Enneagram Types and Lying: How Each Type Distorts the Truth

Learning about the Enneagram types and lying can give you valuable insight into human behavior, revealing how and why different people distort the truth. Through this knowledge, you can become more aware of your own dishonest tendencies and recognize such behaviors in others.

In this article, we’ll dive deeper into the Enneagram types and lying patterns to help you better understand yourself and others, navigate relationships with greater clarity, and communicate more truthfully and effectively.

7 Core Psychological Reasons Behind Lying

The main psychological reasons behind lying include conflict and discomfort avoidance, manipulation, desire for acceptance, and fear of consequences. People may also distort the truth to maintain a pristine public image or protect others from pain or harm.

Below is a more in-depth overview of the key motivations for bending or hiding the truth:

• Manipulation. Some people lie to influence other people’s behavior or decisions, control situations, or deceptively achieve personal goals.
• Image protection. In many cases, people distort the truth to protect their reputation and social image, impress others, and ensure they appear successful, competent, or morally correct, even when they're not.
• Conflict avoidance. Instead of boldly speaking their truth, some people withhold, soften, or bend it to prevent tension and keep the peace.
• Protection of others. Lying isn’t always selfish; people also sometimes lie to protect other people’s feelings, preserve their reputation, or shield them from harm. A study by Levine and Lupoli suggests that this phenomenon, known as prosocial lying, often backfires despite good intentions.
• Discomfort avoidance. Sometimes people don’t tell the truth to avoid feelings of shame or embarrassment. Some also lie to get out of situations they don’t want to be in.
• Fear of consequences. People often lie to avoid destroying trust, damaging relationships, being judged, or losing favorable opportunities. Unfortunately, such self-protective lies also tend to backfire.
• Desire for social acceptance. The need for connection, belonging, and acceptance may drive some people to alter the truth or hide certain parts of themselves, whether to fit in, avoid rejection, or gain approval.

5 Types of Lies in Personality Psychology

There’s a wide variety of types of lies in personality psychology, ranging from white lies to self-deception. Depending on circumstances, personality traits, and underlying motives, people may also lie in different ways: by withholding, concealing, falsifying, minimizing, or exaggerating information. Denying the truth is also a form of lying.

Here are the five most common types of lies:

1. White lies. Driven by empathy or politeness, these are usually harmless lies told to spare other people’s feelings or maintain peace and harmony.
2. Habitual lies. Lying is often a learned behavior. With repetition, it may eventually become a habit, meaning some people lie automatically rather than intentionally.
3. Strategic lies. These are premeditated, well-thought-out lies used for personal gain (e.g., to manipulate outcomes, gain advantage, avoid discomfort, etc.).
4. Self-deception. This involves deceiving yourself into believing something that isn’t actually true. People may tell self-deceptive lies, consciously or unconsciously, to avoid cognitive dissonance and maintain psychological comfort.
5. Self-protective lies. Triggered by fear, these lies are meant to protect people from punishment, criticism, or negative outcomes, such as a tarnished reputation.

Now that you’re more familiar with the psychology of lying, let’s explore typical lying behaviors by personality type through the lens of the Enneagram framework.

What Each Enneagram Type Lies About

What each Enneagram type lies about reveals the greatest worries and deepest desires of different personality types, as most distort the truth to meet these needs and protect themselves from their worst fears coming true.

Exploring the topic of Enneagram types and honesty can also give you more insight into Enneagram compatibility. After all, sharing similar values and having a matching attitude and approach toward communication and trust contribute significantly to relationship harmony.

With this in mind, let’s explore the link between Enneagram types and lying:

Enneagram 1

Enneagram Ones and truthfulness may seem inseparable, as this personality type strives to be morally good and correct. And yet, when they fail to live up to their own standards, male and female Ones may sometimes choose to at least appear morally correct, and this is precisely when they tend to lie. This is especially common when they’re unhealthy.

Instead of admitting the truth, they may conceal it from others by withholding information, denying their mistakes, or looking for excuses to justify their actions and decisions. Sometimes, Ones may also lie when distorting or hiding the truth seems like a lesser evil than telling it (for example, if honesty could cause chaos around them).

Enneagram 2

Driven by a desire for love and acceptance, the compassionate Enneagram Type 2 exudes warmth and empathy. They fear rejection, so if there’s one thing that can force them to deceive others, it’s a deep, and often desperate, yearning for connection. These helpful individuals may use white lies to blend in or spare other people’s feelings.

For example, both female and male Twos might compliment a friend’s outfit, even if they find it unflattering, to protect them from embarrassment. Because belonging is their greatest wish, they may also pretend to like a certain band to fit into a social group and gain approval. These Enneagram type 2 lying patterns become particularly visible under stress.

Enneagram 3

The ambitious Enneagram Three desires success and admiration and will go to considerable lengths to achieve their goals and look accomplished to others.

For unhealthy Threes in particular, lying is simply a means of protecting their image and getting ahead in life. If they manage to lie their way to the top, they may even excuse their dishonesty by claiming that the ends justify the means.

Enneagram Type 3 lying patterns mostly involve charming others into believing an idealized version of themselves.

For instance, if they get laid off from work, they may put on a convincing performance for their loved ones, pretending nothing ever happened or claiming that they have another job lined up, even when that’s not true.

Enneagram 4

Enneagram Fours are creative, sensitive individuals who seek to be and be seen as unique. Although they value authentic self-expression, they may distort the truth to create intriguing false narratives about themselves, especially when they become unhealthy.

Fours may exaggerate their hardships to draw attention, use their exceptional imagination to fabricate or embellish stories, or withhold certain information from others. For example, it’s not uncommon for them to dramatically emphasize emotionally significant or interesting parts of a story while skipping over mundane details, even if these could change the narrative.

In other words, when lying, Enneagram Type Fours act like editors, selectively choosing which parts of reality to highlight, omit, or adjust.

Enneagram 5

Motivated by competence and self-sufficiency, Enneagram Fives fiercely protect their time, energy, knowledge, and space, which are their most valuable resources. Because these individuals value truth and accuracy, they rarely, if ever, lie. And when they do, they usually do it out of self-protection.

Most commonly, these introverted individuals bend or obscure the truth to protect their privacy and personal space. They may withhold personal information from others and communicate vaguely to avoid feeling intruded upon. Because they enjoy solitude, they may also sometimes lie to people about having plans to avoid unwanted social interaction.

Enneagram 6

Enneagram Sixes want nothing more than to feel safe and secure. Because they value transparency, accuracy, and honesty, they aren’t likely to casually lie to others. However, because they derive a sense of comfort and safety from social belonging, they may fabricate stories or distort the truth to protect others, prove their loyalty, and maintain stability.

Furthermore, both male and female Sixes may deny, minimize, or alter information to protect themselves, especially from punishment. This is particularly common when they feel unsafe or stressed. Ultimately, these reliable people only typically lie when they fear losing safety and support.

Enneagram 7

Free-spirited and enthusiastic, Enneagram Sevens seek to be happy, experience life fully, and avoid negative emotions. As such, discomfort avoidance is the primary driver behind Enneagram Type 7 lying patterns.

These optimistic individuals usually distort the truth by reframing situations and focusing on their positive aspects.

Instead of telling the full story, they omit unpleasant details, emphasizing possibilities, benefits, and future potential. As such, their lies often resemble toxic positivity. For example, they may downplay a demotion at work by highlighting how it will give them more free time, while completely ignoring the financial setbacks they may face.

Enneagram 8

The assertive Enneagram Type 8 desires autonomy and values direct, efficient communication, meaning Eights generally aren’t prone to lying. However, they deeply fear showing emotional vulnerability in front of others, which is the main reason Eights may distort the truth.

To ensure they appear strong, confident, and in control of their lives, Eights may withhold information that exposes their weaknesses from people they don’t trust. While they may discuss things they feel self-conscious about with their loved ones, for instance, they might claim they have no insecurities in front of their colleagues.

Therefore, lying for this Enneagram type is more about controlling access to information than making up stories.

Enneagram 9

Calm, easygoing, and patient, Enneagram Nines strive to maintain inner and outer harmony at all times. For this reason, they typically only lie to keep the peace and avoid conflict.

The most common Enneagram Type 9 lying pattern is self-erasure; these adaptable individuals may downplay or completely minimize their needs to prevent unnecessary tension. For instance, they may say they don’t have a preference when choosing a place to eat with their friends, even though they strongly crave Indian food.

Unfortunately, such behavior frequently leads to imbalanced relationships, unmet needs, resentment, and suppressed frustration that eventually turns into passive-aggressive behavior.

Now that you know more about the Enneagram types and lying, let’s find out how you can tell whether someone isn’t telling you the truth.

How to Recognize if Someone Is Lying: 5 Signs to Look for

Some signs to look for when trying to recognize if someone is lying include avoidance of eye contact, inconsistencies in their message, notable changes in behavior or tone, conflicting body language, and overly vague or excessively detailed explanations.

While displaying just one of these signs doesn’t necessarily indicate lying, two or more of these signs appearing together, especially behavioral changes paired with message inconsistencies, suggest a strong possibility that someone is distorting the truth.

Let’s discuss these signs in greater depth:

• Eye contact avoidance. When people lie, they tend to avoid making eye contact with others. A study by Trifiletti et al. also found that lying predicts greater pupil dilation, so if someone’s pupils grow larger as they speak, they may not be telling you the truth.
• Conflicting body language. Most people struggle to control their body language when lying, which can give you powerful cues into their intentions. Take note of conflicting body language, such as nodding while saying “no,” as this often indicates a disconnect between thoughts and speech.
• Inconsistencies in the message. Sudden changes to the story, gaps in the narrative, and contradictions almost always suggest fabrication rather than a natural recollection of events. So, pay close attention to detail and don’t forget to ask follow-up questions to spot any inconsistencies.
• Visible changes in behavior or tone. Lying often causes discomfort, affecting people’s voice, body language, behavioral patterns, and emotional expression. If someone becomes unusually tense or defensive or speaks in a noticeably deeper or higher voice, they may be telling lies or half-truths.
• Excessive or inadequate amount of detail. People who lie often include an unnecessarily large amount of details to make their stories sound more convincing. However, some do the opposite, telling as little information as possible to protect themselves from being caught and exposed.

How to Become a More Honest Person: 5 Powerful Strategies

The key to becoming a more honest person lies in acknowledging your patterns of dishonesty and committing to open communication and personal growth, even when it feels uncomfortable.

Here are five powerful strategies to help you break the habit of lying and become a more honest person:

• Practice self-reflection. To start, observe your behavior to become more aware of your patterns of dishonesty. Journaling can facilitate this process; don’t hesitate to ask hard questions, such as “What do I typically try to achieve by lying?” to better understand your dark side and shadow self. Learning more about Enneagram types and deception can also help you better understand your motives.
• Pause before responding. If you’ve made a habit of telling lies, pausing and reflecting on the situation can help you break this habit by giving you space to respond thoughtfully and truthfully.
• Learn to tolerate discomfort. Most people lie to avoid discomfort, be it shame, embarrassment, or awkwardness. Accepting your flaws and mistakes can help you avoid self-deception and build emotional resilience, making it easier to acknowledge and tell the truth. Though challenging, this step is especially important for Sevens’ personal growth since they deeply fear pain and discomfort.
• Acknowledge and express your needs. If you mostly lie to please others, it’s time to accept that your needs and desires matter, too, and they deserve to be heard. Transparent communication can help prevent tension, misunderstandings, and unresolved conflict from building up and damaging your relationships, which is particularly critical to conflict-averse types, such as Twos and Nines.
• Reflect on the consequences of dishonesty and deception. Reflecting on the impact lying has on your relationships with others reinforces honesty, as even minor lies can destroy other people’s trust in you.

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Final Thoughts

Now that you know more about Enneagram types and lying, you probably see that lying isn’t always malicious. The main reason why Enneagram types lie is usually self-protection; they distort the truth to either avoid facing their fears or meet their underlying needs.

Nonetheless, lying can have significant consequences on your relationships, creating misunderstandings and destroying trust.

As such, if you notice yourself occasionally bending the truth, it’s essential that you get to the root of your own patterns of deception and adopt a more open and honest communication style. Examining your Enneagram type’s dishonesty patterns can help you with that; while it may feel uncomfortable, it is an excellent place to start your personal growth journey.

Enneagram Types and Lying FAQs

#1. Why do Enneagram Nines avoid telling the truth?

Enneagram Nines avoid telling the truth because they fear it’ll disrupt peace and lead to conflict. Since these calm individuals deeply desire internal and external harmony, they often feel that avoiding disagreements is more important than expressing their true thoughts or feelings.

#2. What personality traits are associated with lying?

Neuroticism is the main personality trait associated with lying, according to a study by Hart et al. This is no surprise, given that highly neurotic people experience negative emotions, including fear that can trigger self-protective lies, more intensely than others. People with Dark Triad traits, such as Machiavellianism, are also more likely to lie and manipulate others.

#3. Are Enneagram Threes manipulative?

Enneagram Threes usually aren’t manipulative; on the contrary, they favor straightforward communication since they value efficiency. Nonetheless, unhealthy or stressed Threes may present a false social image, exaggerate their achievements, or make false promises to impress others and achieve their goals.