NCJ Number
195479
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 26 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 365-376
Date Published
2002
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examines the deceptive behaviors of 16 suspects in their interviews with police detectives at Kent County Constabulary (United Kingdom).
Abstract
This study examined the deceptive behaviors of 16 suspects in their interviews with police detectives at Kent County Constabulary (United Kingdom) in a real life, high stakes setting. Forensic evidence and reliable witnesses identified where there was deception or truthfulness in behaviors that were compared by studying video clips of the interviews. Popular beliefs on the part of lay people and lie-detecting professionals, for example, that avoidance of eye contact and fidgeting are indications of deception, were negated. It was found that liars decreased their nonfunctional movements and became unnaturally still, paused longer when responding to a question, and attempted to maintain eye contact to deceive more effectively. It was hypothesized that the increased cognitive load required to carry out a successful deception might account for these behaviors, plus the suspects' attempts to control their own behavior caused rigidity and deliberate movements. Although these significant individual differences were found in truthful versus deceptive behaviors, there was no clear behavioral predictor of deception to make lying readily detectable. Table, appendix, and references