Chronic liars, also known as pathological, psychological, or compulsive liars, are people who tell a variety of lies frequently and repeatedly for no apparent reason. They can be hard to deal with, hard to work with, and even harder to know.
A study conducted by Michigan State University’s Department of Communication found that about 40 percent of people tell a lie within 24 hours. But almost 50% of all lies are told by only 5% of people. That five percent are likely to be chronic liars.
It’s a scary thought because there’s no way to know if the person you’re talking to is one of these chronic liars. Many chronic liars become strangely good at lying, leaving you scrambling to decipher the truth from the lies.
Familiarizing yourself with the common tricks that pathological liars use can help you spot their problematic behavior and learn not to believe them.
Here are 5 phrases chronic liars use to convince you they’re telling the truth.
- “WE…” “THEY…” “YOU…” “HE…” “HE…”
Beware of the person who always seems to be bringing up others instead of themselves. You might think that a chronic liar is narcissistic and talks about himself, but in this case, you can’t lie about yourself all the time.
In addition, most chronic liars actively lie to avoid accountability. This means that anything you can do to divert their attention away from yourself and onto someone else is fair game. Instead of making themselves the subject of the situation, they will avoid blame and refuse to take responsibility for any problem.
That’s why chronic liars tend to use other pronouns rather than “I” and throw off a lot of “I” statements that other people have no problem using.
By avoiding direct confrontation, they can play innocent.
They shift the blame to those around them, pretend to be the victim, and avoid blame even when they are at fault.
Lying and Writing: IT’S SCIENCE
This is not just a baseless accusation, it is based on science. A study conducted by the University of Texas at Austin, Texas, and cited by the American Psychological Association, have confirmed the same. In this study, researchers looked closely at statements made by various people, including liars.