This accessible yet scholarly book focuses on the study of the psychology of lying and misrepresentation, exploring the analysis of the cognitive and neural mechanisms that allow the construction of a false response, both consciously and as a consequence of a brain injury. Drawing on perspectives from experimental, neuropsychological and developmental psychology as well as philosophy, the book examines the mechanisms that allow us all to learn to lie and use lies for different ends and in everyday life. The Psychology of Lying and Misrepresentations opens with an introductory chapter on lies and the processes underlying their production. It goes on to examine our innate desire to believe, and the clinical and technical methods used to determine whether someone is lying or telling the truth. The book takes a closer look at false memories and self-deception and the reasons behind their establishment and success in an individual’s life. It then moves on from focusing on the individual to discuss the lies directed towards the collective and puts forth the questions around false news and its sustenance over time. The concluding chapters focus on memory disorders resulting from brain damage and false beliefs resulting from an expression of functional damage to specific neural systems. This book will be of value to researchers in a range of disciplines interested in all aspects of lying, deception, and misrepresentation, as well as experts in forensic study.

Looks at cheating, corruption, and concealment to focus on motivations, justifications, influences, and reductions of dishonesty.

Lies! Lies!! Lies!!! The Psychology of Deceit looks beyond compulsive liars in our society and considers the ongoing flood of lies that we as human beings experience every day. Who lies? Not just children, politicians, advertisers, and salespeople. Our co-workers lie. Our friends lie. Our relatives lie. And we lie to them. Everybody lies. We learn to lie and to detect deceit as a developmental task. Dr. Ford's philosophy is that lying is part of the bridge between one's internal world (beliefs, perceptions, expectations, fantasies) and one's external world (reality). Lies work not only to deceive others but to deceive ourselves. This book shines a spotlight on an understudied phenomenon that affects us all as we raise children, choose a relationship, move forward with a career path, or buy a used car.

#1 New York Times bestseller Featured on The Daily Show and 60 Minutes The acclaimed book that illuminates our world and its politics by revealing why bullshit is more dangerous than lying One of the most prominent features of our world is that there is so much bullshit. Yet we have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, how it’s distinct from lying, what functions it serves, and what it means. In his acclaimed bestseller On Bullshit, Harry Frankfurt, who was one of the world’s most influential moral philosophers, explores this important subject, which has become a central problem of politics and our world. With his characteristic combination of philosophical acuity, psychological insight, and wry humor, Frankfurt argues that bullshitters misrepresent themselves to their audience not as liars do, that is, by deliberately making false claims about what is true. Rather, bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true. They quietly change the rules governing their end of the conversation so that claims about truth and falsity are irrelevant. Although bullshit can take many innocent forms, excessive indulgence in it can eventually undermine the bullshitter’s capacity to tell the truth in a way that lying does not. Liars at least acknowledge that the truth matters. Because of this, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are. Remarkably prescient and insightful, On Bullshit is a small book that explains a great deal about our time.

This is the first book to thematically investigate lying in the American legal system.

The Internet is often presented as an unsafe or untrustworthy space: where children are preyed upon by paedophiles, cannibals seek out victims, offline relationships are torn apart by online affairs and where individuals are addicted to gambling, love, and cybersex. While many of these stories are grounded in truth, they do paint a rather sensationalized view of the Internet, the types of people who use it, and the interactions that take place online. Simultaneously, researchers claim that the Internet allows individuals to express their true selves, to develop 'hyperpersonal' relationships characterised by high levels of intimacy and closeness. At the heart of these competing visions of the Internet as a social space are the issues of truth, lies and trust. This book offers a balanced view of the Internet by presenting empirical data conducted by social scientists, with a concentrated focus on psychological studies. It argues that the Internet’s anonymity which can enable, for instance, high levels of self-disclosure in a relationship, is also responsible for many of its more negative outcomes such as deception and flaming. This is the first book to develop a coherent model of the truth-lies paradox, with specific reference to the critical role of trust. Truth, Lies and Trust on the Internet is a useful text for psychology students and academics interested in Internet behaviour, technology, and online deviant behaviour, and related courses in sociology, media studies and information studies.

"Sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life, wellness, and longevity ... An explosion of scientific discoveries in the last twenty years has shed new light on this fundamental aspect of our lives. Now ... neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming"--Amazon.com.

This is the first scholarly book to fully address the topics of the psychology of deceptive persuasion in the marketplace and consumer self-protection. Deception permeates the American marketplace. Deceptive marketing harms consumers’ health, welfare and financial resources, reduces people’s privacy and self-esteem, and ultimately undermines trust in society. Individual consumers must try to protect themselves from marketers’ misleading communications by acquiring personal marketplace deception-protection skills that go beyond reliance on legal or regulatory protections. Understanding the psychology of deceptive persuasion and consumer self-protection should be a central goal for future consumer behavior research. The authors explore these questions. What makes persuasive communications misleading and deceptive? How do marketing managers decide to prevent or practice deception in planning their campaigns? What skills must consumers acquire to effectively cope with marketers’ deception tactics? What does research tell us about how people detect, neutralize and resist misleading persuasion attempts? What does research suggest about how to teach marketplace deception protection skills to adolescents and adults? Chapters cover theoretical perspectives on deceptive persuasion; different types of deception tactics; how deception-minded marketers think; prior research on how people cope with deceptiveness; the nature of marketplace deception protection skills; how people develop deception protection skills in adolescence and adulthood; prior research on teaching consumers marketplace deception protection skills; and societal issues such as regulatory frontiers, societal trust, and consumer education practices. This unique book is intended for scholars and researchers. It should be essential reading for upper level and graduate courses in consumer behavior, social psychology, communication, and marketing. Marketing practitioners and marketplace regulators will find it stimulating and authoritative, as will social scientists and educators who are concerned with consumer welfare.

"Distills 15 years of scientific study of nonverbal communication and the clues to deception. Mr. Ekman {is} a pioneer in emotions research and nonverbal communication. . . . Accurate, intelligent, informative, and thoughtful".--Carol Z. Malatesta, New York Times Book Review. Photographs.