lie
n. a false statement or a false presentation, known to be untrue, that is made with the intention to deceive. Despite the moral and legal proscription against lies, they are a cognitive signal that the liar understands enough of what others are thinking to be motivated to lie to them. In children, acquiring an understanding of this sort represents a cognitive milestone usually reached around age 3 (see theory of mind). At that age, a child’s initial lies tend to be indiscriminate; he or she is not yet aware of the moral qualms associated with them. By age 4, children can reliably tell the difference between harmful lies and white lies, and they stop lying indiscriminately. As they grow older, their lying becomes more sophisticated (i.e., plausible), a social skill that is influenced by their particular culture, which plays a pivotal role in determining how they lie and when they feel it is appropriate to lie. See also
fabrication; pathological lying. Compare confabulation; fabulation. —liar
n.
—lie, lying
vb.