3 effective ways to detect lies

[Brother]

The issue of recognizing deception and exposing liars has worried people almost from the very beginning of civilization. But only in the second half of the twentieth century it was approached from a scientific point of view. Now there are three really working methods that can reveal a lie: the interpretation of non-verbal behavior, the analysis of speech characteristics and instrumental observation of the physiological reactions of the body, such as sweating or pulse rate. In this article, we'll take a quick look at the advantages and disadvantages of these methods.

Analysis of behavioral signals​

The process of inventing a lie requires considerable effort on the part of the deceiver. In addition, he may experience certain emotions, such as fear or guilt. All this will be reflected in his behavior. So, cognitive overload is manifested by speech difficulties, such as an increase in the speed of speech, more frequent or longer pauses, changes in volume. More active brain activity is characterized by changes in gestures. At the same time, there is an increase in the number of manipulative gestures (for example, touching the nose or brushing off invisible dust particles) and a decrease in illustrative gestures.

Observing emotions is a very important part of analyzing non-verbal behavior. For example, liars may try to hide true emotions or mask them with feigned ones. The displayed state may not match other behavioral markers or match words. Observation of facial expressions is used to accurately determine emotions.

Advantages:

• no need for special equipment;
• this method is almost invisible;
• there is the possibility of remote analysis and application after the fact (using video).

Disadvantages:

• requires serious long-term training;
• suffers from subjectivity.

Analysis of verbal signs of lies​

This is perhaps the most reliable way to expose a lie. If you find inconsistencies in the testimony with past stories or other factual data, you can make a 100% conclusion about a lie. Also, some speech features may prompt further search. Liars' answers are often evasive, general, and lacking in detail. At the same time, they are well structured and chronologically verified.

Advantages:
this is the simplest method, it is this that we most often use in everyday life;

• does not require equipment (except for recording devices sometimes);
• can be used remotely and post factum (by video).

Disadvantages:

• speech slips are extremely rare;
• other signs, such as evasiveness of answers, can be interpreted very broadly;
• the verbal characteristics of behavior can be influenced by personality traits.

Analysis of physiological responses​

Emotions that arise in a person in the process of lying are displayed in the form of autonomic reactions, such as excessive sweating, changes in heart rate and respiration, increased blood pressure, dilated pupils, etc. They can be fixed using special devices - polygraphs, or lie detectors. They cannot determine what kind of emotion a person is experiencing, but an experienced interrogator is able to correctly use this information in order to expose deception.

Advantages:

• instrumental detection is the most objective method for recording behavioral changes;
• there are special strategies for conducting interviews that allow you to determine the truth of the information with acceptable accuracy.

Disadvantages:

• this method involves the use of special equipment, which not only makes it difficult to use in the field, but also makes it impossible in some cases;
• the operator training process is quite long and expensive;
• printing cannot be used secretly, remotely and after the fact;
• this is the most expensive technique.

Summary

Which of these methods to use depends on the goals and capabilities. All of them have a place to be in the arsenal of the profiler-verifier. Of course, you most likely will not be able to use a polygraph for personal purposes, but the other two methods can and should be mastered by any person striving for effective interaction with people. Detailed information and practical tasks for practicing the skill of identifying the baseline of behavior and determining lies are collected in the online program "Profiling".