The truth is that most of us have told one little white lie at least once in our lives. Whether it was telling your parents you are studying when you are texting friends, or convincing your teacher you forgot your homework when you actually did not do it, lies are an inescapable reality in our lives. Each one of us has altered the truth for one reason or another, but why are we telling lies in the first place?

What is it that makes us tell lies?

“People tell lies to protect themselves, at least in their minds. They tell lies to protect their ego, their sense of identity, or sense of self,” Robert Knuth, psychology teacher, said. “A lot of times, they tell lies because they are afraid that the truth may reflect poorly on them.”

That fear of judgment may be what influences people to lie, especially when it comes to living up to society’s expectations.

“I think people lie to meet society’s standards or essentially keep up with the social contract,” Jake Malinowski, senior and former psychology student, said.

But once a person has told a lie, they may have a hard time trying to cover up a lie. According to Knuth, more often than not, a lie will reveal itself in the end.

“Some lies are more harmless than others, but when lying becomes a habit, and it becomes an ‘out’ from all kinds of unpleasant situations; it actually is a mental illness,” Knuth said. “You always hear that honesty is the best answer and it’s the best way to go. That’s true because lies end up catching up in the end. So a lot of people will think that when they lie, they’re fooling other people, and sometimes they do, but more often they’re fooling themselves.”

But even if liars are only fooling themselves as Knuth warns, people may find conflict in telling lies. For example, they may lie to avoid a tough situation.

“A lot of people avoid confrontation. Lying is one way to avoid confrontation, or to be held accountable,” Knuth said.

Aside from avoiding confrontation, people may lie in order to have a sense of control.

“Lying satisfies a person by helping them to achieve a false sense of reality or by impressing others and getting people to like them more,” Malinowski said.

But when a person finds out that someone has been continuously lying to them, it becomes hard to trust a word they say.

“That five letter word, ‘trust,’ is a big deal. Lying can break trust, even little lies,” Knuth said. “Around [liars], you know you cannot say things. You don’t want them around because they’re unpleasant people to be with, they make you uncomfortable because you know that they lie, and some people just feel no guilt for [lying]. There’s no remorse. To them, it’s ‘all is good as long as I get away with it,’ which has to do with different levels of morality.”

Why do some people experience guilt after lying, but others do not?

Such issues of morality may help answer why some people feel more guilt than others about lying.

“Some people, when they lie, feel guilty because they know it’s wrong to lie,” Knuth said. “[It is because] they have been brought up that way. They have been told that it is wrong to lie. They know that lying is a bad mark on their character because no one will trust them, while other people are almost pathological. They lie because they don’t care. It is whatever is good for them now, and they do not care about the consequences.”

Knuth says the consequences are about more than getting caught. Telling lies is about who you are.

“A lot of people are good liars and can get away with it sometimes or even most of the time,” Knuth said. “But the end result, lying is a character flaw on you. If you tell a vindictive lie, that is a mark of your character and your personality.”

What are ways of determining if someone is lying?

There are different ways to tell if someone is lying, one of which being through a person’s facial expression and body movement.

“When people lie, they tend to rub their mouth or touch their nose to try and hide the fact that they’re [lying],” Knuth said. “You can also tell by their facial tension.”

           Another way to tell if someone is lying is through a person’s tone of voice or their eye movement.

“It is easy to tell if someone is lying if they lack confidence in what they are saying, which is often heard in the tone of the person’s voice,” Malinowski said. “It is also easy to tell someone is lying if they do not maintain eye contact and their body language is not tall and confident.”

When a person is telling a lie, their eyes tend to wander in a series of directions.

“Anytime people lie, they are probably making up information because if you know something is true, it is just going to be logical and you’re just going to talk about it, which is a left brain function, but if you are lying, it is a right brain function because you are making something up, which is the creative and artistic side [of your brain],” Knuth said. “In which case, when people lie, their eyes go up and to the left.”