I wish people were better at—plea bargaining, rather than pretending to be innocent. You accuse someone of [negative-valence description of trait or behavior that they're totally doing], and they say, "No, I'm not", and I'm just like ... really? How dumb do you think we are?
I think when people accuse me of [negative-valence description of trait or behavior], I'm usually more like, "Okay, I can see what you're getting at, but I actually think it's more like [different negative-valence description of trait or behavior], which I claim is a pretty reasonable thing to do given my goals and incentives."
(Because I usually can see what they're getting at! Even if their goal is just to attack me, attackers know to choose something plausible, because why would you attack someone with a charge that has no hope of sticking?)
well, that's because in our social games, you lose points when you plea bargain, but if you have enough advantage, you can win with the denial. and because people are unable to distinguish the moral judgment from the factual part of the word.
they ARE that dumb. you not.
Fear of the judgement methodologies, which may stem from that individual's prior unfortunate engagements that lead to a further loss, could compel them to lie. Depending on the individuals you interact with, say, those closer to you, may feel more comfortable with admitting to [negative-valence description of trait or behavior]. However, those who are conditioned and rely on the lie to escape (and to which, have priorly "succeeded") and/or who are not as close to you, may deploy further dishonesty.