One thing that is common in all people all across the world is body language. Yes, there are a few cultural differences (the most interesting one being the culture that nods for "no"), however, most cultures and societies use body language so similar (or identical) that simple cartoon images can be understood by almost everyone on the planet with any basic observational skills towards other people.
Over the decades the research in body language has gone from the naive to the highly sophisticated... to a point where a proper investigator in body language uses a variety of tools in lie detection as any one piece of evidence could be wrong (for various reasons). [ Learn more about body language basics from
Psychology Today]
How to Spot a Liar - From Time Magazine
Few things are easier than telling a lie, and few things are harder than spotting one when it's told to us. We've been trying to suss out liars ever since Cain fibbed to God about murdering Abel. While God was not fooled--hearing the blood of Abel crying out from the land--the rest of us do not have such divine lie-detection gifts.
But that doesn't mean we're not trying. In the post-9/11 world, where anyone with a boarding pass and a piece of carry-on is a potential menace, the need is greater than ever for law enforcement's most elusive dream: a simple technique that can expose a liar as dependably as a blood test can identify DNA or a Breathalyzer can nail a drunk. Quietly over the past five years, Department of Defense agencies and the Department of Homeland Security have dramatically stepped up the hunt. Though the exact figures are concealed in the classified "black budget," tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars are believed to have been poured into lie-detection techniques as diverse as infrared imagers to study the eyes, scanners to peer into the brain, sensors to spot liars from a distance, and analysts trained to scrutinize the unconscious facial flutters that often accompany a falsehood.
At last they may be getting somewhere. Next month No Lie MRI of San Diego, a beneficiary of some of that federal largesse, will roll out a brain-scan lie-detection service it is marketing to government and industry. Another company, Cephos of Pepperell, Mass., hopes to follow within a few years.
The following is an introduction to the science of lie detection...
(Note: Keep in mind that experts can also train people to minimize the possibility of lie detection by coaching them on how to hold their bodies and what kind of language to use. It is possible to trip these people by throwing in a question they are not prepared for watching for the signs of a lie. However, this can only be done by experts, whether professional or not. The key is to look for CLUSTERS of behaviour patterns that fit the definitions of lying/deception.)
(Same talk on CNN... they figured out how to use the embed code and call it a "special" = How to spot a lie)
More details;
Extract 1:
•
Physical expression will be limited and stiff, with few arm and hand
movements. Hand, arm and leg movement are toward their own body the liar
takes up less space.
• A person who is lying to you will avoid making eye contact.
•
Hands touching their face, throat & mouth. Touching or scratching
the nose or behind their ear. Not likely to touch his chest/heart with
an open hand.
Emotional Gestures & Contradiction: how to see a fake smile
•
Timing and duration of emotional gestures and emotions are off a normal
pace. The display of emotion is delayed, stays longer it would
naturally, then stops suddenly.
•
Timing is off between emotions gestures/expressions and words. Example:
Someone says "I love it!" when receiving a gift, and then smile after
making that statement, rather then at the same time the statement is
made.
• Gestures/expressions don’t match the verbal statement, such as frowning when saying “I love you.”
•
Expressions are limited to mouth movements when someone is faking
emotions (like happy, surprised, sad, awe, )instead of the whole face.
For example; when someone smiles naturally their whole face is involved:
jaw/cheek movement, eyes and forehead push down, etc.
Extract 2:
A
micro expression is a momentary involuntary facial expression -- that
people unconsciously display when they are hiding an emotion. They are
quick & intense expressions of concealed emotion.
The main points to remember are that micro expressions are:
Brief
- Micro-expressions can appear then disappear off the face in a
fraction of a second. In other words micro-expressions occur so quickly,
that most people don't even notice them.
Extract 3:
Statement
Analysis is the process of analyzing a person’s words to determine if
the subject is being truthful or deceptive. The reason these techniques
work is because people’s words will betray them.
There
are usually several ways you can phrase a statement. People will always
word their statement based on all their knowledge. Therefore, their
statement may include information they did not intend to share.
It is nearly impossible to give a lengthy deceptive statement without revealing it is a lie.
Extract 4:
Can
the direction a person's eyes reveal whether or not they are making a
truthful statement? Short answer: sort of. But, it isn't as simple as
some recent television shows or movies make it seem.
Above image represents all the directions your eyes move when processing information.
(Both of the above images are from here.)
To
detect a lie, on a right handed person, you look for the person looking
'up and to the right' in response to a question about the past event
under scrutiny. This means he is imagining or constructing an image,
i.e. it is a lie. This direction is the opposite for a left-handed
person, i.e. for a left handed looking up and to the left is a lie in
response to a question about a past event. [Note: because of the
intricacies of eye movements it is important to catch the person on
several questions to confirm accuracy, especially as a beginner in this
science.]
In the video below an expert on body language provides some tips on detecting lies through a method discovered by the founders of NLP called, "Eye Accessing Cues".
FBI Agent Explains How To Spot Liars
[To get an idea of how NLP works (an intro), read this page on my website.]
Notice at 30 seconds into the following video to see Herman Cain's reaction when asked a question on Libya. If Herman Cain is right handed then he was caught thinking of lying & deciding against it by the Daily Show(i.e. he looked up and to the right which, for a right-handed person, means "visual construction" or in other words, making stuff up)...
Mechanical Lie Detection Methods:
1. New emotion detector can see when we're lying
A
sophisticated new camera system can detect lies just by watching our
faces as we talk, experts say. The computerised system uses a simple
video camera, a high-resolution thermal imaging sensor and a suite of
algorithms. Researchers say the system could be a powerful aid to
security services. It successfully discriminates between truth and lies
in about two-thirds of cases, said lead researcher Professor Hassan
Ugail from Bradford University. The system, developed by a team from the
universities of Bradford and Aberystwyth in conjunction with the UK
Border Agency, was unveiled today at the British Science Festival in
Bradford. This new approach builds on years of research into how we all
unconsciously, involuntarily reveal our emotions in subtle changes of
expression and the flow of blood to our skin.
British scientists have developed a new lie detection test using a heat camera that records the flow of blood around the eyes.
The researchers then combine results with a computer programme which monitors tiny changes in facial expressions
A preliminary study involving 40 volunteers found the system to be 70% accurate in identifying liars.
Nick Higham spoke to scientists behind the test at Bradford University.
For more than 15 years, Robert Hanssen led a double life. In one life he was a 25-year veteran with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
who had access to some of the nation's most-classified information. In
his other life, he allegedly was spying for the Russian government.
Hanssen's deception was finally discovered, and in February 2001 he was
arrested and later pled guilty to 15 espionage-related charges. Spies
are probably the world's best liars, because they have to be, but most
of us practice deception on some level in our daily lives, even if it's
just telling a friend that his horrible haircut "doesn't look that bad."
People
tell lies and deceive others for many reasons. Most often, lying is a
defense mechanism used to avoid trouble with the law, bosses or
authority figures. Sometimes, you can tell when someone's lying, but
other times it may not be so easy. Polygraphs,
commonly called "lie detectors," are instruments that monitor a
person's physiological reactions. These instruments do not, as their
nickname suggests, detect lies. They can only detect whether deceptive
behavior is being displayed.
Using
the above devices combined with the information of human biology and
eye accessing cues (and clever questioning with a video camera present
in addition to the heat sensors), lie detection should become pretty
accurate. Then some proper evidence, a motive and lie detection results
with a variety of independent experts... and you could have an air-tight
case for a lie.
