Lying And Deception: Top 5 Fun Facts Of Fall 2016

This post is for academic purposes to complete an assignment for my Lying and Deception (COM 255) course at Central Michigan University. The following information has been derived from lectures by Dr. Alysa Lucas. Take a read to explore some interesting facts about lying and deception!

1. Why do people lie?

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There are five motivations for lying:

• to save face

• to manage relationships

• to exploit

• to avoid tension/conflict

• to control situations

It is extremely important to first understand the motivation behind why people lie in order to comprehend the complexity underlying lying and deception.

2. The two crucial decisions of a truth teller...

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First, the truth teller must decide what to say. Many people do not realize that the so called "truth", may include many different truths.

Secondly, the truth teller must decide how to say it. The way one says the truth determines how we understand it.

3. Low Stakes vs. High Stakes Lies

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Low Stakes Lies...

• do not have serious consequences

• often told to people that we do not know

* produce little stress and take little thought

• these lies are used frequently and are not harmful

High Stakes Lies...

• have serious negative consequences

• often accomplished by emotional signs of fear and apprehension

• complex and elicit high cognitive effort

• these lies are used less frequently than low stakes lies and are more detrimental

4. The Five Presidential Lies

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It's important to know how and why the leaders of our country have lied to us over the years. Check out the five different ways presidents lie:

1) Justified Lies - Lies that are used towards the country's enemies, most specifically during a time of war.

2) Minor Lies - Lies that have little or no relevance to the president's ability to carry out their job, these lies do not give them any sort of advantage.

3) Lies to Prevent Embarrassment And Perserve Political Viability - Lies that are motivated by self interest to gain/maintain position with the American people.

4) Lies to Cover Up or Omit Important Facts - Lies about events that the American people have the right to know and call the question of the government's credibility to be examined.

5) Lies of Policy Deception - Lies that blatantly are untrue. For example saying that the government is following one policy, when they are not. These lies portray the abuse of power within leadership of the president and negates the people's voice.

5. The Ideology of Openness

The ideology of openness is the gateway to understanding the majority of communicative aspects within relationship settings. This is an often over-looked, yet vital part of lying and deception.

The ideology of openness discusses the phenomena that if people can be totally open with one another, then it will automatically lead to satisfying relationships. What is often not accounted for however, are the risks that come along side openness. Openness might generally be viewed as a good thing, but it has the potential to terminate relationships. The ideology of openness naturally leads to a conversation about truthfulness.