Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

How do teachers perceive cheating students? Beliefs about cues to deception and detection accuracy in the educational field

  • Published:
European Journal of Psychology of Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present study explores how well teacher trainees can detect liars. Moreover, a new method was applied to investigate beliefs that teacher trainees hold about liars. The results indicate that, overall, teacher trainees were not better than chance in detecting true and invented stories. Generally, participants reported to have used only a few cues for their credibility judgment, where most of these self-reported cues are stereotypical and invalid deception cues (e.g., gaze aversion). Further analyses with a Brunswikian lens model showed that the self-reported cues were good predictors of their credibility judgment but only poorly predictive for the objective truth/lie status of the statement. Practical implications of the results are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aamodt, M. G., & Custer, H. (2006). Who can best catch a liar? A meta-analysis of individual differences in detecting deception. Forensic Examiner, 15, 6–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Akehurst, L., Koehnken, G., Vrij, A., & Bull, R. (1996). Lay persons’ and police officers’ beliefs regarding deceptive behavior. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 10, 461–471. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-0720(199612)10:6<461::AID-ACP413>3.0.CO;2-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Apple, W., Streeter, L. A., & Krauss, R. M. (1979). Effects of pitch and speech rate on personal attributions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 715–727. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.37.5.715.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bond, C. F., & DePaulo, B. M. (2006). Accuracy of deception judgments. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 214–234. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr1003_2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bond, C. F., Jr., Kahler, K. N., & Paolicelli, L. M. (1985). The miscommunication of deception: An adaptive perspective. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 21, 331–345. doi:10.1016/0022-1031(85)90034-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunswik, E. (1956). Perception and the representative design of psychological experiments. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calcano, M., Keen, A., Storey, A., Costello, A., & Aamodt, M. G. (2006, October). Occupational differences in the ability to detect deception. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology, Silver Spring, MD.

  • Chahal, K., & Cassidy, T. (1995). Deception and its detection in children: A study of adult accuracy. Psychology, Crime & Law, 1, 237–245. doi:10.1080/10683169508411959.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DePaulo, B. M., Lindsay, J. J., Malone, B. E., Muhlenbruck, L., Charlton, K., & Cooper, H. (2003). Cues to deception. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 74–118. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.1.74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eichenbaum, H., & Bodkin, J. A. (2000). Belief and knowledge as distinct forms of memory. In D. L. Schacter & E. Scaryy (Eds.), Memory, brain, and belief (pp. 176–207). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, E. D., & Craig, D. (1990). Teacher and student perceptions of academic cheating in middle and senior high schools. Journal of Educational Research, 84, 44–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiedler, K. (1989). Luegendetektion aus alltagspsychologischer Sicht [Lie detection from an everyday perspective]. Psychologische Rundschau, 40, 127–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forrest, J. A., Feldman, R. S., & Tyler, J. M. (2004). When accurate beliefs lead to better lie detection. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34, 764–780. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2004.tb02569.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frank, M. G., & Ekman, P. (2004). Appearing truthful generalizes across different deception situations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 486–495. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.86.3.486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franklyn-Stokes, A., & Newstead, S. E. (1995). Undergraduate cheating: Who does what and why? Studies in Higher Education, 20, 159–173. doi:10.1080/03075079512331381673.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Global Deception Research Team. (2006). A world of lies. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37, 60–74. doi:10.1177/0022022105282295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granhag, P. A., Andersson, L. O., Stroemwall, L. A., & Hartwig, M. (2004). Imprisoned knowledge: Criminals’ beliefs about deception. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 9, 103–119. doi:10.1348/135532504322776889.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greuel, L. (1992). Police officers’ beliefs about cues associated with deception in rape cases. In F. Loesel, D. Bender, & T. Bliesener (Eds.), Psychology and law: International perspectives (pp. 234–239). Berlin: de Gruyter.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hartwig, M., & Bond, C. F. (2011). Why do lie-catchers fail? A lens model meta-analysis of human lie judgments. Psychological Bulletin, 137, 643–659.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartwig, M., Granhag, P. A., Stroemwall, L. A., & Andersson, L. O. (2004). Suspicious minds: Criminals’ ability to detect deception. Psychology, Crime & Law, 10, 83–95. doi:10.1080/1068316031000095485.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heller, K. A., & Perleth, Ch. (2000). Kognitiver Faehigkeitstest fuer 4.–12. Klassen, Revision (KFT 4-12+ R) [Cognitive ability test for grades 4–12, revision]. Goettingen: Hogrefe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hursch, C. J., Hammond, K. R., & Hursch, J. L. (1964). Some methodological considerations in multiple-cue probability studies. Psychological Review, 71, 42–60. doi:10.1037/h0041729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koehnken, G. (1990). Glaubwuerdigkeit [Credibility]. Muenchen: Psychologie Verlags Union.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kraut, R. E. (1978). Verbal and nonverbal cues in the perception of lying. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 380–391. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.36.4.380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, S., Vrij, A., & Bull, R. (2004). Detecting true lies: Police officers’ ability to detect suspects’ lies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 137–149. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.89.1.137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reinhard, M.-A., Burghardt, K., Sporer, S. L., & Bursch, S. E. (2002). Alltagsvorstellungen über inhaltliche Kennzeichen von Lügen [Laypersons’ beliefs regarding content-related cues of deception]. Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 33, 169–180. doi:10.1024//0044-3514.33.3.169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reinhard, M.-A., Dickhäuser, O., Marksteiner, T., & Sporer, S. L. (2011). The case of Pinocchio: Teachers’ ability to detect lie and truth. Social Psychology of Education. doi:10.1007/s11218-010-9148-5.

  • Reinhard, M.-A., Scharmach, M., & Mueller (2011). It’s not what you are, it’s what you know. Experience, beliefs, and the detection of deception in employment interviews. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, in press.

  • Riggio, R., & Friedman, H. S. (1983). Individual differences and cues to deception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 899–915. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.45.4.899.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schab, F. (1991). Schooling without learning: Thirty years of cheating in high school. Adolescence, 26, 839–848.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sporer, S. L., & Kuepper, B. (1995). Realitätsüberwachung und die Beurteilung desWahrheitsgehaltes von Erzählungen: Eine experimentelle Studie [Reality monitoring and assessment of credibility of stories: An experimental study]. Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 26, 173–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Streeter, L. A., Krauss, R. M., Geller, V., Olson, C., & Apple, W. (1977). Pitch changes during attempted deception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 345–350. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.35.5.345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stroemwall, L. A., Granhag, P. A., & Hartwig, M. (2004). Practitioners’ beliefs about deception. In P. A. Granhag & L. A. Stroemwall (Eds.), The detection of deception in forensic contexts (pp. 229–250). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511490071.010.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Vrij, A. (2000). Detecting lies and deceit. The psychology of lying and the implications for professional practice. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vrij, A. (2008). Detecting lies and deceit: Pitfalls and opportunities. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vrij, A., Akehurst, L., Brown, L., & Mann, S. (2006a). Detecting lies in young children, adolescents and adults. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20, 1225–1237. doi:10.1002/acp.1278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vrij, A., Akehurst, L., & Knight, S. (2006b). Police officers’, social workers’, teachers’ and the general public’s beliefs about deception in children, adolescents and adults. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 11, 297–312. doi:10.1348/135532505X60816.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vrij, A., Granhag, P. A., & Porter, S. (2010). Pitfalls and opportunities in nonverbal and verbal lie detection. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 11, 89–121. doi:10.1177/1529100610390861.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitley, B. E. (1998). Factors associated with cheating among college students: A review. Research in Higher Education, 39, 235–274. doi:10.1023/A:1018724900565.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuckerman, M., Koester, R., & Driver, R. E. (1981). Beliefs about cues associated with deception. Journal of Nonverbal Behaviour, 6, 105–114. doi:10.1007/BF009872.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to Oliver Dickhäuser (01 JG 1054).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, 68131, Mannheim, Germany

    Tamara Marksteiner, Marc-André Reinhard & Oliver Dickhäuser

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Giessen, 35394, Giessen, Germany

    Siegfried Ludwig Sporer

Authors
  1. Tamara Marksteiner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marc-André Reinhard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Oliver Dickhäuser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Siegfried Ludwig Sporer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tamara Marksteiner.

Additional information

Tamara Marksteiner University of Mannheim, Department of Psychology of Education, A5 6, 68131 Mannheim, Germany. E-Mail: t.marksteiner@uni-mannheim.de; Web site: http://paed-psych.unimannheim.de

Current themes of research:

Credibility judgments and biased information processing in the educational field.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Reinhard, M.-A., Dickhäuser, O., Marksteiner, T., & Sporer, S. L. (in press). The case of Pinocchio: Teachers' ability to detect lie and truth. Social Psychology of Education.

Marc-André Reinhard University of Mannheim, Department of Social Psychology, A5 6, 68131 Mannheim, Germany. E-Mail: reinhard@rumms.uni-mannheim.de; Web site: http://lssozpsych.sowi.uni-mannheim.de

Current themes of research:

Applications of theories on social information processing and the detection of deception.

Most relevant publication in the field of Lie Detection and Psychology of Education:

Reinhard, M.-A., Sporer, S. L., Scharmach, M., & Marksteiner, T. (in press). Listening, not watching: Situational familiarity and the ability to detect deception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Reinhard, M.-A., & Dickhäuser, O. (2009). Need for Cognition, Task Difficulty, and the Formation of Performance Expectancies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 1062–1076.

Reinhard, M.-A., Dickhäuser, O., Marksteiner, T., & Sporer, S. L. (in press). The case of Pinocchio: Teachers' ability to detect lie and truth. Social Psychology of Education.

Oliver Dickhäuser University of Mannheim, Department of Psychology of Education, A5 6, 68131 Mannheim, Germany. E-Mail: oliver.dickhaeuser@uni-mannheim.de; Web site: http://paed-psych.uni-mannheim.de

Current themes of research:

Student and teacher motivation and students’ and teachers’ competencies.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Dickhäuser, C., Buch, S. R., & Dickhäuser, O. (2011). Achievement after failure: The role of achievement goals and negative self-related thoughts. Learning and Instruction, 21, 152–162.

Nitsche, S., Dickhäuser, O., Fasching, M., & Dresel, M. (2011). Rethinking teachers' goal orientations: Conceptual and methodological enhancements. Learning and Instruction, 21, 574–586.

Dickhäuser, O., Reinhard, M.-A., Diener, C., & Bertrams, A. (2009). How need for cognition affects the processing of achievement-related information. Learning and Individual Differences, 19, 283–287.

Siegfried L. Sporer University of Giessen, Department of Psychology, Otto-Behaghel-Str. 10F, 35394 Giessen, Germany. E-Mail: sporer@psychol.uni-giessen.de; Web site: http://www.uni-giessen.de/cms/fbz/fb06/psychologie/abteilungen/sozial-und-rechtspsychologie-1

Current themes of research:

Eyewitness identification and lie detection.

Most relevant publications in the field of Lie Detection and Psychology of Education:

Sporer, S. L., & Schwandt, B. (2006). Paraverbal correlates of deception: A meta-analysis. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20, 421–446.

Reinhard, M.-A., Sporer, S. L., Scharmach, M., & Marksteiner, T. (in press). Listening, not watching: Situational familiarity and the ability to detect deception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Reinhard, M.-A., Dickhäuser, O., Marksteiner, T., & Sporer, S. L. (in press). The case of Pinocchio: Teachers’ ability to detect lie and truth. Social Psychology of Education.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Marksteiner, T., Reinhard, MA., Dickhäuser, O. et al. How do teachers perceive cheating students? Beliefs about cues to deception and detection accuracy in the educational field. Eur J Psychol Educ 27, 329–350 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-011-0074-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-011-0074-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation