Believed cues to deception: Judgments in self‐generated trivial and serious situations

Purpose . To investigate the beliefs that people hold about the cues to deception in serious and trivial lies. Method . A questionnaire study considered the beliefs which people have about the cues to deception in themselves and other people in both trivial and serious lies. Participants were asked to consider how likely it was that a number of verbal and non‐verbal behaviours would give themselves or someone else away during deception. Half the participants considered cues to deception in themselves and the remainder considered cues in other people. All participants were asked to make a judgment on cues to deception in both trivial and serious situations. Results . It was predicted that making the consequences of the lie both salient and meaningful to participants would make participants less stereotypical in their beliefs. Results partially supported these hypotheses – serious lies were associated with more nervous behaviours than trivial ones and a total of six behaviours were regarded as occurring significantly less often in trivial lies than in truthful situations. Conclusions . While similar results were found for serious self‐generated lies to those found in previous research using vignettes, there was some suggestion that the use of a more individually salient lying situation did reduce the reliance on stereotyped behaviour. The believed decrease in certain behaviours during trivial lies is a promising result, and these results are discussed with reference to the roles that stereotypes and heuristics play in ineffective lie detection.     

Parents’ and non-parents’ beliefs about the cues to deception in children

Previous research has suggested that certain groups of experts are better at detecting deception than others. A possible explanation for this finding is that some expert groups have different beliefs about the cues to deception. This study investigated these beliefs in one such expert group, namely parents. Four different scenarios were presented, each scenario depicting a deception for a child at a different age. For each one, participants were asked to indicate whether behaviours would occur more or less frequently during deception. Some differences were found between parents and non-parents for overall beliefs, however there were few differences in their awareness of situational variations, with all participants being aware that deceptive behaviour could change across situations. Results are discussed in terms of the relationship between beliefs and expertise as well as the importance of direct versus indirect experience in the formation of beliefs about the cues to deception.     

Imprisoned knowledge: Criminals' beliefs about deception

Purpose. This paper is a survey examining beliefs about cues to deception held by prison inmates, prison personnel and students. In line with the ideas about more beneficial learning structures in the environment of criminals and findings from previous studies, we predicted that the beliefs held by prison inmates would be most consistent with the general pattern found in studies examining objective cues to deception. Method. A total of 326 participants filled out a questionnaire containing questions about cues to deception. The sample consisted of 107 prison inmates from high‐security prisons, 103 prison personnel and 116 students. Both between‐group and within‐group analyses were conducted. Results. In line with previous surveys, students and prison personnel held stereotypical and wrongful beliefs about cues to deception. Prison inmates' beliefs about deception were less stereotypical than the beliefs of prison personnel and students. Conclusions. The results indicate that prison inmates have relatively more insight into the psychology of deception. A reasonable explanation for these findings is that the environment of criminals is beneficial in the sense that they receive more adequate outcome feedback than the other two groups. The results indicate that studying this group may generate useful knowledge about the dynamics of deception.     

A “weapon focus” effect in children

In this paper we examined beliefs about deception held by legal professionals. Three groups of presumed expert lie-catchers were investigated: police officers ( n =104), prosecutors ( n =158), and judges ( n =251). The experts' beliefs about deception were remarkably inconsistent with the general pattern resulting from studies mapping actual cues to deception. For example, a majority of police officers believed there is a strong relationship between (a) deceptive behaviour and gaze aversion and (b) deceptive behaviour and an increase in body movements. The scientific literature does not support this view. Furthermore, all three professional groups believed that truthful consecutive statements are more consistent than deceptive, and that it is easier to detect deception in interactive than non-interactive contexts. Research on deception shows the opposite. For five of the seven investigated items we found significant between-group differences. Both the genesis and the implications of these differences are discussed. Judging from self-ratings, the presumed experts admitted knowing close to nothing about scientific research on deception.     

Police officers’ judgements of veracity,tenseness, cognitive load and attempted behavioural control in real-life police interviews

Abstract

The present experiment examined the apparently incongruent findings that police officers (i) believe that suspects show nervous behaviour when they lie but (ii) seem able to detect deceit in suspects who do not show nervous behaviours. It was hypothesized that police officers’ judgements about whether a suspect is lying would not be correlated with their judgements regarding whether the suspect is tense, but, instead, would be correlated with their judgements regarding whether suspects are having to think hard or attempting to control their behaviour.

Each of 84 police officers saw seven truths and seven lies told by suspects during their police interviews. Participants in Condition 1 were asked to indicate after each clip whether the suspect was lying, whereas participants in Condition 2 were asked to note after each clip to what extent the suspect appeared to be tense, having to think hard or attempting to control their behaviour. Condition 3 was a combination of Conditions 1 and 2 and participants were asked all the above questions. The findings support the hypotheses and therefore negate the assumption that police officers primarily look for cues of nervousness when they attempt to detect deceit.     

Police officers', social workers', teachers' and the general public's beliefs about deception in children,adolescents and adults

Purpose . The present survey examined the beliefs of different occupational groups (police officers, social workers, teachers) and members of the general public about (i) cues to deception in young children (5‐ to 6‐year‐olds), adolescents (14‐ to 15‐year‐olds) and adults, and (ii) the underlying processes (emotions, cognitive load and attempted verbal and behavioural control), which may explain why cues to deceit do occur. Method . Two hundred and six participants completed a ‘cues to deception’ and ‘processes underlying deception’ questionnaire for three different age groups (young children, adolescents and adults). Results and discussion . The survey revealed that participants believed that liars are nervous, have difficulties in formulating their lies and do not fully endorse their lies. In general, participants associated more cues with deception than seems justified on the basis of deception literature. Participants generally associated the same cues to deceit for all three age groups but, when differences between age groups did emerge, this was most likely to be amongst teachers. Although participants believed that adults control their speech and behaviour more when they lie than adolescents and young children do, this did not result in participants believing that adults exhibit fewer cues to deceit. No major occupational differences emerged, although out of the four participating groups, teachers were most likely to associate cues with deception in young children.     

Deceptive responses: The impact of verbal and non‐verbal countermeasures

Objectives. This experiment investigates the impact of informing participants about verbal and non‐verbal cues to deception on their verbal and non‐verbal responses. Based on the fact that people are more practised in their verbal behaviour than in their non‐verbal behaviour, we predicted that giving participants information about verbal cues would positively affect their verbal accounts resulting in them giving an account that appeared more credible. In contrast, we predicted that informing participants about non‐verbal cues would have no noticeable effect on credibility. We also predicted that focusing on verbal behaviours would impair non‐verbal performance and that, vice versa, concentrating on non‐verbal behaviours would impair verbal performance, particularly in liars. Method. A total of 128 participants either told the truth or lied about the possession of an object. Prior to these interviews, participants were or were not informed about verbal cues to deception and were or were not informed about non‐verbal cues of deception (these two factors were systematically manipulated). Results. As predicted, participants were able to adapt their verbal behaviour but were not able to change their non‐verbal behaviour. However, focusing on one aspect (either verbal or non‐verbal behaviour) did not occur at the expense of the other behaviour (either non‐verbal or verbal). Conclusion. Verbal countermeasures may well be easier to apply than non‐verbal countermeasures.     

US police officers’ knowledge regarding behaviors indicative of deception: Implications for eradicating erroneous beliefs through training

Abstract

The current study surveyed a random sample of Texas law enforcement officers (n?=?109) about their knowledge regarding behaviors indicative of deception. The officers were not highly knowledgeable about this topic, overall performing at a chance level in assessing how various behavioral cues relate to deception. Confidence in one's skill was unrelated to accuracy, and officers who reported receiving the most training and utilizing these skills more often were more confident but no more accurate in their knowledge of the behaviors that typically betray deception. The authors compare these results to previous studies that have examined officers’ beliefs in other countries and discuss the implication of these results in terms of developing future training programs that may debunk the common misconceptions that officers possess.     

Attitudes towards personality disorders: Comparison between prison officers and psychiatric nurses

Objectives. This study investigates the effects of working with dangerous and severely personality disordered (DSPD) prisoners and patients on the attitudes, perceptions and beliefs of staff, which may be important therapeutic variables in the management and treatment of prisoners and patients. Method. The attitudes of prison officers working in a DSPD prison unit and psychiatric nurses working in high‐security psychiatric hospitals were compared using the Attitude to Personality Disorder Questionnaire (APDQ) and the Staff Attitude to Personality Disorder Interview (SAPDI). Results. Prison officers and nurses differed in their attitudes. Prison officers' attitudes were more positive than those of psychiatric nurses in all aspects of the APDQ. Prison officers indicated that they felt more liking for and interest in contact with personality disordered prisoners, less fear and helplessness, less anger, were more optimistic regarding treatment, and less frustrated. The SAPDI revealed that nurses expressed more concern about caring for and managing personality disordered patients, and felt more vulnerable and less accepting towards them. Prison officers conveyed more confidence in their own abilities and felt less vulnerable. Conclusion. Differences found in attitudes towards personality disordered prisoners/patients are discussed in terms of personal, environmental and experiential influences, and implications for DSPD services. Attitudes towards personality disordered prisoners/patients between nurses and officers differed. They are likely to be influenced by a combination of experience with personality disorder, organisational culture and personal characteristics.     

To act truthfully: Nonverbal behaviour and strategies during a police interrogation

Abstract

In an experiment, nonverbal indicators of deception in police interrogations of mock crimes were examined. Both vocal and nonvocal behaviours were scored. Thirty participants were subjected to long interrogations (over 9 minutes) conducted by 30 experienced police officers, asked to interrogate as they normally do. Although the liars reported being significantly more nervous, and found the task more strenuous than the truth tellers, no differences in the nonverbal behaviours scored were found. In an analysis of the strategies employed, both truth tellers and liars were found to try to not make excess movements. The principal verbal content strategy for the liars was to keep the story simple, and for truth tellers to keep the story real. The reasons why, in this demanding situation, the truth tellers and liars could not be distinguished by their nonverbal behaviour are discussed.     

Lie Detection Accuracy—the Role of Age and the Use of Emotions as a Reliable Cue

Literature surrounding the accuracy of deception detection has produced inconsistent findings, and the majority of investigations have been based upon low-stakes lies. Although recent research has suggested that high-stakes situations may produce reliable cues to deception, it remains unclear whether knowledge of these cues actually improves the detection of lies. In an online experiment, we assessed participant’s ability to detect lies in 22 public appeals for help with missing or murdered relatives (N = 196). Participants were randomly allocated to either the cue condition (presented with previously identified cues to deception) or no cue condition (instructed to make judgement on instinct), before being presented with the video footage. Participants were asked to indicate whether the appealer is lying or telling the truth, how confident they are in their judgement and if they were familiar with the case. At the end of the experiment, participants wrote qualitative responses on the cues that they used during lie detection. Although cue knowledge and confidence did not significantly predict accuracy scores, there was a positive relationship between accuracy and age. Participants who used emotion-based cues were significantly better at detecting deception. The findings are discussed with reference to the existence of reliable cues.     

Interviewing to Detect Deception: When to Disclose the Evidence?

Research shows that there are few objective cues to deception. However, it may be possible to create such cues by strategic interviewing techniques. Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) is one such technique. The basic premise of the SUE technique is that liars and truth tellers employ different counter-interrogation strategies, and that the evidence against the suspect can be used to exploit these differences in strategies. This study examined the effect of the timing of evidence disclosure (early vs. late vs. gradual) on verbal cues to deception. We predicted that late disclosure would be most effective in differentiating between liars and truth-tellers, and that cues to deception in the gradual disclosure condition would progressively disappear due to the suspects’ realization that evidence against them exists. That is, we expected that liars in the gradual presentation condition would become more consistent with the evidence over time. A sample of 86 undergraduate students went through a mock-terrorism paradigm (half innocent, half guilty), and were subsequently interviewed using one of three disclosure strategies: early, gradual, and late disclosure. We measured statement-evidence inconsistencies as cues to deception . Results supported our predictions in that cues to deception were most pronounced in the late disclosure condition. Contrary to our expectations, the results suggested that presenting the evidence gradually may put innocent suspects at a higher risk of misclassification as they seem to adopt a strategy that is more similar to guilty suspects.     

The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 andthe interviewing of vulnerable groups: A practitioner's perspective

Purpose. To discover practitioners' appreciation of the legislative changes that the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, largely implemented in 2002, will have on investigative interviewing of vulnerable groups. Method. Police officers and social workers completed a questionnaire that asked about their perceptions of the Youth Justice and Criminal Justice Act 1999. Results. Practitioners thought that a large number of interviewees would be eligible for the special measures allowed within the remit of the new act. It was believed that the act would result in achieving best evidence with respect to accuracy and recording of interviews and in less discrimination against vulnerable groups. However, it was believed that implementing the act would be demanding in terms of time and money. Conclusion. Police officers and social workers share positive and negative views concerning the implementation and efficacy of the new legislation.     

Deception among pairs: “Let's say we had lunch and hope they will swallow it!”

Deception research has neglected the fact that legal-workers often have to try to detect deceit on the basis of statements derived from pairs of suspects, each having been interrogated repeatedly. To remedy this shortcoming we conducted a study where each member of 10 truth-telling pairs and 10 lying pairs was interrogated twice about an alibi. One hundred and twenty undergraduate students were enrolled as lie-catchers. The main findings were that (a) overall deception detection accuracy was modest; (b) lie-catchers given access to a large number of statements did not outperform lie-catchers given access to a lesser number of statements; (c) when asked to justify their veracity assessments the most frequently reported cue was ‘consistency within pairs of suspects’; (d) all cues to deception were of low diagnostic value. Psycho-legal aspects of integrating sequential information in deception detection contexts are discussed.     

Psychopathy and deception detection using indirect measures

Purpose. The goal of the current study was to examine psychopathy and indirect measures of deception detection. Methods. Undergraduate students (N=444) viewed video clips of adult male offenders telling true and false stories about crimes. For each story, participants rated indirect measures of deception (thinking hard, nervousness, emotional arousal, and attempting to control behaviour) and credibility. Participants also chose the story they believed to be true and rated the confidence in their decision. Offenders were rated on the psychopathy checklist – revised. Results. Consistent with past research, deception detection accuracy was at chance level and unrelated to confidence. Ratings on indirect measures by undergraduates did not distinguish true and false statements in offenders. Psychopathic offenders were less successful at deception than non‐psychopathic offenders. Psychopathic traits were associated with lower perceived credibility during deception and ratings of thinking harder while lying. Conclusions. The results suggest that indirect measures of deception detection may be less useful in offender samples. Further, the findings are consistent with the general inability of psychopathic offenders to demonstrate superior deception skills in empirical studies. Indirect measures of deception uniquely related to psychopathic traits offer new insight into the relationship between psychopathy and deception.     

Correctional officers and prevention of HIV transmission among prisoners

The problem of HIV transmission in prisons in Québec and elsewhere is increasingly urgent and requires the attention of federal and provincial authorities. Prison officers are among the key players who should be kept in mind when preventive measures are being developed. We reprint the executive summary of a study conducted in federal and provincial prisons in Québec. The goal of the study was to identify the factors influencing prison officers, with respect to whether they would agree or refuse to make accessible the tools needed for the prevention of HIV transmission among inmates (i.e., condoms, bleach, tattooing equipment, and needles). Among the factors studied are officers' perceptions and beliefs as well as their attitudes, perceived social norms, emotions, and perceived barriers with respect to making preventive tools accessible.     

Cues to Deception and Ability to Detect Lies as a Function of Police Interview Styles

In Experiment 1, we examined whether three interview styles used by the police, accusatory, information-gathering and behaviour analysis, reveal verbal cues to deceit, measured with the Criteria-Based Content Analysis (CBCA) and Reality Monitoring (RM) methods. A total of 120 mock suspects told the truth or lied about a staged event and were interviewed by a police officer employing one of these three interview styles. The results showed that accusatory interviews, which typically result in suspects making short denials, contained the fewest verbal cues to deceit. Moreover, RM distinguished between truth tellers and liars better than CBCA. Finally, manual RM coding resulted in more verbal cues to deception than automatic coding of the RM criteria utilising the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software programme.In Experiment 2, we examined the effects of the three police interview styles on the ability to detect deception. Sixty-eight police officers watched some of the videotaped interviews of Experiment 1 and made veracity and confidence judgements. Accuracy scores did not differ between the three interview styles; however, watching accusatory interviews resulted in more false accusations (accusing truth tellers of lying) than watching information-gathering interviews. Furthermore, only in accusatory interviews, judgements of mendacity were associated with higher confidence. We discuss the possible danger of conducting accusatory interviews.     

‘You caught ’em!’…or not? Feedback affects investigators’ recollections of speech cues thought to signal honesty and deception

Purpose. When eyewitnesses to crime receive feedback about their choice of a suspect from a line‐up (or post‐identification feedback), such information can substantially alter their recollections of the witnessing experience. This study examined whether feedback exerts similar effects on investigators’ recollections of a suspect's behaviours. Methods. Participant‐investigators received training on speech cues that they were told, when present in a speaker's account, signal either honesty or deception. After hearing a suspect's account of a theft, participants decided whether the suspect was lying or telling the truth. One‐third of participants subsequently received immediate confirming feedback about their performance, while another third received disconfirming feedback. The remaining one‐third of participants did not receive feedback about their decision. Finally, participants rated the frequencies of speech cues that they had been instructed to detect in the suspect's account. Results. Disconfirming feedback significantly altered retrospective judgments about the characteristics of the suspect's account. Specifically, when told that the decision they made about the speaker's credibility was incorrect, participants judged the speaker as having exhibited fewer behaviours consistent with the credibility decision they had made, relative to those who either received no feedback or confirming feedback. Conclusions. Biases in recollections of a suspect may have consequences in real‐world interrogations wherein investigators assess credibility on the basis of numerous behavioural cues. Results are discussed in light of findings of post‐identification feedback studies on eyewitnesses.     

Behavioral Cues to Deception vs. Topic Incriminating Potential in Criminal Confessions

Coding statements of criminal suspects facilitated tests of four hypotheses about differences between behavioral cues to deception and the incriminating potential (IP) of the topic. Information from criminal investigations corroborated the veracity of 337 brief utterances from 28 videotaped confessions. A four-point rating of topic IP measured the degree of potential threat per utterance. Cues discriminating true vs. false comprised word/phrase repeats, speech disfluency spikes, nonverbal overdone, and protracted headshaking. Non-lexical sounds discriminated true vs. false inthe reverse direction. Cues that distinguished IP only comprised speech speed, gesticulation amount, nonverbal animation level, soft weak vocal and “I (or we) just” qualifier. Adding “I don't know” to an answer discriminated both IP and true vs. false. The results supported hypothesis about differentiating deception cues from incriminating potential cues in high-stakes interviews, and suggested that extensive research on distinctions between stress-related cues and cues to deception would improve deception detection.