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It’s one thing being able to spot a poker face when you’re playing blackjack, but can you sniff out a lie in the boardroom, or during a job interview, or on a date?
We surveyed locals to find out how good they think they are at spotting a liar and asked whether lying should be reserved for the card table or if there are scenarios in life where it’s acceptable to conceal the truth. See the results below.
You can also put your own skills to the test – watch a series of videos and choose whether you think you’re being told the truth or a lie. Compare your results to others’ to see how your instincts measure up.
Get startedWatch each of the short videos below, then click the boxes beside to decide whether any or all of the statements made are lies, or are truth. We'll show you how you scored compared to others in CanadaIrelandNew Zealand.
You scored:
Thinking you’re able to tell when someone is lying and actually being able to call one out in the moment are two very different things. Our survey revealed that all groups fall short when it comes to identifying a liar:
| Group | Perception: % who believe they are good at spotting a liar |
Reality: % who are able to identify a lie |
|---|---|---|
| Total averageAverage | 55% | 32% |
| Men | 60% | 32% |
| Women | 51% | 30% |
Interestingly, 13% of people said they believed they weren’t good at spotting a liar, but 27% of these were actually able to identify a lie. Overall, women are better at figuring out when women are lying, while men are better at spotting male liars.
When asked what to look for in a liar, people say the following habits are the biggest tell-tale signs:
Generally, our opinion about whether it’s acceptable to lie changes depending on the circumstances. The situations where people are most likely to believe it’s okay to conceal the truth are as follows:
However, 32% of people said none of the reasons listed above made lying acceptable.
Age also impacts our ethics: 25% of 18-24 year olds think it’s acceptable to conceal the truth in a job interview, compared with 7% of over 55s.
When asked about lying in serious circumstances, people take a more extreme view: 75% think it’s unacceptable to conceal the truth from the police, though only 44% said they would never personally do it themselves.
It seems men are more comfortable with the idea of lying to the police, with 20% reporting that they think it’s acceptable to conceal the truth from the police, compared to only 10% of females. Those in the middle-age bracket also feel they have more leeway, with 35-44 year olds most likely to conceal the truth from the police.
Many believe that lying is an inevitable part of certain career paths, with politics and law being the professions that people associate the most with lying, while firefighters and pilots are generally thought of as being the most honest.
The professions that people are most likely to associate with lying are as follows:
Thinking you can tell when someone is lying and actually being able to call one out in the moment are two very different things. Our survey revealed that all groups fall short when it comes to identifying a liar:
| Group | Perception: % who believe they are good at spotting a liar |
Reality: % who are able to identify a lie |
|---|---|---|
| Total averageAverage | 65% | 37% |
| Men | 67% | 37% |
| Women | 62% | 34% |
Interestingly, woman are better at knowing when men are lying, compared to when another woman is telling a lie.
When it comes to the art of lying, 27% consider themselves to be a good liar, with 18-24 year olds being more confident (33%) about their abilities, compared to only 7% of those aged 55+.
When asked what to look for in a liar, people say the following habits are the biggest tell-tale signs:
Generally, our opinion about whether it’s acceptable to lie changes depending on the circumstances. The situations where people are most likely to believe it’s okay to conceal the truth are as follows:
When asked about lying in serious circumstances, people take a more extreme view: 85% think it’s unacceptable to conceal the truth from the police, though 58% said they would do it!
It seems men are more comfortable with the idea of lying to the police, with 19% reporting that they think it’s acceptable to the conceal the truth from the police, compared to only 9% of females.
It’s not just the police who make us think twice about lying – 1 in 4 say they would never lie to a priest, and 53% wouldn’t lie to a doctor.
Lying to those we’re close to poses even tougher ethical dilemmas. According to our survey, 1 in 5 think it’s acceptable to lie to their partner about their finances and spending habits, and 17% would lie about the salary.
The topic of previous relationships is a subject that the younger generation seems to take more seriously: only 19% of 18-24 year olds think it’s acceptable to lie about previous partners, compared to 42% of over 55s.
Many believe that lying is an inevitable part of certain career paths. It seems people are most suspicious about politics, with 62% believing this is where lying is most prevalent. Men believe lawyers are the second-most likely to lie regularly, while women think it’s estate agents.
Thinking you’re capable of knowing when someone is lying and actually being able to call one out in the moment are two very different things. Our survey revealed that all groups fall short when it comes to identifying a liar:
| Group | Perception: % who believe they are good at spotting a liar |
Reality: % who are able to identify a lie |
|---|---|---|
| Total averageAverage | 58% | 27% |
| Men | 59% | 34% |
| Women | 58% | 31% |
When it comes to identifying a liar, gender doesn’t matter – both men and women were just as good at spotting male and female liars.
When asked what to look for in a liar, people say the following are the biggest tell-tale signs:
Generally, our opinion about whether it’s acceptable to lie changes depending on the circumstances. The situations where people are most likely to believe it’s okay to conceal the truth are to avoid confrontation (46%) and to make your children go to bed (36%).
It seems job interviews are another common scenario when the truth might be blurred: 1 in 8 males think it’s acceptable to lie in a job interview compared with 1 in 16 females.
When asked about lying in serious circumstances, people take a more extreme view: 90% think it’s unacceptable to conceal the truth from the police.
It seems men are more comfortable with the idea of lying to the police, with just 46% reporting that they would never personally conceal the truth from the police, compared to 60% of females. Age also impacts our truthfulness, as 10% of 25-34 year olds feel it’s acceptable to lie to their partner about police interactions, such as speeding and criminal convictions.
Lying to those we’re close to poses even tougher ethical dilemmas. According to our survey people think it’s more acceptable to conceal the truth from a partner than a best friend.
Our survey revealed that adultery is an incredibly complicated subject – 1 in 10 feel it’s acceptable to conceal the truth about cheating or adultery from a romantic partner. There’s an even more pronounced divide when gender is taken into consideration: 17% of males think it’s acceptable to lie to a romantic partner about cheating or adultery, compared with 7% of females.
Many believe that lying is an inevitable part of certain career paths, with politics and law being the professions that both men and women associate the most with lying. However, men are more likely to look at lawyers as being untruthful, while women consider estate agents to be in the top 3 professions where lying is most prevalent.
Both sexes agree that a firefighter is the most trustworthy profession, with airline pilot coming second.