Liar, Liar Pants on Fire!!!

Have you checked out this website? Its a website that claims to "bring you the truth in politics."  Wouldn't this tool be great to have for everyday conversations?

With all of this political stuff going on, it made me think about lies, the people who tell them, the different types and the whys.


I thought there were two types of liars. The people who tell white lies and the ones who tell big, giant, hairy ones.  Turns out there are a few different types of liars!!  I'm really interested in they why's more than anything.

• Teller of White Lies - I have to say that I am a member of this group. If the cashier at the grocery store asks me how I'm doing, I say "fine." Even if I'm not. If a friend asks me if her pants make her look fat, I'm not going to say, "No, it's not your pants, it's your ass that's making you look fat." If my mom worked really hard on a home cooked meal from scratch, I'm not going to say, "it's ok."  The why is fairly obvious for this type of liar.  I don't want to hurt someone's feelings or bore the cashier to death about why I'm not having a good day.
• Careless Lies - I didn't know this one existed. These people lie every chance they get.  They don't even care about hiding the lie or if it even makes sense!!  They are sloppy with the lies and everyone knows this person lies so they tend to not have many friends.  I worked with a girl that was exactly like this.  I don't know the why for this one, maybe just to impress people?  Any ideas?
• Occasional Liars - It's just what it says, they occasionally lie and apparently, they feel bad about it and typically try to be truthful.  I guess the why would depend on the lie?
• Compulsive Liars - These are people who continuously lie out of habit.  My research says that this type of lying usually manifests in childhood by being in an environment where lying was necessary.  This type of liar is not being cunning or manipulating, it's just a habit. It doesn't make it ok and these individuals have problems maintaining relationships.
• Sociopathic Liars - I don't like this one.  The liar in this situation, continuously lies to get their way with no concern for other peoples feelings.  They tend to be charismatic and charming and have good social skills but they are self-centered and manipulative.  Sociopathic lying is connected to mental illnesses such as Narcissistic Personality Disorder.  The why of this one is of particular interest to me.  Some of the reasons for this type of lying is that this person is insecure, malicious and want to control people to get what they want.

Famous Lies
J.Lo had everyone convinced that she was born in 1970. That is, until she made the mistake of dating P.Diddy, who outed her real birthdate as 1969.

President Clinton will go down in history for saying, quite untruly, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."


Lance Armstrong claimed to be a "natural athlete."

Beyoncé said "I write my own songs."

Tiger Woods said "I'm faithful."

Body Language of a Liar

Voice is higher pitched.

Untrue answers to questions are slightly delayed.

Body and face become stiffer.

Hand-to-face touching increased, especially nose rubbing and mouth covering.
Face and hands become a bit paler as blood is withheld from extremities. (A sign of high stress.)

Nostrils may open wider ('flare').

Breathing deeper and maybe audible.
Lips become thinner and tighter.

Shoulders pulled up, and elbows pulled into sides more. Body takes up less space.

Forehead tightens up a little in the area between the eyebrows.

Eye contact breaks away from you and eyes may squint or close.

Heart rate increases.

Hand palms turned down or closed, and not revealed to you.