Jamie bought a bench for a home gym that he'd seen loads of influencers use. When he got it, he hated it. Small details about it made it not work for him. He scratched his head and didn't understand what all the hype was about.

Since the brand was trendy, he knew it would sell fast on Facebook Marketplace. He listed it, and it was snapped up. When the buyer came to get it, they asked why he was selling it. Sheepishly, he made something up.

Lies are very human. Here, we'll explore common patterns and then walk through the surprising psychological dynamics involved in lying.

Relatable Patterns of Lies We Tell and Are Told

1. You Got Something on Sale When You Paid Full Price

Your running friend notices you wearing pricey new running sneakers. You tell them you got them on sale. You paid full price, but you felt embarrassed about buying racing sneakers, given the slow pace you run at.

2. Your Reasons for Selling Something

You're selling something because it's uncomfortable, ugly, or has some type of flaw or missing feature. But you say you're moving, you just decided randomly to buy a new one, it was a duplicate gift, or it doesn't fit in a new space.

You claim that your alarm didn't go off when you suspect you didn't even set it.

4. You Did Something You Didn't

Tech blame often overlaps with this category, but there are plenty of other examples.

You say, "I took those cookies out of the oven at the same time I always do. I don't know why the bottoms are burnt," when you know you got distracted after the timer went........

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