A habitual liar may feel extreme stress from keeping track of their falsehoods. They may struggle to live up to their own claims. If their lies are exposed, their relationships will likely grow strained. In some cases, they may face legal consequences.
Lying can be cognitively depleting, it can increase the risk that people will be punished, it can threaten people's self-worth by preventing them from seeing themselves as “good” people, and it can generally erode trust in society.
Prolific liars are those who report that they tell five or more lies per day. Prolific liars tend to be younger, male, and have higher occupational statuses. They are likely to lie the most to their partners and children.
Teens Lie More Than Any Other Age Group
A study called “From Junior to Senior Pinocchio” looked at lying behaviors in more than a thousand people ages six to 77. Consequently, the researchers found that peak dishonesty occurs in adolescence. Thus, we lie more often as teens, and also get away with it more.
Lying Changes the Brain
Nature Neuroscience reported a study of the amygdala, the part of the brain dealing with emotional responses. The researchers said the amygdala shows up less and less, as we lie more and more. Essentially, our guilt feelings tend to weaken and shrink.
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.
Guilt is most likely when the liar shares values and respects the target of the lie. It is much harder to lie or cheat someone who has acted fairly. But if the wages are too low, the spouse cold and inconsiderate, the parent too strict – the liar may feel entitled to cheat, and feel no guilt about doing so.
You can't always change the behavior of a liar, but you can change how you feel and react to them. Once you learn to change your emotions about a situation you begin to see a lot more options. If you are honest with the situation you will realize that your happiness is more important than their behavior anyways.
About three-quarters of people were consistently honest, telling between zero and two lies per day. By contrast, a small subset of people averaged more than six lies per day and accounted for a sizable proportion of the lies, says researcher Timothy Levine, Ph. D.
Gray lies were said to consist of lies that were ambiguous in nature or held the characteristics of a real lie yet were still viewed as justifiable given the circumstance. These results, their practical and theoretical implications, and areas for future research are discussed.
These lies are so common that they have acquired a specific name, the 'blue lie' (purportedly originating from cases where police officers made false statements to protect the police force or to ensure the success of the government's legal case against an accused; Barnes, 1994).
88.6 % of reported lies in the study were described as “little white lies,” and 11.4 % were characterized as “big lies.” An example of a “little white lie” would be saying you like a gift you really don't, and an example of a “big lie” would be insincerely declaring "I love you" to someone.
Itching and fidgeting: Rocking the body back and forth, cocking the head to the side or shuffling the feet can also be signs of deception, says Glass, who completed a post-doctoral fellowship at UCLA focusing on Psychology and Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication.
"When a liar becomes hostile or defensive, he is attempting to turn the tables on you," says Glass. The liar will get hostile because he is angry that you've discovered his lies, which may result in a lot of pointing.
Pathological lying, also known as mythomania and pseudologia fantastica, is the chronic behavior of compulsive or habitual lying. Unlike telling the occasional white lie to avoid hurting someone's feelings or getting in trouble, a pathological liar seems to lie for no apparent reason.
By age 4, children know the difference between telling the truth and lying — and they know it's wrong to lie. So, generally, they're truthful, and when they're not it's obvious.
While some people lie more frequently than others, it is not typically a sign of a mental health condition. Pathological lying is different. It may be a sign of an underlying mental health condition, such as a personality disorder.
Researchers say the group of participants who reduced lying for ten weeks--experienced significantly fewer headaches--sore throats--tenseness--anxiety--and other health problems--than those who continued to lie regularly. "I think anything that is going to affect our stress, affects our health," Kerner declared.
Even little fibs can have serious consequences — and some of them just might surprise you. Like Pinocchio, everyone sometimes tells a lie. Most people don't lie often, science finds. But research shows that even small lies can take a toll on your brain.
When we engage in deceit, our respiratory and heart rates increase, we start to sweat, our mouth goes dry, and our voice can shake. Some of these physiological effects form the basis of the classic lie-detector (polygraph) test. People vary in their ability to tell a lie due, in part, to differences in the brain.