How Confident Are You at Lying?

In our day to day social interactions, most of us have probably lied to someone at some point in time. We lie for a wide variety of reasons; some being the so-called 'white lies” that may seem trivial, others where the consequences of detection might be grave, as in cases involving the law. While some of us might succeed in deceiving others, some fail since many variables tend to contribute to this success or failure. In this light, the present pilot study investigated the difference in one's confidence in their ability to lie before and after telling a lie. They were also compared on self­ reported anxiety, guilt, and mental demand. The sample included participants aged 20-30 years, middle class, from the urban population of Pune, Maharashtra (India). Data was gathered for two tasks namely, emotion and opinion. The participants were presented with the tasks and were given the choice of either lying or telling the truth about their feelings (emotion) and their opinions (opinion) in front of the interviewer which was simultaneously video recorded. t-test analysis indicated a significant difference in confidence levels for the opinion task, along with anxiety, guilt, and mental demand. The results have been discussed in the light of its implication. The limitations of the study and suggestions for further research have also been noted.