Ordinary people average two lies during every 10 minutes of conversation, with some telling as many as 12 lies during that period of time, according to research by Robert Feldman, a social psychologist at the University of Massachusetts who was listed as an expert witness for the “Scooter” Libby trial but was not called upon to testify. Feldman has found that, in general, lies are told to please the listener, to protect someone or to make the liar seem a better person. Some examples: “This dish tastes wonderful.” “Your new haircut looks great.” “Yeah, I was the team leader on that project.”
Feldman has also found that popular people tend to use deception more frequently and more often for self-promotion than unpopular people. Could this be a reason why we tend to equate politicians (popular people, by definition, since a majority had to “like” them to vote them into office) with liars?
Posted by Patrice Hein
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41 Comments
That’s a lot of beating around the bush just to enforce the known fact that politicians are liars.
But, in their case, it is probably less the desire to be popular as it is the drive for power that motivates them.
And the first two ‘lie’ examples are nothing compared with the third.
Of course politicians lie; we demand it of them. If they tell the voters the truth, they can kiss their cushy jobs goodbye! Would you vote for the guy who tells you that his new legislation will raise your taxes, or the one whose programs will be funded out of thin air (borrow and blow)?
Of course politicians lie; we demand it of them. If they tell the voters the truth, they can kiss their cushy jobs goodbye! Would you vote for the guy who tells you that his new legislation will raise your taxes (tax and spend), or the one whose programs will be funded out of thin air (borrow and blow)?
“”Everybody in politics lies, but they [the Clintons] do it with such ease, it’s troubling,” Geffen had said.”
Sounds like deja vu all over again.
Nice one, fleettwood.It takes real (lack of) skill to blame the Clintons in response to a story about an expert witness on politicians lying in the trial of a highranking REPUBLICON official.
The fellow quoted wasn’t even called to testify. I wonder why? The quote I offered is in the news. It’s not old stuff. Well, it is, but it has raised it’s ugly head again.
People lie all the time. It’s a survival tactic. People use lies in numorous different ways, but it’s natural to lie. Little kids lie all the time. Dogs lie.
To tell the truth all the time, you have to be taught and have discipline to not lie.
You can bust people all the time on this blog who just flat out lie. But like the study shows. Most people will lie twice in every conversation.
So it’s ok to lie as long as everyone else is doing it?
Apparently that what people think ksfarmgrrl.
White lies! How Politicans lie to demagogue people. People lie on resumes to get jobs.
Depends on how you look at it. Apparently many people thought that when Clinton lied about his sexual affair, it was ok.
Bush lied, people died.
People will accept lies, that’s why people tell them.
I’ll regret this. I KNOW I will. Joe? “Dogs lie.” LMAO! What breed of dog last lied to you Joe? And what did he/she lie about?
If a dog lies, would that be a mis-woof, ala mis-speaking as in people?
Where are you taking us, Joe?
I don’t believe people tell lies at 2 per 10 minutes.
I don’t care for liars. Maybe that’s why I’m not so popular.
I try my best not to lie. It’s too hard trying to remember what lie got told to what person. Easier for me to tell the truth.
If “people tell lies at 2 per 10 minutes”, I’ve met some real speeders!
Perhaps even on this Blog!
And politicians?
Phewww!
Hee hee hee. If a dog lied, I bet it was a Husky….
or maybe an aussie?
hehehehehehehhehehehehehehehhehehe
Dogs lie on the ground.
That’s what I thought, but evidently not in Joe’s world!
Well in that case, rugs lie too…
Ya know?
Almost every post of Joe’s has a WTF? line or three.
I still am scratching my head with that last one.
How do you know a dog lied to you Joe? What did he lie about? And how often do you have two way conversations with dogs?
Well, I am going to try to salvage Joe’s post for him. Dogs and many other animals make “threat displays” – when a dog does that, the hair on their back raises up. Various species of animals threat displays all seem geared to making them look bigger. A dog’s threat display does that and in the process you could say they are lying.
There is a huge difference between lieing to be deceiptful with malicious intent than being diplomatically artful when it comes to casual conversation. Some smart lawyer could probably tell you what types of lieing in court is and what punishment is dealt out.
Mis-woofs, all mis-woofs!!
A little white mis-woof?
You mis-woof’in sack’a …..
Just isn’t the same, is it?
This obviously needs some work.
Dogs lie?
Dog do not lie and that is why dogs are better people than people.
Now, cats are a different story.
Speaking of liars, Joe Lieberman is hinting he’ll switch party allegiance–after promising repeatedly during the campaign that he’d caucus with Democrats, and would remain a Democrat until probably ‘after I die.’
http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/feb/22/lieberman_says_its_a_remote_possibility_that_hell_caucus_with_republicans
pmom?
>Maybe that’s why I’m not so popular.
Did you truthfully write this?
>I am rich, my husband makes all the money as a doctor and I stay at home drinking cocktails why a maid takes care of my kid.
>I don’t care about scum bags that don’t make as much money as me or drive a brand new BMW.
Mrage, she truthfully lied. ;)
Is ommission a lie? Say you purposely left out important facts that were pertinent. Is that a lie?
And for those of you in need of a spelling lesson:
LIE….LYING….LIED
Don’t get me started on the lie/lay thing.
>I am rich, my husband makes all the money as a doctor and I stay at home drinking cocktails why a maid takes care of my kid.
>I don’t care about scum bags that don’t make as much money as me or drive a brand new BMW.
She was obviously being sarcastic. Even a newby like me realized that.
For goodness sake, G’Ster, it is not mis-woof, it is mis-bark!
Woof, woof is what a dog speaks when talking to friends.
Bark, bark is what a dog speaks when talking to strangers.
I speak fluent dog – now if someone could help me with my English.
Ribbit!
I was friends with guy growing up, his mother married to a doctor, had a maid, but the 3 kids kind of raised themselves. She drank.
Income so disposable and forgetfulness when drunk, keys to their expensive cars were left in the ignitions at their house.
I hope pmom was kidding, because that future dismal fate I’ve seen before.
I know a few people married to alcoholics and its a hard life for them. Doesn’t matter what car they drive.
The special prosecutor in the CIA leak case, Patrick Fitzgerald, is suggesting in his strongest terms yet that Vice President Cheney was involved in an effort to unmask a CIA operative married to an administration critic.
Mr. Fitzgerald’s explosive comments came as he delivered closing arguments yesterday in the monthlong obstruction-of-justice and perjury trial of Mr. Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr.
“There’s a cloud over the vice president,” Mr. Fitzgerald told the jury. “We didn’t put that cloud there. That cloud’s there because the defendant obstructed justice. That cloud is something you just can’t pretend isn’t there.”
Broadening his attack on the White House, Mr. Fitzgerald took a shot at President Bush, indirectly criticizing him for not firing officials implicated in the leaks about the CIA officer, Valerie Plame. The prosecutor noted that in 2003 the White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, said Mr. Bush would immediately dismiss anyone involved in leaking Ms. Plame’s identity.
If convicted, Libby will flip and become the Feds star witness against Cheney. Old Dick is gonna wish he had not said all those nice things about Scooter as he hobbled off from work that last day in the WH.
Notice how Cheney is on an important Mission to Japan and Austrailia this week. Kinda ‘conveeenient’, don’t ya think.
Some of the best Cheney quotes in the past few days:*****”I think if we were to do what Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are suggesting, all we will do is validate the al Qaeda strategy,” the vice president told ABC News. “The al Qaeda strategy is to break the will of the American people … try to persuade us to throw in the towel and come home, and then they win because we quit.”*****In the interview, Cheney also said Britain’s plans to withdraw about 1,600 troops from Iraq — while the United States adds more troops — was a positive step. “I look at it and see it is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well,” the vice president said.*****Cheney on Wednesday also challenged GOP presidential hopeful John McCain’s assertion that Donald H. Rumsfeld was one of the country’s worst defense secretaries.
“John’s entitled to his opinion. I just think he’s wrong,” said Cheney, a friend of Rumsfeld. He also disclosed that the Arizona senator had apologized to him for a previous comment that the vice president had “badly served” Mr. Bush on Iraq.
“John said some nasty things about me the other day, and then next time he saw me, ran over to me and apologized. Maybe he’ll apologize to Rumsfeld,” Cheney told ABC News.*****http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/22/politics/main2504035.shtml
If these last few quotes don’t convince one that Dick Cheney is residing on a planet other than Earth — I am not sure what it will take.
Convict Libby. Impeach Cheney.
He might be spinning a little on the British withdrawal Steven, but what does it matter when .75% of the total troops withdraw? And he is correct in his Murtha and Pelosi comment.
If Libby is convicted, I’ll be very surprised. But regardless of what happens, it will always be a case manufactured by a overzealous prosecutor.
I wrote the part about not being popular, I didn’t write the part about being married to a doctor. Did I get trolled and missed it?
Ok where is it that my troll wrote the part about being married to a doctor? I can’t find it.
“overzealous prosecutor”
Jeez, Outlander, you heard the tapes. You heard Scooby lie to the Grand Jury. What more do you need?
The trial is going to end in a mistrial because there is one stubborn hold out for acquital, but the man CLEARLY lied.
Seems to me that the Republicans wanted Clinton to be executed for “lying” to the GJ.
pmom,
I’m glad that’s not you..go to another section…its in the pay day loan ranting.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/16752595.htm
DAMN IT I’m trolled where I don’t even normally post!
I’ve seen websites where names get a TM trademark symbol, so no one else can troll in another’s name after registration. This service should have it.
Well I submitted a request for retraction based on the fact that I wasn’t the one who posted it. I wrote in the explaination something only Phillip Brownlee would know that we discussed at the WEBlog meetup.
Must mean they’ve really cracked down on the trolls here though- because they’re pretty desperate to use a setting I don’t even pay attention to.
LOL! You guys are hilarious. I suspected my “dogs lie” would get a response, but didn’t expect half the threads entries would be. The “woof” “woofs”. LOL
I was making a point. Lieing is about deceiving. Have you ever busted a dog doing what it’s not suppose to do and once the dog notices that you caught them, they come to you with a happy face and a wagging tail acting like nothing happen and trying to win your affection. Little kids do that too.
My point was that lieing and deceiving comes naturally to people and animals because it’s a survival tatic. People have reasons to lie and people believe them, that’s why they are told all the time. The only way to tell the truth all the time is to be taught and have disipline to tell the truth all the time. A rare trait indeed.
Definition of a lie:1 : to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive2 : to create a false or misleading impression