidance of family counselors.
If they feel that someone closes in on their lies and raises questions, liars tend to get angry and defensive. Even if no one is outright accusing them, they have an overblown reaction due to their fear of being caught. It also acts as a distraction and helps take the spotlight off their lies.
According to Andrew Pickett, trial attorney at Andrew Pickett Law, PLLC, "an increase in filler words such as 'uh' and 'um,' and a greater use of non-specific language" might mean you're being fed a falsehood. These words give the speaker more time to think and show low confidence in what they have to say.
According to mental health experts, many pathological and compulsive liars do believe the stories they're telling. They may have repeated their lies so often that they start to feel true. Pathological liars often live in a fantasy world they've constructed, in which their “truth” becomes reality.
Another sign: When someone is lying, they're unable to activate muscles that draw the inner eyebrows together and upwards, says Porter. Instead, they're only able to raise their eyebrows and forehead, so they looked surprised.
Delusional liars: those who lie to themselves about facts. It's not just other people we lie to. We also lie to ourselves.