Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

Do honest people know for certain when others are dishonest? Can dishonest people also detect when other dishonest people are lying?

5 Answers

Relevance
  • Anonymous
    3 years ago

    Detecting lies and telling lies are two different independent skills.

    Face to face, some people are very skilled at detecting lies. An example of such people can be found at the final table of the world series of poker. Honest and dishonest people can both develope these skills.

    However, it's my experience that honest people tend to give people the benefit of the doubt and be more trusting in uncertain situations. Dishonest people tend to be very distrusting and suspect others of being dishonest like themselves.

  • odd
    Lv 7
    3 years ago

    Many liars are glib talkers, and if they aren't directly telling a lie about something, they avoid telling the truth by obfuscating or changing the subject.

  • Anonymous
    3 years ago

    Actually, lying is a skill. Like any skill, it takes practice to become good at it, and those who practice it long and assiduously are very hard for anyone to detect.

    Also like any other skill, those who have engaged in it are better judges of it than those who are not. As a result, practiced liars are more likely to spot a skillful lie than people who rarely if ever lie. If one has never played football or been in ballet, they do not have the first idea of what they are actually seeing when they watch either - the same principle applies with lies.

    Note that this applies to skillful, careful lying. Stupid or careless lies, such as the ones a narcissist or a child would make, can be detected by most people who are interested in detecting them.

  • 3 years ago

    The bible says liars believe other liars and I think if you are honest and never lie - you will be able to detect falsehood in others fairly easily.

  • How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
  • 3 years ago

    There isn't a reliable form of lie detection yet... The most they can do is tell if someone is stressed.

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.