According to science, it is enough to notice just one signal

Probably everyone, at least once in his life, wondered how to understand whether someone who talks to us, writes to us in the chat, is lying or not. A topic, the topic of lies, on which many scientific studies have been carried out, which over the years have led to the formulation long lists of “signals” Able to reveal the “Pinocchio” of the situation. These include eye movements, head and body posture, tone of voice, mouth and head movements, but also the tendency to repeat a question before answering and put a distance between it and the subject of the question. In essence, what has been discovered so far indicates its existence No less than 92 signs that can reveal liars, which makes it practically impossible to accurately observe all these aspects in a short period of time, such as what our interlocutor can use to tell a lie. However, new research has revealed a new approach to lie detection based on one signal Which, according to test results only Posted in The nature of human behaviorIt allows you to identify liars with an accuracy of approximately 80%.

The sign that detects liars

To detect deception, the research team that came up with this new approach, led by Bruno Vershoeer, associate professor of forensic psychology at the University of Amsterdam, relied on what is known as the language of “heuristics” (from the Greek εὑρίσκω, literally “I discover” or “I find”), which is a rule Simple allows you to simplify difficult decisions by ignoring the most information and relying only on the most basic diagnostic criteria.

This means that the new lie detection method focuses entirely on a single signal, ie At the level of detail of the story someone is telling, ignore everything else. “It sure takes some getting used to – Verschuere explains -. It can seem very counterintuitive to simply listen to what people have to say and not pay attention to all the other cues, such as how compelling or emotional someone is to tell their story. People who tell the truth They can provide a rich description of an eventbecause they have already tried it, but even liars are still able to point out the details, which increases the risk of being caught“.

Accuracy of detail

To test the method, the researchers conducted a series of nine studies, asking a 1445 subjects rated the accuracy of written statements, video transcripts, video interviews, or live interviews About students’ activities on the Amsterdam campus, showing whether their stories are true or false. These reports came from two groups of students, divided into guilty or innocent: the guilty were asked to steal an assignment from a locker, while the innocent group was asked to spend half an hour on campus, go to the library, drink coffee and call a friend. Then, everyone was asked to report that they had spent half an hour on campus.

These reports were then given to study participants who, in a standardized setting, were free to examine all the cues they considered appropriate—from looking people in the eye to looking for a particularly emotional behavior or story—to detect if someone was lying. “in this situation – Researchers explain – They find it difficult to distinguish between lies and facts, and to discriminate against lies Hardly above the level of possibility“.

However, when asked to consider “Amount of detail (descriptions of people, places, actions, things, events, timing of events)” And “The degree to which the message seemed comprehensive, tangible, surprising, or detailedParticipants were consistently able to distinguish lies from facts. With an accuracy of 59-79%.

This suggests that the rule of thumb of “use the best (and ignore the rest)” is indeed an excellent way to detect lying, suggesting that if a person gives detailed descriptions of who, what, when, how and why, they are likely telling the truth. On the other hand, if he is ignoring these details, he is probably lying. But in high-stakes situations, scientists note, people are more likely to flesh out lies in finer detail to enhance their credibility, so the ground rules for detecting lies may depend on context.

However, as more and more clues are used, the risk of catching the liars increases. “Use the best and ignore the rest – scientists conclude -. Even if the method seems far from perfect, it is worth the effort Pay attention to the details…and nothing but the details“.