Lies And The Existence Of Deception

Deception is defined by Metts (1989) as an act that involves an intentional misrepresentation of information with the goal of persuading someone to believe something the deceiver knows to be false. There are many other definitions used throughout social psychology in the study of deception yet, no matter how broad and/or vague, they all have one common idea; deception is the intentional presentation of false information. Many people are brought up with the understanding that lying and deception are immoral acts yet such communication tactics are commonly used in everyday life for many different purposes. There have been many investigations into the subject of deception, the conclusion of which is that the absolute absence of deception is a

It can be used as a way to manage personal impressions as well as how we are perceived by others and the way we interact with each other. According to Erin Bryant (2008) there are three different types of lies all with their own definition and level of impact. He believes that in order to properly explain deception they need not be categorised into one category as it is generally understood that some lies are worse than others. Bryant groups lie into three subgroups; white lies, gray lies, and real lies. White lies, he explains, lacks malicious intent. These types of lies are considered acceptable as the purpose is not to inflict harm, but to keep someone happy. Lies such as telling someone they don’t look fat in those jeans when they do, or you liked their homemade trifle when you didn’t. These lies are to keep someone from having their feelings hurt. In contrast, gray lie's are too serious to be categorized as white lies but not serious enough to be real lies. Things such as telling a young child their grandfather has gone on a long holiday instead of telling them he died. It is undoubtedly a full blown lie, but its intention is to keep an individual from pain. Lastly, a real lie is a result of complete fabrication for the benefit of the liar. This could be telling your wife you’re at golf when

So if lying is so common, why does it occur in the first place? There are three main reasons why people lie according to Tim Cole of DePaul University, reciprocity, avoiding punishment and intimacy. Reciprocity is the perception that someone else is lying to you-leading you to reciprocate with dishonesty and withdraw. One’s use of deception is related to the belief their significant other is being dishonest. Avoiding punishment is how it sounds, an avoidance of imposed costs associated with telling the truth. In this case, confidentiality is not as important as a partners reaction to unwelcome information. In this case, fear is more likely motivated by a partners disapproval and if the behaviour in question violated expectation. “A positive relationship exists between deceptive behaviour and the extent to which romantic partners are perceived to react negatively when receiving unwanted information.” (Tim Cole) Lastly, deception relating to intimacy and individual needs. Deception is used in this instance predominantly in an attempt to control the amount of personal information they reveal to others; failing to disclose portent information or misleading others allows individuals to manage the boundary between themselves and their relational partners and to protect their privacy.