Detecting Lies: Top 3 Myths, Top 5 Proven Factors
Lies are extremely difficult to detect. Research shows the average person barely does any better than chance. Part of the reason may be there's so much misinformation about how to detect lies floating around. Years of work in psychology, including research from real police interviews conducted by Aldert Vrij and colleagues, provides guidance on which nonverbal signals do and which don't signal lying (Vrij, 2006).
First we've got to dump the misconceptions:
- People don't actually fidget and look away when they're lying. Even some police forces still have this in the manual even though it's just plain wrong.
- Even classic highly researched signs of lying are not that good. Less blinking, more pauses in talking, vocal tension, pupil dilation, chin raise and nervousness don't consistently (across different people) mean someone is lying.
- It may be particularly difficult to detect lies in close friends or partners as we have come to trust them and don't expect them to lie to us.
How do these misconceptions come about? First we are badly informed by popular culture and second we think we're displaying these signs when lying ourselves - when actually we're not.
So, with those misconceptions dealt with, what can psychology research tell us about how to detect lies?
- Individual differences are key. Some people's natural behaviour looks honest while others' natural behaviour doesn't. This won't tell you whether each is lying. E.g. introverts or socially nervous people tend to look as though they're lying when they're not. The way to do it is using comparisons. It's possible to spot falsehoods when they are compared with truthful statements.
- Micro-expressions. Good lie detectors can pick up on tiny facial movements that give away lies. The problem is that they're 'micro' so they're difficult to detect.
- Vocal inflection can be vital. There's evidence it's easier to detect lies just from the voice. The eyes are relatively easy to control and it can be better if we can't see them.
- Rely on intuition. People may be better at detecting lies with their intuition. Implicit or broadly unconscious processes can be more effective than conscious directed thought.
- Lying is hard work. Lying can place high cognitive demands on an individual - putting more pressure on a suspected liar can help with detection.
Next time you're tempted to assume your partner would never lie to you but the nervous-looking person in the office probably does, stop and think again. Research on lying in nonverbal psychology has clearly shown that misunderstandings are rife. Lie detection is a subtle art requiring very sharp senses and these 5 proven factors show you where to start.
» This post is part of a series on nonverbal behaviour.
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I'll use those tricks on my next poker !
ben, i was about to mention that myself. i am a big poker fan, and constantly hear about how most of the game is in reading the other players - apart from strategy and applying psychological pressure.
but the typical things i hear are those mentioned in this article - how poker players call/fold by reading the other people on the table - where swallowing a lot, fidgeting, moving legs etc could indicate lying. and so a lot of people wear hats, sunglasses to 'cover' up their emotions.
maybe it all boils down to just intuition. but then, isn't intuition influenced by what we see in the other person? i don't know.
~ganesh
I think what's popular referred to as intuition is made up of unconscious processes. When you're playing poker you're taking in loads of information from the other people. The trick is finding a way to allow yourself to pay attention to or access these unconscious processes.
Caro's Book of Tells goes into more detail on this, as well as Phil Hellmuth's new book. Of course, he's working with an FBI guy, like Annie Duke did, and you stated they don't always have the facts straight....
Batman I'd reckong the FBI have better info than local police forces - which is what Vrij (2006) was talking about.
As for poker books containing lists of tells - this is exactly what the research is saying isn't possible. You'd need a new 'book of tells' for each person with whom you played poker. Although, of course, it may be possible to fit people into typologies.
Being fair, though, they're probably using these titles to increase sales. I'd hope the better examples of this genre are describing patterns of behaviour rather than just individual movements.
I think you have a good list there :)
I wish it was so easy. I've probably interviewed hundreds of criminals, but you just never can tell.
Phantom Policeman, yes - the message from the research tends to be: everyone's different. I guess it's very difficult when you meet someone for the first time and you don't know their standard patterns of behaviour.
"Interviewed criminals?" Surely they aren't necessarily always criminal until convicted. So much for innocent until proven otherwise. If you're being interviewed as a suspect, you're already a criminal in the mind of the policeman.
The part about the myths is absolutely correct. I was studying psychology for four years with one girl, who would blink a lot when she was talking, especially in public. By a lot I mean so much as it would seem odd for people who don't know her. And this didn't even mean that she was nervous, it was just her. I bet that many people would have thought that she was lying if the situation was suitable to make such a prediction.
I'm glad you wrote this. One myth about "lie detecting" that I hear/read over and over, the one that really, REALLY makes me angry is the myth that if a person refuses to make eye contact, he/she is lying. It's simply NOT TRUE! I have an absolute inability to make eye contact. I have had self-trained (not to mention self-righteous) people accuse me of lying because I don't make eye contact. "Well, I read an article once that says if a person doesn't look you in the eyes it means they're lying!"....UGH!
I'm also glad that you pointed out that introverts may look as though they're lying when they're not. Not all introverts, of course--but some of us have a very difficult time with social situations.
I think the most important underlying point of this article is that people shouldn't assume that they're experts in psychology after reading a few articles in Cosmo or Reader's Digest.
It's interesting to think of lying in relation to children. Up until a certain age, they are incapable of lying -- it's too complex of a cognitive process. Then after they get the idea that you CAN tell a story different than the truth, they start to experiment with different approaches to lying (which can often be quite hilarious).
That's why, often, the smartest criminals get away with it -- they've figured out how to lie really well, and they're GOOD at it!
can you tell me more details because I need to use it. I can't trust my friends, I need to find out an very important thing. Please email me!
Rigidity is often a key indicator of lying, especially hand and finger movements. Similarly high pitched responses to questions you ask when you think someone is lying.