I smile
when I see movies portraying savvy detectives revered for their ability to separate
truth from lies in a suspect’s story.
And I
cringe when people believe the lies of politicians and other leaders despite evidence
from their own behaviour—including recordings of their statements.
We have a
vested interest in detecting the truth—especially when we stand to lose or gain
from information. So, I am going to draw on some research summarized by Aldert
Vrij to make a few points in this post.
1. Eye-contact:
Liars do not look away more than truth-tellers. Liars are focused on overcoming the well-known avoidance belief.
2. Squirm
effect: Liars do not fidget or move around more than truth-tellers. It takes mental effort to deceive someone. Liars move less.
3. Nonverbal
cue mystique: Interviewers (including new counsellors) are often told to pay
attention to nonverbal behaviour but the research indicates deciding if a person
is lying or telling the truth based on nonverbal behaviour is about 50-50 (52%).
But when people could only hear what someone said, accuracy improved to 63%,
which is much better than 50-50.
And good
luck dealing with security. Vrij explains that there is little research behind
the behavioural observers looking for suspicious behaviour in public places like
airports.
One more point--
Even when an interviewee provides information that appears to be true and is not presented as a lie, human memory is less than an accurate record of the past--see false memories and psychology.
Tags #HR_Interviews #Liars #DiscoveringTruth
Resources
Detecting Lies and Deceit by Aldert Vrij
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