a distorted reflection of reality, such cognitive content that does not correspond to the objective nature of things. Conscious L. is a deliberate disinformation. Unintentional L. coincides with delusion, including objective truth moments. Nonsense, or absurdity, should be distinguished from L..

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Lie

statement that distorts the actual state of affairs. According to Aristotle, the structure of a lie is as follows: if a judgment connects what is disconnected in reality or disconnects what is connected in reality, then it is false. Nonsense, or absurdity, should be distinguished from lies. Lie is one of the fundamental concepts of the general theory of information systems, without revealing the concept of lie, it is meaningless to talk about information and concepts related to it. A lie is a thing opposite to truth, but connected with the latter by inextricable bonds: if you combine a big truth with a small lie, you get a big lie. (see the structure of lies).

A lie is a fundamental category of philosophy, ethics, politics, economics and other areas of human existence and the existence of mankind. Due to the fact that it is fundamental, society prefers to pretend that it does not exist. In ancient times they said: "Do not mention the name of God in vain!" Exactly the same situation develops with the institution of lies - this word is not in the dictionary of the editor of "LEKSIKON", on which a variant of the text of the real interpreter is typed (at least he does not incline him), politicians avoid it, inventing equivalents "cunning", "intellectual dishonesty", etc. That is, people subconsciously and consciously understand that, following the path of lies, they will inevitably reach themselves and bring others to the abyss. They understand and nevertheless do it, since a lie allows, as it seems to the liar, in many cases to achieve the goal with minimal time, moral and energy costs. At the same time, history shows that ethical equations operate and ultimately triumph over truth or retribution. Another thing is that the question "for what?" is often asked. this retribution has come.

Lie

Unlike error and error, it denotes a conscious and therefore morally reprehensible contradiction to the truth. Of the adjectives from this word, only the form false retains an unconditionally bad meaning, while false is also used in the sense of an objective discrepancy between a given position and the truth, even if without the intention and fault of the subject; so a false conclusion is one that is made with the intention of deceiving others, while a false conclusion can also be one that is made by mistake, leading the person who is mistaken into deception. In moral philosophy, the question of L. necessary is important, i.e. about whether it is permissible or not permissible to make statements that deliberately disagree with the actual reality in extreme cases, for example. to save someone's life. This question is sometimes unjustly confused with the question of the permissibility of bad means for good ends, with which it has only an apparent connection. The question of the need for L. can be correctly resolved on the following basis. Morality is not a mechanical set of various prescriptions, irrespective of their binding nature. From the material side, morality is a manifestation of a good nature; but a person who is naturally good cannot vacillate between the moral interest to save his neighbor and the moral interest to observe factual accuracy in his testimony; a good nature excludes a tendency to L. or deceit, but in this case lying plays no role. From the formal side, morality is the expression of pure will; but the observance of an external correspondence between word and fact in each individual case, regardless of its vital meaning and with the sacrifice of real moral obligations arising from this situation, is an expression not of pure will, but only of soulless literalism. Finally, from the point of view of the final goal, morality is the path to true life, and its prescriptions are given to man in order "to live by them"; consequently, sacrificing a human life for the exact fulfillment of a separate prescription is an internal contradiction and cannot be moral.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Introduction

In the modern world, lies are so natural that they have long penetrated into all spheres of human activity. Every person can be deceived at least once in his life and he himself has deceived others more than once.

There is no difference in what social stratum, what race a person belongs to. The problem of lies was relevant even in times ancient philosophers and sages and still remains topical. After all, our society cannot exist without deception. No matter how much the world around us changes, the lie was in the past and flourishes in our days. One of the main and unresolved issues what remains is that not every deceit can be exposed and not every lie can be recognized. Although people are concerned about this problem in very different ways: some are interested in how to determine lies, while others are more interested in learning to skillfully lie, the question of lies and truth is of eternal importance for humanity. Despite the interest in this problem and a lot of research by different authors, there is no unambiguous formula for recognizing lies or the law of ideal deception.

In domestic psychology, the phenomenon of lies was studied in the works of D.I. Dubrovsky, Paul Ekman's studies are famous in foreign psychology, describing in detail all the subtleties of deception.

The purpose of the work: to give a meaningful description of the category of lies and some features of understanding this phenomenon, as well as to explore lies, untruth and deceit as a phenomenon of human relations.

Subject of study: lies, deceit and untruth.

psychology lie deceit personality

Lie

Basic concepts, definitions

Paul Ekman, in The Psychology of Lies, defines lying as an act by which one person deceives another, doing so intentionally, without prior notice of their goals and without a clear request from the victim not to reveal the truth.

AT explanatory dictionary IN AND. Dahl gives the following definition: "A lie is what is lied, words, speeches that are contrary to the truth. To lie is to lie, speak or write a lie, lie, contrary to the truth."

AT general view, deception - disinformation, a false message transmitted to a specific subject. Being deceived, the subject takes for true, genuine, true, fair, correct, beautiful (and vice versa) what is not such. The concept of deceit is logically opposed to the concept of truth. Untruth is a deliberate lie, but at the same time, it can be an unintentional delusion, and a cunning falsification, and refined hypocrisy, and the hypocrisy of a cultivated layman, and the "truth" of a previous historical stage.

Ekman, in his scientific work, begins by defining the concepts used, arguing that deception is always an intentional act, and if a person lies unintentionally, although he tells a lie, then he cannot be called a liar. The concept of "lie" includes not only a distortion of the truth (reporting false information), but also silence about something significant in a given situation (concealment of the truth).

Deception, as a deliberate act, most often expresses selfish isolation, rupture, disruption of community, distrust, hostility towards others, or inauthentic communication dominated by pragmatic goals. Deceit is a vice that destroys every virtue.

Deception is an immoral form of protecting one's own interests, in which the appearance of observing moral and other social norms.

Deception is a false, incorrect message that can mislead the person to whom it is addressed. However, one should distinguish between deception as an action of a subject pursuing certain interests, and deception as a result, i.e. as an action that has achieved its goal, because often this action turns out to be ineffective: deception is recognized, exposed.

Thus, we can conclude that psychologists share the concepts of lies, deceit and untruth, as separate categories with different functions. But in general, despite the variety of concepts, one can single out one main characteristic, then that this is a distortion of the truth for the purpose of personal gain.

the phenomenon of communication, consisting in a deliberate distortion of the actual state of affairs; most often expressed in the content of speech messages, the immediate verification of which is difficult or impossible. It is a conscious product of speech activity, aimed at misleading recipients (listeners).

Usually lying is caused by the desire to achieve personal or social advantages in specific situations. It is characteristic that the individual unconsciously regards his lie as something unstable and temporary; hence the intention to initially invent new confirmations for it, and later to completely hush it up. If socio-psychologically a lie is always a means, then in the field of psychopathology it acts as the goal of psychopathic mythomaniacs who experience satisfaction from the very process of misleading others.

Lie

the phenomenon of communication, consisting in a deliberate distortion of the actual state of affairs; L. most often finds expression in the content of speech messages, the immediate verification of which is difficult or impossible. L. is a conscious product speech activity intended to mislead recipients. As a rule, L. is caused by the desire to achieve personal or social advantages in specific situations. It is characteristic that the individual unconsciously regards his L. as something unstable and temporary; hence the intention to initially invent new confirmations for it, and later to completely hush it up. If socio-psychologically L. is always a means, then in the field of psychopathology it acts as the goal of psychopathic mythomaniacs who experience a sense of satisfaction from the very process of misleading others. A.A. brudny

FALSE

conscious and intentional communication of information, the content of which does not correspond to reality. L. is most often allowed in relation to those information, the immediate verification of the reliability of which is difficult or impossible. As a rule, L. is caused by the desire to achieve personal or social advantages in a particular situation. It is characteristic that the individual himself regards his L. as something unstable and temporary; hence the desire to periodically come up with new confirmations for it, and later completely hush it up. Selfless L. - L. with no intention of benefiting from her. L. differs in scale, degree of inconsistency with reality, potential damage that it can cause, and other substantive and formal characteristics. L. is often used by opponents in conflicts in the interests of strengthening their position and misleading the enemy. In conflicts, L. is realized in the form of a bluff, discrediting the opponent, silence, distortion of facts, etc. One of the types of L. is disinformation used in conflicts of all levels. L. is widely used in information and psychological warfare.

Lie

intentionally misleading someone by reporting untrue information. In cases where a lie causes harm to someone, including the individual himself, it is considered as a pathology, especially characteristic of some types of psychopathic personality (antisocial, paranoid, hysterical, etc.).

Lie

common Slavic. lie) - falsehood, deception, deliberate and controlled distortion of the truth, usually accompanied by awareness of the need to lie and a certain motive to distort the actual state of things, as well as the desire to present, if necessary, a plausible justification for deceit. A sign of an immature personality or its moral degradation, immaturity. Conscious lies should be distinguished from painful fantasizing, which is especially common in children and adolescents, and, moreover, from deceit, which serves as a way to overcome internal, psychological problems, that is, it is a sign of overcompensation for feelings of inferiority. See Fantasies of children's pathological, Hypercompensation, Mendacity.

Lie

knowingly, intentionally misleading another person through verbal and/or non-verbal means O.; pursuing, as a rule, def. goals. L. can be a direct opposite of the truth, a partial deviation from it, or its concealment (silence, inaction). The origins of the study of the problem of L. can be found in Philos. writings of Aristotle and Plato. In modern abroad. psychology, the problem of L. is actively developed in the works of P. Ekman, who defines L. as an action, with the help of which one person misleads another, and a cut is characterized in this case by a trace. features: a) intentionality; b) the lack of prior notification of the partner about their goals; c) the absence of a clearly expressed request from the partner not to reveal the truth. In the fatherland A number of works by V. V. Znakov are devoted to psychology to the topic of L., to which he proposes to distinguish L. from untruth and deceit. Defining L. as the deliberate transmission of information that does not correspond to reality, he identifies 3 of its main. sign: 1) inconsistency of the statement with the true facts; 2) the lack of faith of the liar himself in the truth of the statement; 3. the liar's desire to mislead another person. V. V. Znakov calls the Russian understanding of the phenomenon of L. subjective and moral and distinguishes it from the moral and legal understanding that is characteristic of the traditions of the West. culture. According to B.S. Shalyutin, L. is not just a communicative act, but a specific impact through communication directly on the addressee L. In this case, a liar can pursue different goals: the formation of a definition. attitude to something, the impact on the behavior of another person, on his current state or stable characteristics. One of the areas of study of the problem of L. in modern. psychology is the allocation of non-verbal signs of falsity-veracity of the message, for better recognition of L. in the process of interpersonal O. (A. Piz, V. A. Labunskaya, S. I. Simonenko, etc.). Among the behavioral signs of L. are the following: false (untimely, asymmetrical) smile; frozen on long time facial expression; redness of the face; stuttering; laugh; rubbing of the nose; hiding hands; avoidance of eye contact, etc. etc. direction of research L. is the study of its motives, manifestations and possible consequences. In the study of L. as one of the forms of destructive interaction, the problem of differentiating its types arises. Most are abroad. researchers share in this issue the view of P. Ekman, who identified 2 main. type L .: default (a liar hides true information, but does not convey false information) and distortion (a liar does not just hide true information, but transmits false information instead, passing it off as truth). Silence is characterized by the choice of a passive position, therefore it is more beneficial for the subject and less condemned by society. S. Bok, adhering to the same classification, at the same time focuses on the fact that distortion always has a negative meaning, while silence in some cases can have important moral significance, becoming a “secret”. V. V. Znakov distinguishes between virtuous and egocentric L. It is believed that a tendency to L. is formed in the process of ontogenetic development of a person, while big influence have as individual psychol. characteristics and social impact. Each age group is characterized by the dominance of ODA. motives L. Children's and adolescent L. is a hot topic for research in ped. and jurid. psychology. It is believed that the ability to lie first manifests itself at the age of 3-4 years. As children age, they lie more often and more subtly. Among the possible motives of child L., psychologists, including P. Ekman, name the following: the desire to avoid punishment or unpleasant consequences; the desire to get something that cannot be achieved in any other way (for example, attention or praise from others); the desire for self-defense, the protection of their friends and relatives; the desire to prove one's superiority, to arouse a feeling of envy; privacy protection. According to research by V. V. Znakov, Russians are less likely than Americans to resort to L. to protect privacy. There are 2 most common methods of L.: exaggeration and understatement of information. Both of these techniques can be based on changing both positive and negative characteristics of the subject or object. Psychologists have found that neurotics, anxious people, externals, people with low stress resistance lie more often. Many psychologists agree with the opinion that everyday forms of L. are an integral part of O.'s process of any person. Based on 3 key features: the nature of the distortion of information, the motivation of the subject L. and negative consequences for his partner (other person) - I. P. Shkuratova suggests distinguishing a trace. types of L.: 1) L.-default; 2) L.-concealment; 3) etiquette L.; 4) L. for good; 5) L. is a delusion; 6) L.-fantasy; 7) L. - self-presentation; 8) L.-draw; 9) L.-justification; 10) L. - gossip, slander; 11) L. - fraud; 12) L. - betrayal; 13) L. as an attribute of the profession. As with L.-default, so with L.-concealment, a person does not tell the whole truth, conceals some important details. However, in the first case, his motive is to maintain positive interpersonal relationships, while in the second - preim. the desire to hide something bad, condemned by others (unseemly deeds and actions, one's weaknesses or vices). The consequences of silence are more serious than those of concealment. Etiquette L. is distinguished by its harmlessness. It is carried out on the basis of a general agreement on the observance of the rules of etiquette and involves embellishing one's attitude towards a partner because of the desire to look well-mannered. In quality examples of such L. can be called the praise of the hero of the day, the insincere compliments of a subordinate to the boss, the expression of his positive disposition to the enemy in a situation of negotiations, etc. L.-fantasy is the same as a lie. L. for good (“L. for salvation”) is based on embellishing the situation, while the dominant motive of the subject becomes the desire to protect the partner from the “bitter” truth by hiding it (for example, hiding information about the spouse’s betrayal or the possible fatal outcome of the disease ). The consequence of such L. is the loss of important information for the partner. In addition, there are constant discussions about the legitimacy of this type of LL-misconception based on errors of interpretation. At the same time, the subject can both doubt the truth of the information communicated by him, and completely believe in its absolute truth. The motive of such L., which misleads the person being deceived, is the desire of the subject to prove himself an expert in one or another field of knowledge: political, religious, medical, psychological, etc. The motive of L.-self-presentation is the formation of def. impressions about yourself. At the same time, the subject can exaggerate (most often) or underestimate his merits, capabilities, etc., thereby creating an image that is beneficial for himself. Most often, this type of L. manifests itself in O. with unfamiliar or unfamiliar people. Such L. can be both harmless and associated with fraud and an attempt to gain power. L.-fraud can be regarded as a kind of deception. L.-drawing (joke) can be caused by a desire to make laugh or check the feelings of another person, to reveal his hidden qualities. It involves the development and playback of a special scenario decomp. degree of complexity aimed at creating a distorted view of something or someone. Ends with obligatory self-disclosure. L.-slander is quite often used by people in Everyday life and is associated with the dissemination by the subject (the media) of deliberately false information about a person. The motives can be both the desire to harm this person by reducing his status in the eyes of others, and the desire to obtain personal gain (monetary reward, elimination of a competitor, etc.). The subject resorts to L.-justification when exposing his unseemly actions in order to mitigate the subsequent punishment. This type of L. is most common, it is associated with the action of psychol. protection of the individual. L.-betrayal I. P. Shkuratova calls its most immoral kind, in which a person achieves moral or material benefits, while violating trusting relationships with other people. Wherein close person sacrificed to their own interests. L. as a necessary attribute of some professions is associated with the importance of non-disclosure of professional information, the preservation of professional secrets, etc. (for example, in the profession of intelligence officer, operative worker, doctor, psychologist, etc.). Psychologists also distinguish pathological L. as a person's tendency to tell stories about fictitious events and non-existent relationships. Pathological liars have a constant need to deceive, to attract the attention of others. In psychodiagnostics, in order to prevent the respondent from distorting the information he reports about himself and to increase the reliability of the research results, a special scale is introduced into verbal questionnaires L. Lit .: Ekman P. Psychology of lies. St. Petersburg, 2003; Shkuratova I. P., Krikalo E. L. The attitude of students to different types of their own and others' lies // Individual differences in cognition and communication. Rostov/D, 2007; Shalyutin B.S. Lying man // Man. 1996. No. 5. E. V. Zinchenko

If a person is asked how he feels about lies, then you can definitely hear the answer that the attitude is negative. However, the paradox remains that there is not a single person who would not lie. Having a negative attitude towards deception, a person resorts to it himself. What is this - a phenomenon called a lie?

As you consider the issue, you can find out that it is human nature to lie. What is it connected with? In addition to superficial reasons, which often lie in selfish goals or anxiety, there are natural needs, which lie in the fact that a person during a deception does all this in order to maintain his psychological balance.

The unequivocal attitude of people to deceit is quite natural. Nobody likes to be deceived. However, the deceived themselves often sin by the same behavior. We will talk about all the features of lies in the article in order to better understand this phenomenon.

Lie

How many people live, so many lies exist. This concept denotes a belief that a person consciously spreads, presenting as true information. A lie is something that is not true. J. Mazila defined a lie as fabricated or an attempt to hide information in order to create an opinion among others, which is false.

Mankind has known lies since ancient times. At all times, people have lied, in this way trying to achieve the desired goal. Each in his own way justifies why he resorts to lies. However, without this phenomenon, a person could not achieve much, no matter how it sounds.

Lies and truth are the fruits of the creation of man himself. In nature, neither the first nor the second exists. The universe is guided by facts, events, truth, which cannot be changed. All this is stable and natural. As for lies and truth, these are the fruits of the actions of a person who himself controls the process of the emergence of the first and second.

What is a lie? It is an unwillingness to see reality as it is. This is a distortion (both intentional and unconscious) of reality in an effort to do well only for oneself (the one who deceives). A person lies when he strives for only one goal - not to reveal the truth, which can harm him in some way or bring pain. By and large, a lie is a desire to avoid what a person is afraid of. In other words, fear makes you lie.

At the same time, a lot depends on some characteristics of a person. However, this only affects what his lie will be, and not whether it will occur or not. All people lie, but they do it in different ways. What does it depend on? From the physiological parameters of a person, from his mental and intellectual development, upbringing, values, desires and everything that makes up his life. All that life experience through which a person has passed, forces one to resort to certain lies. That's why people lie, but they do it in different ways.

At the same time, a person loves to be deceived. Many people prefer sweet lies than bitter truths, because this way they live more calmly, comfortably and comfortably. Few are willing to hear the truth, so they are happy to be deceived. And other people are happy to deceive those who are ready to be deceived. coming out vicious circle in which each side gains some benefit from the lie. But the question still remains: what will people do when the lie is revealed? After all, sooner or later it will happen. Are people who deceive and are deceived ready for this?

What is a lie?

Since any person is faced with a lie, trainings, books and other literature are becoming popular that help determine how to recognize a lie. However, in order to learn to recognize it, it is necessary to start with the meaning of the word. What is a lie? This is a method of communication in which a person can pass off false information as real.

The books of Paul Ekman, who teaches lie recognition, have become popular. Many viewers also fell in love with the series “Lie to me”, where, by facial expression main character recognized false information. A special apparatus was even invented, known as a lie detector.

Many modern people already learned how to lie skillfully. If inept representatives begin to blush, get nervous, get confused in their testimony, then good manipulators, liars can behave at the external level (facial expressions, habits) in such a way that you cannot recognize deception behind their words.

Why do people lie? This is a common question that often arises in a lie detection situation. "Why did you lie to me?" asks the deceived man. In fact, there can be a lot of reasons for this:

1. A person is used to playing a role that fits perfectly positive features his character. He enjoys acting.
2. A person is driven by the desire to achieve a goal. As they say, he does everything for a selfish purpose. It may seem to many that the individual takes pleasure in the fact that he deceives. In fact, a conscious lie is not always pleasant for the one who produces it. A person is forced to deceive, because otherwise he will not achieve the desired goal.

This reason is one of the most common. To tell the truth means to bring the situation to the impossibility of fulfilling your goal. Lies exist only because the truth does not always help people achieve what they want. Often people here hide behind good intentions, they say, “I did everything for you”, “I care about you”, “I didn’t want to worry you”, etc. In fact, a person always initially proceeds from his own motives when he is safe and have a more or less desired outcome.

Try to tell the truth to a person who, what you know for certain, will yell at you in response, will not understand, will accuse you of terrible sins etc. Everyone calculates in advance the consequences of telling the truth. If the result is unpleasant, undesirable, then the person will definitely start looking for ways to distort information.

The deception will be either slightly distorted or completely modified. It all depends on the results that a person sees in front of him if he tells this or that information. Of course, it does not always calculate the results correctly. Often, one deception is followed by another lie that supports the legend that has begun. Skillful deceivers can maintain the created illusion for a long time. Other people are quickly "pierced", they are taken to clean water.

Many experts believe that lying is an extremely destructive phenomenon:

1. Or a person is constantly in suspense because of the need to remember his lie and come up with a new one in order to support the legend.
2. Either a person develops negative traits character, so that lying becomes a natural phenomenon for him.

pathological lie

As they say, all people lie. However, a pathological lie is singled out separately, which is clearly considered a negative phenomenon.

An ordinary person resorts to lies, understanding why he does it and for what purposes. He is willing to support this lie in order to maintain his emotional balance and continue his game. Such lies are common. To some extent, each person plays a certain role in which he is better than he would demonstrate his true food.

Can this lie be called bad? It all depends on the results that are achieved. If a person smiles so as not to simply spoil the mood of those around him, then rather this is a good lie aimed at ridding himself and others of unpleasant topics.

However, there is a pathological lie. What it is? This is a deception that manifests itself in everything and everywhere. A person is ready to promise anything to others, just to win over or not provoke a conflict, which otherwise may arise. Pathological lies develop when a person is driven by two desires:

• Feel your own importance to others.
• Get attention.

Pathological lies are sometimes invisible. Its feature is constancy. The liar promises to come home at 8 o'clock, and returns at 11. The liar promises to help, and then finds other things to distract him. He never keeps his word. We can say that the subconscious desire of a pathological liar is the desire not to make a problem until it has happened, not to upset people with their refusal or an unpleasant answer.

Pathological lies are classified as brain damage or congenital mental illness. However, pathological lying as a personality disorder is becoming increasingly common. This is associated with an injury that was inflicted on a person when he was small. His parents punished or ignored him when he showed himself, thereby sending the idea: “We don’t need the way you are!”. And a person begins to build a legend where he is different, gradually losing touch with himself and reality.

The pathological liar gets used to the role he plays. Even he starts believing what he says when he lies. This is why the lie detector may not detect abnormalities that would indicate that a pathological liar is telling a lie.

Types of lies

Consider the most common types of lies, of which there are 20 pieces:

1. Silence is the understatement of the true truth.
2. A half-truth is a misrepresentation of a piece of information.
3. Ambiguity is the pronunciation of information in such a way that an ambiguous impression is created. This does not allow you to correctly perceive the information.
4. Understatement or exaggeration - a distortion of the assessment of the object in question.
5. Substitution of concepts - one concept is issued for another.
6. Embellishment is the presentation of an object in a more attractive form than it really is.
7. Bringing to the point of absurdity - inflation, distortion of information. It manifests itself in the form of an emotional game.
8. Simulation is acting when a person expresses emotions that he does not actually experience.
9. Fraud is a lie that is prosecuted by law and is based on the desire to take possession of other people's property, to gain profit.
10. Falsification is the substitution of a real, genuine, original object for another and the issuance of the second for the first.
11. Mystification is a fiction about a non-existent phenomenon.
12. Gossip is the issuance of information about another person without his knowledge in a distorted form: guesswork, speculation, heard somewhere, saw something, this happened to others, etc. Distortion of information about another person.
13. Slander is distorted information about another person, in advance aimed at harming him.
14. Flattery is an expression to his interlocutor positive qualities in an exaggerated form or even in a distorted form (a person does not have such qualities).
15. Dodge (subterfuge) - an excuse, a trick that helps to avoid a direct answer to a question.
16. Bluffing is giving the impression that a liar has something that he doesn't really have.
17. Artificial empathy is a manifestation of the emotions that the addressee wants to see, without true emotional inclusion.
18. Lying out of politeness is a socially acceptable and permissible type of lie, when a person allows himself to deceive another by telling him what he wanted to hear.
19. White lies are another form of lying that is approved, when a person deceives in order to benefit another person or all participants in the process.
20. Self-deception is a lie directed at oneself. Deluding yourself. Often manifested due to unwillingness to accept reality and the desire to believe in a better outcome of events.

Outcome

Is lying good or bad? People often unequivocally answer this question with the word “no”. However, the facts show that, despite the negative attitude towards lies, absolutely all people resort to it. The bottom line remains the same: deception has existed and will continue to exist.

Since it is unpleasant to be deceived, a person will continue to study the question of how to recognize a lie. This is a completely normal desire, because there is no escape from deception. At the same time, people improve their skills in lying when they themselves can mislead someone in order to gain some benefit or achieve a goal.

Lie- this is a belief spread by a person consciously, while knowing that it does not reflect reality. The concept of a lie is defined by J. Mazip as a deliberate attempt to hide or fabricate information in order to create an opinion in others, which the author considers false. The meaning of the word lie is closely connected with the ancient Slavic language, the Old Slavonic “lie” and Ukrainian “lie” originated from it - identical words.

To avoid deception, not to become a hostage of psychological scammers, it is useful to be able to identify lies. This explains the increasing interest in the mechanisms of lies today. The works of Professor Paul Ekman, who also created courses in which students can learn to identify deception by emotions in 32 hours, are extremely popular. According to his research, the beloved series “Lie to Me” was also filmed.

The method of hardware research of veracity was also popularized - testing on a device - a "lie detector". There are 3 methods of polygraph interviews: civil - 3 hours, military - 7 hours, the technique of special services - which is still a secret.

What is a lie?

For a variety of reasons, all people try to hide the truth, and we will try to highlight the main reasons for deception.

What is a lie? This is a widespread communication phenomenon. Sometimes they lie in order to feel more significant - a person plays a certain role that allows him, without possessing certain positive qualities, to ascribe them and enjoy his fictional image.

The second reason is that deception brings some benefit, which will become impossible if the liar reveals his own. The desire to defend personal interests and at the same time understanding that the achievement of goals will be difficult if they are openly designated makes a person contradictory and forces him to resort to a distortion of reality. The liar is trying to make his lie very streamlined or even invent something that does not exist, giving one for the other - thanks to which he will quickly get a benefit. Unfortunately, at the same time, few people think about the consequences, leaving them for later. And since often the same workarounds are used to solve the results of deception, a “snowball effect” occurs that makes a person a pathological liar. The more skillful the game, the longer the legend will last, but sooner or later acting skills fail and failure inevitably follows.

The concept of a lie in psychology is endowed unambiguously negative value, since it has a destructive effect on the psyche and on the whole organism. Having lied once, a person is forced to constantly remember and maintain this image, literally "enter the legend." Certain parts of the brain are constantly in an overstrained state, as a result of which the rest of the mental processes and the emotional sphere suffer, and exhaustion occurs. In the body, a lie forms clamps, with which a person sometimes continues to live all his life. Thus, a person closes the way to his true self and violates psychological health.

pathological lie

Majority healthy people lie, keeping a logical chain and clearly understanding the goals they want to achieve through deception. In this case, the distortion of reality is often insignificant. But there is also the so-called pathological lie. It is characterized by a distortion of reality without any obvious need, in any trifles, it becomes automatic. For example, such a person tells his wife that he will come home at one time and return at another. At work, he guarantees the performance of the task on the agreed conditions, but does not comply with them. He lies to friends and associates to get their attention, lies in communication with the opposite sex, wanting to please. And on this petty lie, which has already become commonplace, his whole life is built.

At the heart of pathological lies is a great need to get attention and feel important, backed up by a strong fantasy. Myth-making and the subtle feeling of people as the audience of their lies is both a talent and a way for a liar to survive in society. He intuitively understands what everyone needs, and is ready to promise it without a twinge of conscience. Often pathological lying in words is accompanied by reinforcement and actions: for example, to create the appearance of success, a person rents a luxury car or reserves a table in an expensive restaurant.

Pathological lies in psychology are sometimes considered as a consequence of organic disorders of the brain or congenital mental illness. However, it can also be a consequence. Here it is born as a way to adapt in society and strengthened into a strategy of behavior. Most often, the cause is in the early object relationship between the child and the mother, in which the mother does not accept reality and the child as he is, punishes or ignores him for his natural manifestations of himself. The child learns from the mother the message: "The way you are - I don't need you." And he begins to create his own legend, losing touch with reality more and more. The proverb “lies and does not blush” applies precisely to such liars who themselves believe in their lies. Even on a lie detector, vegetative manifestations of such a person’s deceit are often not detected - he is in agreement with himself, believes in what he invents, and lives this story when he is trusted.

A striking example of a pathological liar is Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the movie Catch Me If You Can. Here is a classic scenario of the life of a deceiver - he receives not only the benefits of his lies, but also the punishment that comes as a result of his own personal deep convictions. He knows that he is lying, and tired of the endless emotional overload, he unconsciously seeks to be caught, caught in a lie. The hero internally surrenders, begins to make mistakes one after another and flirts with the investigator. Punishment is at the same time a détente, a relief, even if it appears in the form of a prison, a broken car, a broken leg...

How to work out this problem? A person must realize his lie, then he will be able to master his behavior and even partially choose the punishment, which in any case will come according to the unconscious scenario embedded in this mechanism. Such self-chosen punishments include religious penance and its counterparts in secular life - charity, physical overload, self-destruction, retirement. A symptom of the approaching punishment is a feeling of guilt, tracking which you can correct the situation, including with the help of psychotechnics that allow you to speak, breathe, prescribe, draw the problem. And as a result, get control over the situation.

Types of lies

There are about 20 common types of lies that more fully reveal the meaning of the word lie: silence, half-truth, ambiguity, substitution of concepts, exaggeration and understatement, embellishment, bringing to the point of absurdity, simulation, fraud, falsification, hoax, gossip, slander, flattery, twist, bluff, artificial empathy, polite lie, white lie, self-deception. Let's consider them.

Silence is a deliberate concealment of the true state of affairs.

A half-truth is a distortion of a piece of information, which is also not the truth.

Ambiguity - ambiguity, the deliberate creation of the effect of a "double bottom" of the message, which does not allow the correct interpretation of the information received.

The substitution of concepts is the issuance of one phenomenon for another, the intentional error in the thesaurus.

Exaggeration and understatement - a distortion in the assessment of the severity of the phenomenon according to some criterion.

Embellishment is the creation of a more attractive image than in reality.

Bringing to the point of absurdity is a deliberate gross distortion of information, inflation. Usually accompanied by an emotional game and does not allow the use of the reported information due to its apparent unreality.

Simulation. Here the art of acting comes to the aid of the liar, akin to acting. Simulation means acting out a fictional situation without actually experiencing the one being demonstrated.

Fraud is a deceit punishable by law and aimed at obtaining profit or taking possession of the property of the victim.

Falsification is a substitution with the aim of presenting a fact or object as true, original. This type is often found in the production of copies of goods that are outwardly similar to the original, but differ from them in a number of characteristics.

A hoax is an invention of a non-existent phenomenon, for example, a mermaid.

Gossip is the transfer of information about a person without his knowledge. The distortion of reality occurs due to embellishment, conscious or unconscious misinformation, and usually many links in the chain of information communication - the effect of a “broken phone”.

Slander is a slander, dissemination of deliberately false, discrediting information about a person.

Flattery is the presentation to the addressee of his positive personal qualities in an inflated size, or even the attribution of non-existent virtues.

A twist or, as Paul Ekman called this type of lie, “a confusing subterfuge” is an excuse, a trick that allows you to twist and get away from the truthful answer. Women often resort to this type of lie.

Bluff is the creation of the idea in the addressee that the liar has something that he does not actually have. Frequent gambling.

Artificial empathy - false emotional participation in the experiences of the interlocutor without true inclusion in them.

A lie out of politeness is a socially conditioned type of lie that forces a person to distort reality in order not to go beyond the limits of decent in society.

A white lie is the most justified, positively perceived type of lie. Here, the speaker deceives in order to obtain significant, generally recognized benefits that will be acquired by one, often weaker person, or several or even all participants in the communication.

Self-deception is a lie in front of oneself, a voluntary misleading of oneself. Often associated with an unconscious desire for circumstances to turn out differently, a belief in an alternative, more favorable reality.