Abstract
People communicate with each other across distance in a variety of ways, for example, via the telephone, via electronic forms of communication (the written word) or via videolinks. In this article, behavioral, auditory and speech content related cues which research has shown discriminate (to some extent) between liars and truth tellers will be discussed. Although research has indicated that people are generally poor at detecting deceit, some recent studies suggest that looking at nonverbal, auditory and speech content related responses in an objective and systematic manner will lead to more accurate classifications of liars and truth tellers. These studies will be discussed. Apart from examining the available cues objectively and systematically, lie detection might further improve if the lie detector employs certain communication techniques. In the final part of this article we will discuss some of these techniques.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akehurst, L. and A. Vrij. (1999). “Creating Suspects in Police Interviews,” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 29, 192–210.
Akehurst, L., G. Köhnken, A. Vrij, and R. Bull. (1996). “Lay Persons' and Police Officers' Beliefs Regarding Deceptive Behaviour,” Applied Cognitive Psychology 10, 461–471.
Alonso-Quecuty, M. L. (1992). “Deception Detection and Reality Monitoring: A New Answer to an Old Question?” in F. Lösel, D. Bender, and T. Bliesener (eds.), Psychology and Law: International Perspectives. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, 328–332.
Alonso-Quecuty, M. L. (1996). “Detecting Fact from Fallacy in Child and Adult Witness Accounts,” in G. Davies, S. Lloyd-Bostock, M. McMurran, and C. Wilson (eds.), Psychology, Law, and Criminal Justice: International Developments in Research and Practice. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, 74–80.
Alonso-Quecuty, M. L., E. Hernandez-Fernaud, and L. Campos. (1997). “Child Witnesses: Lying About Something Heard,” in S. Redondo, V. Garrido, J. Perez, and R. Barbaret (eds.), Advances in Psychology and Law. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, 129–135.
Baskett, G. D. and R. O. Freedle. (1974). “Aspects of Language Pragmatics and the Social Perception of Lying,” Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 3, 117–131.
Bond, C. F. and W. E. Fahey. (1987). “False Suspicion and the Misperception of Deceit,” British Journal of Social Psychology 26, 41–46.
Bond, C. F., A. Omar, U. Pitre, B. R. Lashley, L. M. Skaggs, and C. T. Kirk. (1992). “Fishy-Looking Liars: Deception Judgment from Expectancy Violation,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 63, 969–977.
Brandt, D. R., G. R. Miller, and J. E. Hocking. (1980a). “The Truth-Deception Attribution: Effects of Familiarity on the Ability of Observers to Detect Deception,” Human Communication Research 6, 99–110.
Brandt, D. R., G. R. Miller, and J. E. Hocking. (1980b). “Effects of Self-Monitoring and Familiarity on Deception Detection,” Communication Quarterly 28, 3–10.
Bull, R. (1998). “Obtaining Information From Child Witnesses,” in A. Memon, A. Vrij, and R. Bull (eds.), Psychology and Law: Truthfulness, Accuracy and Credibility. Maidenhead, England: McGraw-Hill, 188–210.
Buller, D. B. and J. K. Burgoon. (1996). “Interpersonal Deception Theory,” Communication Theory 6, 203–242.
Buller, D. B., J. B. Stiff, and J. K. Burgoon. (1996). “Behavioral Adaptation in Deceptive Transactions: Fact or Fiction: Reply to Levine and McCornack.” Human Communication Research 22, 589–603.
Burgoon, J. K. and D. B. Buller. (1994). “Interpersonal Deception: III. Effects of Deceit on Perceived Communication and Nonverbal Behavior Dynamics,” Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 18, 155–184.
Burgoon, J. K., D. B. Buller, and L. K. Guerrero. (1995). “Interpersonal Deception IX: Effects of Social Skill and Nonverbal Communication on Deception Success and Detection Accuracy,” Journal of Language and Social Psychology 14, 289–311.
Burgoon, J. K., D. B. Buller, L. Dillman, and J. B. Walther. (1995). “Interpersonal Deception IV: Effects of Suspicion on Perceived Communication and Nonverbal Behavior Dynamics,” Human Communication Research 22, 163–196.
Burgoon, J. K., D. B. Buller, A. S. Ebesu, C. H. White, and P. A. Rockwell. (1996). “Testing Interpersonal Deception Theory: Effects of Suspicion on Communication Behaviors and Perception,” Communication Theory 6, 243–267.
Burgoon, J. K., D. B. Buller, K. Floyd, and J. Grandpre. (1996). “Deceptive Realities: Sender, Receiver, and Observer Perspectives in Deceptive Conversations,” Communication Research 23, 724–748.
Burgoon, J. K., D. B. Buller, C. H. White, W. Afifi, and A. L. S. Buslig. (1999). “The Role of Conversation Involvement in Deceptive Interpersonal Interactions,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 25, 669–685.
Chartrand, T. L. and J. A. Bargh. (1999). “The Chameleon Effect: The Perception-Behavior Link and Social Interaction,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 76, 893–910.
Davis, M. and D. Hadiks. (1995). “Demeanor and Credibility,” Semiotica 106, 5–54.
DePaulo, B. M. (1994). “Spotting Lies: Can Humans Learn to do Better?” Current Directions in Psychological Science 3, 83–86.
DePaulo, B. M. and S. E. Kirkendol. (1989). “The Motivational Impairment Effect in the Communication of Deception,” in J. C. Yuille (ed.), Credibility Assessment. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer, 51–70.
DePaulo, B. M. and H. S. Friedman. (1998). “Nonverbal Communication,” in D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, and G. Lindzey (eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 3–40.
DePaulo, B. M., D. E. Anderson, and H. Cooper. (1999, October). Explicit and Implicit Deception Detection. Paper presented at the Society of Experimental Social Psychologists, St. Louis.
DePaulo, B. M., J. J. Lindsay, B. E. Malone, L. Muhlenbruck, K. Charlton, and H. Cooper. (2003). “Cues to Deception,” Psychological Bulletin 129, 74–118.
DePaulo, B. M., J. L. Stone, and G. D. Lassiter. (1985). “Deceiving and Detecting Deceit,” in B. R. Schenkler (ed.), The Self and Social Life, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 323–370.
Ekman, P. (1985/2001). Telling Lies. New York: W. W. Norton.
Ekman, P. and W. V. Friesen. (1972). “Hand Movements,” Journal of Communication 22, 353–374.
Ekman, P. and M. G. Frank. (1993). “Lies that Fail,” in M. Lewis and C. Saarni (eds.), Lying and Deception in Everyday Life. New York, NY: Guildford Press, 184–201.
Ekman, P. and W. V. Friesen. (1974). “Detecting Deception from the Body or Face,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 29, 288–298.
Ekman, P., W. V. Friesen, and K. R. Scherer. (1976). “Body Movement and Voice Pitch in Deceptive Interaction,” Semiotica 16, 23–27.
Feeley, T. H., M. A. deTurck, and M. J. Young. (1995). “Baseline Familiarity in Lie Detection,” Communication Research Reports 12, 160–169.
Gordon, N. J. and W. L. Fleisher. (2002). Effective Interviewing and Interrogation Techniques. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Gudjonsson, G. H. (1992). The Psychology of Interrogations, Confessions and Testimony. Chichester, England: Wiley & Sons.
Harrigan, J. A. and D. M. O'Connell. (1996). “Facial Movements During Anxiety States,” Personality and Individual Differences 21, 205–212.
Hess, J. E. (1997). Interviewing and Interrogation for Law Enforcement. Reading, United Kingdom: Anderson Publishing Co.
Hocking, J. E. and D. G. Leathers. (1980). “Nonverbal Indicators of Deception: A New Theoretical Perspective,” Communication Monographs 47, 119–131.
Höfer, E., L. Akehurst, and G. Metzger. (1996, August). Reality Monitoring: A Chance for Further Development of CBCA? Paper presented at the Annual meeting of the European Association on Psychology and Law in Sienna, Italy.
Inbau, F. E., J. E. Reid, and J. P. Buckley. (1986). Criminal Interrogation and Confessions, 3rd Ed. Baltimore, Md.: Williams & Wilkins.
Inbau, F. E., J. E. Reid, J. P. Buckley, and B. C. Jayne. (2001). Criminal Interrogation and Confessions, 4th Ed. Gaithersburg, Maryland: Aspen Publishers.
Johnson, M. K. and C. L. Raye. (1981). “Reality Monitoring,” Psychological Review, 88, 67–85.
Johnson, M. K. and C. L. Raye, C. L. (1998). “False Memories and Confabulation,” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 2, 137–145.
Johnson, M. K., S. Hashtroudi, and D. S. Lindsay. (1993). “Source Monitoring,” Psychological Bulletin 114, 3–29.
Köhnken, G. (1999, July). Statement Validity Assessment. Paper presented at the pre-conference programme of applied courses 'Assessing credibility' organised by the European Association of Psychology and Law, Dublin, Ireland.
Köhnken, G., E. Schimossek, E. Aschermann, and E. Höfer. (1995). “The Cognitive Interview and the Assessment of the Credibility of Adult's Statements,” Journal of Applied Psychology 80, 671–684.
Krauss, R. M. (1981). “Impression Formation, Impression Management, and Nonverbal Behaviors,” in E. T. Higgins, C. P. Herman, and M. P. Zanna (eds.), Social Cognition: The Ontario Symposium, vol 1. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 323–341.
Kraut, R. E. (1980). “Humans as Lie Detectors: Some Second Thoughts,” Journal of Communication 30, 209–216.
Lamb, M. E., K. J. Sternberg, P. W. Esplin, I. Hershkowitz, and Y. Orbach. (1997). “Assessing the Credibility of Children's Allegations of Sexual Abuse: A Survey of Recent Research,” Learning and Individual Differences 9, 175–194.
Mann, S. (2001). Suspects, Lies and Videotape: An Investigation into Telling and Detecting Lies in Police/Suspect Interviews. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of Portsmouth (United Kingdom), Psychology Department.
Mann, S., A. Vrij, and R. Bull. (in press). “Detecting True Lie: Police Officers' Ability to Detect Suspects' Lies,” Journal of Applied Psychology.
Mann, S., A. Vrij, and R. Bull. (2002). “Suspect, Lies and Videotapes: An Analysis of Authentic High-Stake Liars,” Law and Human Behavior 26, 365–376.
Manzanero, A. L. and M. Diges. (1996). “Effects of Preparation on Internal and External Memories,” in G. Davies, S. Lloyd-Bostock, M. McMurran, and C. Wilson (eds.), Psychology, Law, and Criminal Justice: International Developments in Research and Practice. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, 56–63.
Miller, G. R. and J. B. Stiff. (1993). Deceptive Communication. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Moston, S. J. and T. Engelberg. (1993). “Police Questioning Techniques in Tape Recorded Interviews with Criminal Suspects,” Policing and Society 3, 223–237.
Moston, S. J., G. M. Stephenson, and T. M. Williamson. (1992). “The Effects of Case Characteristics on Suspect Behaviour During Police Questioning,” British Journal of Criminology 32, 23–39.
Ofshe, R. J. and R. A. Leo. (1997). “The Decision to Confess Falsely: Rational Choice and Irrational Action,” Denver University Law Review 74, 979–1112.
Raskin, D. C. and P. W. Esplin. (1991). “Statement Validity Assessment: Interview Procedures and Content Analysis of Children's Statements of Sexual Abuse,” Behavioral Assessment 13, 265–291.
Roberts, K. P., M. E. Lamb, J. L. Zale, and D. W. Randall. (1998). Qualitative Differences in Children's Accounts of Confirmed and Unconfirmed Incidents of Sexual Abuse. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Redondo Beach, March 5-7.
Seager, P. (2001). Improving the Ability of Individuals to Detect Lies. Unpublished PhD-thesis. University of Hertfordshire (United Kingdom), Psychology Department.
Sporer, S. L. (1997). “The Less Travelled Road to Truth: Verbal Cues in Deception Detection in Accounts of Fabricated and Self-Experienced Events,” Applied Cognitive Psychology 11, 373–397.
Steller, M. (1989). “Recent Developments in Statement Analysis,” in J. C. Yuille (ed.), Credibility Assessment. Deventer, the Netherlands: Kluwer, 135–154.
Steller, M. and G. Köhnken. (1989). “Criteria-Based Content Analysis,” in D. C. Raskin (ed.), Psychological Methods in Criminal Investigation and Evidence. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag, 217–245.
Tecce, J. J. (1992). “Psychology, Physiology and Experimental,” in McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology. New York: McGraw-Hill, 375–377.
Undeutsch, U. (1967). “Beurteilung der Glaubhaftigkeit von Aussagen,” in U. Undeutsch (ed.), Handbuch der Psychologie Vol. 11: Forensische Psychologie. Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe, 26–181.
Vrij, A. (2000). Detecting Lies and Deceit: The Psychology of Lying and the Implications for Professional Practice. Chichester: Wiley and Sons.
Vrij, A. (2001). “Implicit Lie Detection,” The Psychologist 14, 58–60.
Vrij, A. and G. R. Semin. (1996). “Lie Experts' Beliefs About Nonverbal Indicators of Deception,” Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 20, 65–80.
Vrij, A. and S. Heaven. (1999). “Vocal and Verbal Indicators of Deception as a Function of Lie Complexity,” Psychology, Crime, & Law 4, 401–413.
Vrij, A. and S. Mann. (2001). “Telling and Detecting Lies in a High-Stake Situation: The Case of a Convicted Murderer,” Applied Cognitive Psychology 15, 187–203.
Vrij, A. and S. Mann. (2003). “Deceptive Responses and Detecting Deceit,” in P. W. Halligan, C. Bass, and D. Oakley (eds.), Malingering and Illness Deception: Clinical and Theoretical Perspectives. Oxford: University Press, 67–88.
Vrij, A., K. Edward, and R. Bull. (2001a). “People's Insight into their Own Behaviour and Speech Content While Lying,” British Journal of Psychology 92, 373–389.
Vrij, A., K. Edward, and R. Bull. (2001b). “Police Officers' Ability to Detect Deceit: The Benefit of Indirect Deception Measures,” Legal and Criminological Psychology 6, 185–196.
Vrij, A., K. Edward, and R. Bull. (2001c). “Stereotypical Verbal and Nonverbal Responses While Deceiving Others,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 27, 899–909.
Vrij, A., K. Edward, K. P. Roberts, and R. Bull. (2000). “Detecting Deceit Via Analysis of Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior,” Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 24 (4), 239–263.
Vrij, A., L. Akehurst, S. Soukara, and R. Bull. (in press). “Detecting Deceit Via Analyses of Verbal and Nonverbal Behaviour in Adults and Children,” Human Communication Research.
Vrij, J. (2001). “Verzet tegen angst,” Kontakt door Aantreden 56 (5), 4.
Wallbott, H. G. and K. R. Scherer. (1991). “Stress Specificities: Differential Effects of Coping Style, Gender, and Type of Stressor on Automatic Arousal, Facial Expression, and Subjective Feeling,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 61, 147–156.
White, C. H. and J. K. Burgoon. (2001). “Adaptation and Communicative Design: Patterns of Interaction in Truthful and Deceptive Conversations,” Human Communication Research 27, 9–37.
Wiseman, R. (1995). “The Megalab Truth Test,” Nature 373, 391.
Zuckerman, M., B. M. DePaulo, and R. Rosenthal. (1981). “Verbal and Nonverbal Communication of Deception,” in L. Berkowitz (ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 14. New York, NY: Academic Press, 1–57.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vrij, A., Mann, S. Detecting Deception: The Benefit of Looking at a Combination of Behavioral, Auditory and Speech Content Related Cues in a Systematic Manner. Group Decision and Negotiation 13, 61–79 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:GRUP.0000011946.74290.bc
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:GRUP.0000011946.74290.bc