ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a summary of the movie Sex, Lies, and Videotape in the pursuit of examining the prevalence, nature, and causes of lying. It includes a review of the research on lying during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The chapter describes the finding that people are poor at detecting deception and often misguided about the cues that reveal lying. The role of lying and violations of trust in adult interpersonal relationships in contemporary society is aptly depicted in the film Sex, Lies, and Videotape produced in 1989 by Steven Soderbergh. It has been proposed that lying has an evolutionary function in various species including humans. The ability for species to deceive is regarded as essential to avoiding predators and securing nourishment. There is evidence that personality traits account for deception and lying. Children and adults rely on erroneous cues to detect lying, such as the misguiding cues of avoidant gaze, planned as opposed to spontaneous communication, and rapid limb movements.
