Abstract
This article addresses the influence of 2 personality traits on making hand movements during deception, namely public self-consciousness and ability to control behavior. It was hypothesized that especially individuals with high public self-consciousness and individuals who are skilled in controlling their behavior would make fewer hand movements during deception compared to truth-telling. A total of 56 participants were interviewed twice; in one interview they told the truth and in the other interview they lied. Before the interviews the participants completed a personality inventory to measure their levels of public self-consciousness and ability to control their behavior. The results supported the hypotheses. Some implications of these findings are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Akehurst, L., Köhnken, G., Vrij, A., & Bull, R. (1996). Lay persons' and police officers' beliefs regarding deceptive behaviour. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 10, 461–471.
Buller, D. B., Burgoon, J. K., White, C. H., & Ebesu, A. S. (1994). Interpersonal deception VII. Behavioral profiles of falsification, equivocation, and concealment. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 13, 366–395.
Burgoon, J. K., Kelley, D. L., Newton, D. A., & Keely-Dyreson, M. P. (1989). The nature of arousal and nonverbal indices. Human Communication Research, 16, 217–255.
Briggs, S. R., Cheek, J. M., & Buss, A. H. (1980). An analysis of the Self-Monitoring Scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 679–686.
Davis, M., & Hadiks, D. (1995). Demeanor and credibility. Semiotica, 106, 5–54.
DePaulo, B. M. (1988). Nonverbal aspects of deception. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 12, 153–162.
DePaulo, B. M. (1992). Nonverbal behavior and self-presentation. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 233–243.
DePaulo, B. M., Kashy, D. A., Kirkendol, S. E., Wyer, M. M., & Epstein, J. A. (1996). Lying in everyday life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 979–995.
DePaulo, B. M., & Kirkendol, S. E. (1989). The motivational impairment effect in the communication of deception. In J. C. Yuille (Ed.), Credibility assessment (pp. 51–70). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
DePaulo, B. M., Stone, J. L., & Lassiter, G. D. (1985). Deceiving and detecting deceit. In B. R. Schenkler (Ed.), The self and social life (pp. 323–370). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Ekman, P. (1985). Telling lies. New York. W. W. Norton.
Ekman, P. (1988). Lying and nonverbal behavior: Theoretical issues and new findings. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 12, 163–176.
Ekman, P. (1989). Why lies fail and what behaviors betray a lie. In J. C. Yuille (Ed.), Credibility Assessment (pp. 71–82). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1969). The repertoire of nonverbal behavior: Categories, origins, usage, and coding. Semiotica, 1, 49–98.
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1972). Hand movements. Journal of Communication, 22, 353–374.
Ekman, P., O'Sullivan, M., Friesen, W. V., & Scherer, K. R. (1991). Face, voice, and body in detecting deceit. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 15, 125–135.
Exline, R., Thibaut, J., Hickey, C., & Gumpert, P. (1970). Visual interaction in relation to Machiavellianism and an unethical act. In P. Christie & F. Geis (Eds.), Studies in Machiavellianism (pp. 53–75). New York, NJ: Academic Press.
Fenigstein, A., Scheier, M. F., & Buss, A. H. (1975). Public and private self-consciousness: Assessment and theory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 43, 522–527.
Höfer, E., Köhnken, G., Hanewinkel, R., & Bruhn, Ch. (1992). Diagnostik und attribution von glaubwürdigkeit. Kiel: final report to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, KO 882/4-2.
Kalbfleisch, P. J. (1994). The language of detecting deceit. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 13, 469–496.
Kashy, D. A., & DePaulo, B. M. (1996). Who lies? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 1037–1052.
Knapp, M. L., Hart, R. P., & Dennis, H. S. (1974). An exploration of deception as a communication construct. Human Communication Research, 1, 15–29.
Köhnken, G. (1989). Behavioral correlates of statement credibility: Theories, paradigms and results. In H. Wegener, F. Lösel, & J. Haisch (Eds.), Criminal behavior and the justice system: Psychological perspectives (pp. 271–289). New York: Springer-Verlag.
Köhnken, G. (1990). Glaubwürdigkeit: Untersuchungen zu einem psychologischen konstrukt. München: Psychologie Verlags Union.
Kraut, R. E., & Poe, D. (1980). On the line: The deception judgments of customs inspectors and laymen. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 380–391.
O'Hair, H. D., Cody, M. J., & McLaughlin, M. L. (1981). Prepared lies, spontaneous lies, Machiavellianism, and nonverbal communication. Human Communication Research, 7, 325–339.
Patterson, M. L. (1995). A parallel process model of nonverbal communication. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 19, 3–31.
Riggio, R. E. (1986). Assessment of basic social skills. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 649–660.
Riggio, R. E., & Friedman, H. S. (1983). Individual differences and cues to deception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 899–915.
Riggio, R. E., Tucker, J., & Throckmorton, B. (1988). Social skills and deception ability. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 13, 568–577.
Siegman, A. W., & Reynolds, M. A. (1983). Self-monitoring and speech in feigned and unfeigned lying. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 115–128.
Snyder, M. (1974). Self-monitoring of expressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 526–537.
Vrij, A. (1993). Credibility judgments of detectives: The impact of nonverbal behavior, social skills, and physical characteristics. Journal of Social Psychology, 133, 601–611.
Vrij, A. (1995). Behavioral correlates of deception in a simulated police interview. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 129, 15–29.
Vrij, A. (1996). Misverstanden tussen politie en verdachten in een gesimuleerd politieverhoor. Nederlands Tijdschrift voor de Psychologie, 51, 137–146.
Vrij, A. (1997). Nonverbal communication and credibility. In A. Memon, A. Vrij, & R. Bull. Legal psychology: Accuracy and perceived credibility of suspects, victims and witnesses (work title). New York: McGraw Hill, in press.
Vrij, A., & Semin, G. R. (1996). Lie experts' beliefs about nonverbal indicators of deception. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 20, 65–81.
Vrij, A., Semin, G. R., & Bull, R. (1996). Insight into behavior during deception. Human Communication Research, 22, 544–562.
Zuckerman, M., DePaulo, B. M., & Rosenthal, R. (1981). Verbal and nonverbal communication of deception. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 14, pp. 1–59). New York: Academic Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vrij, A., Akehurst, L. & Morris, P. Individual Differences in Hand Movements During Deception. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 21, 87–102 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024951902752
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024951902752