Almost everyone will tell a lie under certain circumstances, but what sets the kind of person apart who will lie straight to your face without any guilt?

Why are some people able to lie repeatedly with no shame? 

There are certain behaviors of those who lie habitually and feel no compunction about doing it. 

Here is a look at what to watch out for when it comes to shameless liars and their behavioral traits.

1) Minimal empathy

Individuals with low empathy may find it easier to lie as they are less emotionally affected by the impact of their dishonesty on others. Because they do not care much about others, telling lies about big or small issues is no big deal to them. 

They may deceive you about something big such as a financial or relationship issue, or it just may be something small like not admitting they forgot to do something you ask. 

But whatever the lie is, they do not care very much how it affects you because of their lack of empathy.

2) Machiavellian tendencies

People with a high Machiavellian personality trait may be more inclined to manipulate others and use deceit as a means to achieve their goals. 

Machiavellian tendencies essentially refer to the belief that the end justifies any means. 

Those who lie shamelessly often have this trait in that they believe that having a noble goal or worthwhile outcome justifies any amount of lies no matter how shameless or harmful in the short-term.

3) Cynical

It is hard for somebody to lie often if they do not have a certain amount of cynicism. 

Liars tend to have lost faith and the basic goodness of other human beings. They may also have lost faith in the integrity of society or the system they are existing within. 

This can also become as specific as losing faith in a relationship, for example and therefore feeling justified in lying in that relationship. 

Whatever cynicism relates to, they do not try to hide it and are clearly not overly bothered by dishonesty in themselves or society more widely.

4) Bitter

There is often a lot of bitterness usually under the surface of habitual liars. 

They do not feel real guilt about lying, because they are bitter and feel that they have been victimized in a way that justifies their life. 

Although you may not have had anything to do with their victimization, they use this as a carte blanche to justify their dishonesty to themselves.

5) Narcissistic 

Narcissistic individuals may lie to maintain a positive self-image or to project an idealized version of themselves to others. 

This often goes hand in hand with the victim mentality mentioned in the previous point. 

Narcissists believe they are uniquely special and entitled to what they want from other people and life itself. 

If lies help them get closer to their objective, they will tell them without any guilt or hesitation. 

And if they get caught they will often gaslight the person who nabbed them. 

As Kara Summers notes:

“A healthy individual will admit it and apologize or talk about it. 

“With a narcissist, even if you have solid proof, if you confront them by the end of the argument, you will be the one apologizing. 

“They are skilled at arguing, twisting the blame and finding all the excuses in the book to justify their behavior.”

6) Entitled 

Those who are able to lie without any guilt or outer signs of it, often have a high degree of entitlement. 

They believe they are entitled to all the best things in life and that lies are just one more way to get what they want as they should. 

If their lies happen to harm others in some way that’s just par for the course.

7) Egotistical 

The lack of empathy displayed by habitual liars ties into an overall worldview in which they are more important than others. 

For whatever reason they consider their suffering and success to be much more important than that of anyone else and as a result they are willing to be dishonest as much as they feel like it in order to benefit themselves.

They’re willing to lie, because they consider that the rules for the regular people don’t apply to them. They’re in a league of their own: a league where they can do what they want. 

Which leads me to the next point…

8) Amoral

Lack of conscientiousness leads to a disregard for moral and ethical principles, making lying more likely. 

It is not that habitual liars even necessarily enjoy lying or think it is right, it is simply that they see it as merely one more tool to achieve their ends, and not as particularly good or bad but merely an instrument with no inherent moral judgment attached. 

The irony, of course, is that they usually become furious and outraged if other people lie to them.

9) Reckless

Individuals who engage in high-risk behavior may be more prone to lying, as they are accustomed to taking chances and may underestimate the consequences. 

In certain contexts dishonesty can be a high risk behavior, such as when lying about financial matters or bearing false witness in a court of law, for example. 

But those who lie straight to somebody’s face do not worry too much about this and often do not exhibit the typical signs of lying such as micro expressions of guilt or fidgeting. They just go for it and lie, often with no outer signs whatsoever.

10) Insecure

In most cases, lying is not the behavior of a confident and well person. Those who lie often and can lie straight to your face without guilt are often plagued by a certain insecurity. 

They do not trust their own capacity to succeed and survive in life without dishonesty. 

It has become a kind of crutch to them and once you dig deeper you find out that this person who always seems to say the right thing is just an insecure liar.

11) Ashamed

Deep under the surface of the chronic liar is also a lot of shame. In many cases, people lie because the truth makes them ashamed.

Perhaps the truth is that they failed at the goal they had set for themselves, or they were unfaithful to their partner, or they have slid back into old patterns that they claimed they had overcome. 

They are lying in order to hide the truth from you, but also to hide the truth from themselves. Therefore they tell the lie with great confidence, almost as if they truly believe it.

12) Poor impulse control

Poor impulse control is a behavior often seen in those who lie frequently. 

They have so much trouble controlling their impulses and desires, and they use their dishonesty to clean up and try to hide what they’ve done after the fact. 

Like a child who cannot control his or her appetite, the habitual liar does what they want and then tries to pick up the pieces later even if it involves telling lies straight to your face.

13) Victim mentality 

One of the saddest things about those who lie all the time is that they really do consider themselves victims in many cases. 

They may have been treated very badly or cheated or lied to themselves, and now use that as an excuse to tell whatever kind of fiction they want. 

The problem is that in doing this they simply extend the cycle of victimhood and make other people fall under the ill effects of dishonesty. 

It is a vicious cycle.