Lie: what is it, what are the types of lies, why do people lie

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

To a greater or lesser extent, but many people lie. Someone misleads in order to hide or obtain information, someone - for the benefit of others, which is also called an altruistic lie or a lie for good. Others deceive themselves; for others, lying has become an integral part of life. They lie all the time for no apparent reason. In psychology, there are several types of lies, there is a classification depending on different aspects.

What is this

A lie is a conscious statement of a person that does not correspond to the truth. In other words, the deliberate transmission of distorted, untrue information. Even silence in certain situations can be considered a lie. For example, when a person deliberately tries to hide or conceal any information.

Benjamin Disraeli once said: "There are three kinds of lies: statistics, lies and damned lies." itthe expression is considered rather humorous, but, as everyone knows, there is some truth in every joke. Then these words were repeatedly paraphrased, and their authorship was attributed to different people. Today you can often hear modern interpretations. For example: "There are 3 types of lies: lies, damned lies and advertising", or "…lies, damned lies and campaign promises".

Untruth, lies and deceit

There are three kinds of lies in psychotherapy: untruth, lie and deceit. To this day, scientists are trying to understand whether there is a difference between these concepts. Falsehood is a delusion, a person believes in what he says, but his opinion turns out to be erroneous. That is, a person does not realize his wrong and deceives unintentionally. This may be due to a lack of knowledge or a misinterpretation of a situation.

Deceit is considered to be a deliberate misrepresentation of information. In everyday life, jokes and metaphors cannot be considered lies. So, for example, it would be wrong to take literally the proverb:

The tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it! Good fellows lesson.

The tale is not a lie due to the fact that the author does not try to pass off what is written as the truth. But is lying always negative? There are situations in which words depend more on circumstances than on people. For example, should the pilot of a plane that crashes tell the passengers the truth? Should a son tell a mother who has cancer that he himself is terminally ill?

Deceit can be called a half-truth when a person does not report all the facts known to him with the expectation thatthat the second person will draw incorrect conclusions (but such that are beneficial to the deceiver). It is not always possible to call a half-truth a deceit. If a girl honestly admits to her friend that she cannot give out all the information about a particular case, this will not be considered cheating.

So, we can distinguish such types of lies in psychology: untruth, lies and deceit.

Lies like gossip

People are constantly passing information to each other. At the same time, everyone perceives it in their own way, some embellish it, some forget the details and substitute fictitious ones instead. During a conversation, someone often “misses out” something, then tells the other, adding his own, and he fantasizes, adds something else, and the third information will reach already half distorted. This is how gossip is born.

Example: "Alina said that Masha said that Nadia saw him with his mistress!". In fact, Nadia saw how the guy, leaving the cafe, held the door for the girl, and then they went in the same direction, keeping a distance of several meters.

Lie as subterfuge

"Sorry, I'm late, because there are terrible traffic jams on the road," says Andrei. But he thinks: "Actually, I was late, because yesterday I was late with friends at the bar, and in the morning I did not hear the alarm."

"I didn't come to the first class because Masha told me that there would be no class," says Albina. But he thinks: “Actually, I didn’t come, because Masha told me that she and her friend would not gofor the first couple, so I also wanted to skip."

False lies are the most common form of lying. People tell lies because otherwise they will get into trouble. They are driven by the instinct of self-preservation.

Lie out of courtesy

"How glad I am to see you, it's very good that we met" - a typical phrase of old acquaintances. Most likely, no one is happy to see anyone, everyone wants to quickly end this conversation in order to go about their business.

It often happens that once at school/institute the guys were like water. The roads have diverged, now everyone has their own family, completely different interests and circle of friends. There were no fights, it just happened. But you can’t say to a person with whom you were once close: “I absolutely don’t care if you are in my life or not, I never even remembered you.”

This type of lie can also be referred to as empathy.

"Don't worry, he's not worth your tears at all, it's just that he was very drunk that evening, and in a couple of days he will crawl to you on his knees, it happened to me too, believe me" - a phrase that everyone hears the girl abandoned by the guy. He, of course, was not drunk at all and is now happy with his new girlfriend, and he is unlikely to come to ask for forgiveness. Don't say that to your girlfriend. Over time, everything will work out, but now the person just needs support.

Lies like self-deception

The most dangerous type of lie is the lieto myself. When a person refuses to face the truth, even though it is obvious. It is easier to justify yourself, to justify other people, to come up with a reason for some act, than to admit that there is a problem. You can’t build a world of illusions and go headlong into it.

"He doesn't answer the phone because he can't hear/is busy/in a meeting," the girl says to herself, even though she knows full well that he's cheating on her. No need to be afraid to make decisions, change yourself and change your life. Everything that is done is for the best.