From Psychologies · Ava Skoupsky · · 50s
Psychologists: Liars Use These Phrases to Sound Credible
Liar phrases reveal dishonesty through emotional language and self-referential avoidance.
In brief
Liar phrases reveal dishonesty through emotional language and self-referential avoidance. People who lie often use phrases like 'to be honest' to appear credible but show emotional negativity and reduced self-reference. Originally reported by Psychologies.
How to spot a liar
People who lie often use phrases like 'to be honest' to appear credible but show emotional negativity and reduced self-reference.
“To be honest”
2003 study findings
Mentors showed less cognitive complexity, used fewer self-references, and more negative emotion terms when lying.
“Comparés aux personnes disant la vérité, les menteurs ont démontré une moindre complexité cognitive, ont utilisé moins d'auto-références et de références à autrui, et ont employé davantage de termes exprimant des émotions négatives.”
2008 study findings
Liars used more sensory words and third-person pronouns when lying but avoided causal terms.
“L'analyse de 242 transcriptions a révélé que les menteurs produisaient davantage de mots, notamment des termes sensoriels (par exemple, voir, toucher), et utilisaient moins de pronoms personnels mais plus de pronoms de troisième personne lorsqu'ils mentaient que lorsqu'ils disaient la vérité.”
2009 study findings
Phrases like 'to be honest' indicate a need to justify credibility but don't always mean lying.
“Ces expressions qui insistent sur l'honnêteté sont révlatrices d'une volonté de l'interlocuteur de vouloir justifier sa crédibilité et la renforcer à tout prix.”
Here's the gist
People who lie often use phrases like 'to be honest' to appear credible but show emotional negativity and reduced self-reference.
