Deception Detection III

Please read the previous 2 post in the series before reading this one.

This post will cover Deception Detection in Body Language.

Body language is a very complex subject. There are also many different definitions in the field.
In fact, there are so many views on some of the gestures, that it can easily be compared to asking a crowd of 200 people what they think the best movie is. You will get a lot of answers! I will give some of the different views, and say why I like some, more than others.

Let’s start the post…

In case you suspect someone of lying, pay attention to the following:

1. The first we will discuss is something that is often said relating to eye-contact.
“The person will make little or no eye contact. A person who is lying to you will do
everything to avoid making eye contact.”
Although this is said often, there are two views on this statement.
Dr David J Lieberman thinks this is true, because he means that the eyes are the windows to the soul. He means that if a liar is being stared at, he might feel that he is the centre of attention, and being a liar, he has no firm foundation to stand on. If someone challenges him at that point, he doesn’t have the truth and knows that his lie got him in this predicament. This results in a desperate attempt to draw the attention away from himself by avoiding eye-contact.

Dr Paul Ekman thinks the opposite. He thinks that the liar’s brain will tell him that he is going to act different by not looking at people when talking to them or listening while they talk, and that this is a dead giveaway. So he thinks that when people lie, they will rather look you directly in the eye.

Out of personal experience I found both of these views to be correct at different times. There is something called “Neuro Linguistic Programming” that offers a very interesting theory as to what role the eyes play in deception. Ekman’s ideas are largely based on Neuro Linguistic Programming research. And, so far, all my tests have confirmed the theory to be correct, but the details of Neuro Linguistic Programming are way beyond the scope of this post.

The next thing to look for:

2.
Physical expression will be limited, with few arm and hand movements. What arm and hand
movements are present will seem stiff, and mechanical. Hands, arm and legs pull in toward
the body; the individual takes up less space.

This is also an interesting subject, but the basic reason why people are stiff when they lie is:
Any shaking, or uncontrolled movement of body parts, are a universal sign of nervousness. Why would you be nervous when you are telling the truth?

3.
His hand(s) may go up to his face or throat, especially to the mouth. But contact with his
body is limited to these areas. He is also unlikely to touch his chest with an open hand
gesture. He may also touch the nose or scratch behind the ear.

Ok there is a lot to say about this statement. First of all I have read books about this statement and why it is true. The main reason people take their hand to their face when a lie is being told is:
As I have already said nobody wants to lie, so the brain commands the hand to go up to the mouth to stop the words from coming out. It sounds stupid, right? But this is actually more accurate than you might think. Have you ever seen a child telling a lie. How do you know that he or she is lying? I can tell you that the chances are good that your brain has recognized the behaviour of a lie being told, and the hand-to-face gesture is the most common one of these. Still not convinced? Have you ever found yourself putting one of your fingers on your lip when someone was talking about something you are not sure about? I do that a lot (I wonder why). Anyway, putting a finger on one’s lip is also a hand-to-face gesture. But in this gesture is called a “manipulator”. It is a signal for your conscious mind not to speak too fast.
I hope you understand. And again, remember: NEVER JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS. If you see any of these signs, it DOES NOT necessarily mean that a person is lying. The chances are just increased if you see two or even three of these things.

I think this is enough for now.
This was the last post in this Deception detection series.