No one likes to be branded as a liar. Lying is a very socially punished behavior and is often associated with malice and evil intentions.. Paradoxically, there is not a single person in the world who has never lied in his or her life. In fact, most of us do it on a daily basis, sometimes so automatically that we are not even aware of it.
Lying can take many forms and can appear in multiple situations when faced with different triggers. In other words, we never lie following the same dynamic or motivation. Despite the negative view of the act of lying, sometimes it is a protective mechanism for ourselves as well as for others. Furthermore, lying does not always require telling something untrue; sometimes it is enough to tell only part of the truth.
This may be necessary in certain social situations where telling the whole truth would be counterproductive for our relationships and our life in general. for our relationships and our life in general. When we have just met someone, lying also allows us to keep personal matters private and even to convey a favorable image to the other person. This is important in order to protect our privacy without exposing ourselves excessively and making a good impression.
Let us think of examples from everyday life: when a relative asks us if we liked a gift that horrifies us, when our boss asks us if we mind doing a couple of extra hours, when we have an engagement and we do not wish to attend… In all these situations it is most common for us to lie. Lying should really be analyzed in the context in which it occurs, since sometimes it is an indicator that we understand how others think and react, and, therefore, that we have learned the rules of the game of relationships with others.
If you identify with the situations we have described above and want to know a little more about the human tendency to lie, in this article we are going to review the different types of lies. we will review the different types of lies and analyze why they occur and exactly what they consist of..
What kinds of lies are there?
As we have just mentioned, there are many types of lies. Here we have decided to compile the fifteen most frequent types and the function of each one.
1. Pious lies
People do not always lie for a selfish or malicious purpose. There are people who, due to their great emotional intelligence, are capable of assessing certain situations in which lying is the most appropriate thing to do. In life, it is common to encounter complicated scenarios in which not telling the truth is necessary. Generally, white lies are intended to avoid suffering or pain to other people.. For example, if a friend asks us if you look attractive in those new clothes that we don’t like at all, we will probably lie to avoid hurting you and make you feel self-confident.
2. Intentional lies
This type of lies are those that are carried out intentionally, usually with selfish or malicious objectives. An example of this could be lying to a store clerk by telling her that we want to return a garment that we have actually used.
3. Lying by omitting the truth
Sometimes lying does not require telling false information, but rather hiding parts of the truth that are hiding parts of the truth that are important.. This type of lie is frequent when we try to convince or persuade someone of something. We try to offer the part of reality that is more convenient for us, hiding the part that is less favorable to us.
4. Self-deception
This type of lie has a particular characteristic: it is directed at oneself. That is why it is usually an unconscious process that acts as a protective mechanism. Reality as it is can be painful, so lying to ourselves reduces cognitive dissonance and, therefore, discomfort.
5. Rumors
We have all at one time or another heard rumors or gossip about other people. Unfortunately, it is not certain whether this information is true or not.. This type of lie is something like the game of the broken telephone, in which a series of people transmit a message that ends up being distorted by word of mouth, often damaging the protagonists of the story.
6. Exaggeration
Lying sometimes has to do with modifying the magnitude of the facts that are told. Sometimes we deliberately magnify something that has happened to generate interest or attention, but other times we exaggerate a story without being aware of it. This has to do with the way we retrieve information from our memory, as this process is influenced by our emotions. If we are recounting a scene that we experience as very funny, we are likely to magnify some parts without being aware because of this bias.
7. Copying or plagiarism
This type of lie can constitute a crime, since it consists of appropriating other people’s ideas or works to pass them off as their own. It is a clearly malicious lie, where the person seeks to profit at the expense of the efforts of others.
8. Compulsive lies
This type of lie implies the existence of a psychological disorder, since the person lies repeatedly and almost automatically, even in situations in which the lie does not bring any benefit. This type of lie is usually common in people with poor self-esteem, who need to build a parallel reality to their own to try to please others.
9. Broken promises
There are many promises that are made and then never fulfilled.. This can be considered another type of lie, which can also have serious repercussions on the relationship we have with the person we have failed. Breaking a promise undermines trust. Feeling cheated, especially by someone we love, can be very painful.
10. Deceptive lies
Lies of this type consist of statements that, while true, can generate confusion due to their ambiguity. We also speak of deceptive lies when the person tries to divert attention to another issue or omit important parts of the facts known to him. An example of this are scams, where many times a product is sold with certain conditions without making the fine print very clear.
11. Utilitarian lie
This type of lie is carried out for purely practical and selfish reasons. They allow the person to avoid negative consequences or to take advantage of a situation.. An example of this may be pretending to be sick to avoid going to work.
12. Compensatory lie
Lies of this type are carried out because the person needs to cover up his or her reality, embellish it or manipulate it to favor his or her image in the eyes of others. It is closely related to compulsive lying, since in this case we can also speak of an underlying psychological discomfort.
13. Translational lie
This type of lie aims to attribute a merit or a responsibility to another person.. The most frequent translative lie has to do with guilt, since lying can be achieved by transferring the responsibility of an event to another person. Of course, this lie hides a bad intention, in which the person who is really responsible does not assume the consequences of his actions.
14. Bluff
A bluff consists of simulating an intention or skill that, in reality, does not exist. It is a strategy that allows to confuse other people. An example of this can be seen in kidnappings where kidnappers threaten to kill their hostage if they do not receive the money they demand. Although the intention may be real, many times these threats are simply bluffs with the ultimate goal of achieving that gain.
15. Circumvention
Circumvention has to do with keeping one’s opinion on certain controversial issues hidden for a variety of reasons. for various reasons. For example, in politics it is common for people not to indicate which political party they will vote for during elections.
Conclusions
In this article we have reviewed the different types of existing lies, the function they fulfill and the situations in which each of them takes place. Lying is a phenomenon that has been widely studied in psychology, due to the enormous interest it arouses in the general population. It is a very contradictory question, since is surrounded by taboo and at the same time it is a natural response in all human beings..
The aim of this article is not simply to stay on the surface, since we all know what lying is. Actually, it is to see in lying an indicator that can give us valuable information about the person. For example, who lies in a pious way is denoting large doses of empathy and assertiveness with others. Similarly, compulsive lying can tell us about a very damaged self-esteem.
For its part, self-deception can give us a clue as to how a complicated situation may be affecting a person at a given moment. And of course, a utilitarian or clearly intentional lie teaches us that the person is untrustworthy because he or she is only looking out for his or her own selfish interests. Lying is not only natural to us, but it is useful, necessary and informative..