Distancing language

Distancing language is phrasing used by people to "distance" themselves from a statement, either to avoid thinking about the subject or to distance themselves from its content. Distancing language is often a means of self-deception, but distancing language used orally may indicate that a person is lying.

Examples of distancing language

People use many techniques to distance themselves from the truth. This is especially apparent when someone is attempting to avoid consequences. For example, the use of pronouns changes when one is being deceptive. "My" becomes "the." For example, "I drove 'my' car to the ramp" becomes "I drove 'the' car to the ramp." Other constructs to examine may include the addition of unnecessary words. For example, "We didn't see her" might come out "We didn't really see her." The additional word could be an indication of deception.

See also


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