Types of Lies

In psychology, there are concepts such as the recipient (the one perceiving) and the inducer (the one producing). For simplicity, we’ll call them the liar and the victim of deception, since deception usually involves two people: the subject and the object of the lie.

When discussing lies, it’s important to consider several key points when analyzing the behavior of both the liar and the victim:

• The subject of the lie prepares and intends to lie, meaning they know they are lying.
• They may experience pleasant or unpleasant emotions.
• They create the appearance of truth and plan the lie.
• They may be confident or uncertain about a favorable outcome for themselves.
• The object of the lie may or may not believe the message is true.
• They may or may not perceive the appearance of truth.
• They may or may not expect honest behavior from the liar.

The types of lies depend on the perspective from which we examine them. Despite the variety of motives a liar may have, all types of lies manifest in speech either as omission or distortion. Following Paul Ekman, we assert that these two forms are fundamental.

Unlike other authors who detail various forms of lies, we believe there is little practical value in doing so, since omission and distortion, as experience shows, are most clearly reflected in the behavioral patterns of liars.

However, in real-life lie detection, these forms rarely appear in their pure form and are often combined. This allows us to introduce a third form of lying: the combined or hybrid form.

Let’s take a closer look at these forms of lying.

Omission

With omission, the liar hides the truth but does not provide false information. This form of lying requires less effort and is therefore more advantageous. Many deceivers prefer omission because, first, they don’t have to invent anything; second, they don’t have to strain their memory; and third, omission is less blameworthy than distortion since it is passive. However, omission is still a lie, as there is information and an intent to conceal it.

Distortion

With distortion, the liar takes additional actions. They not only hide the truth but also provide the victim with false information, presenting it as true. Distortion is more energy-consuming and more blameworthy, so signs of deception are more noticeable. The liar has to carefully plan their actions and use certain mechanisms, expending resources to convey the desired information to the victim. This often leads to behavior where inconsistencies between verbal and nonverbal signals can be detected.

The main task of a verifier is to do everything possible to get the person involved to move from omission to distortion.