The Ultimate Body Language Book

Such devices are new and their effectiveness unmeasured so are not in widespread use. Thankfully the
time we hear “Your plane is boarding, please walk through the mental detector” isn’t yet upon us, and
predictions of the popular book 1984 can sit idle, for the time being at least.
Chapter 16 - Deception and Lie Detection
So Which People Are Good At Detecting Lies?
At this point in the chapter it might seem out of place to admit that some individuals can actually detect
lies better than chance, but this is true, and has been backed up empirically through research. Studies
have shown that while the rest of the world is limited to fifty percent, or the same accuracy as that
which would occur by chance, the CIA (central intelligence agency) scores seventy-three percent,
sheriffs sixty-seven percent, psychologist sixty-eight percent whereas the secret service scores sixtyfour
percent.
So why do the experts have an advantage over the layman? Well, part of the explanation lies in
experience. The group of psychologist was chosen due to their special interest in lying and lie
detection, not to mention their willingness to participate in a two day seminar covering various topics
related to lying and lie detection. Each group including the psychologists, the CIA, and the secret
service all have an interest in lie detection coupled with the training to back it up. Experts are drawing
on information from many facets about a person, including their paraverbal and nonverbal language as
well as other cues as we have covered which is unlike regular lay-people who have little if any
experience in analyzing people, let alone the ability to repeatedly test their skills. Because lie detection
and reading people is a huge part of their occupations, they get a lot of practice and feedback.
Personality characteristics might also play into the ability to detect lies. For example, empathy,
sensitivity to social cues, and conscientiousness can all help in reading people more accurate because it
allows a person to put themselves in someone else’s shoes. Experts are also more aware of the truth
bias, which we covered earlier, and so can properly adjust for this phenomenon. It is important to
conclude on these matters that the accuracy, while impressive in relation to ordinary people, is still far
from perfect. While the experts are far from perfect, they do give us some hope that lie detection is
more than a chance operation. No doubt, by reading this chapter alone, you will be able to make huge
strides in reading others, perhaps not pegging every liar dead on the spot, but the cues in this chapter
will help you at least identified those who are worthy of a second look.
Chapter 16 - Deception and Lie Detection
How We Really Detect Lies
It is traditionally assumed that deception detection occurs simultaneously to the telling of a lie.
Meaning, as people speak, lie detectors were able to pick up on nonverbal and verbal cues to ‘read’
people. Most of the research to date suggests that we can’t use any body language cue, or collection of
cues in a comprehensive manner to read liars, but this might just be a limitation or flaw in the design of
the studies. In 2002 research by Hee Sun Park working out of the University of California in Santa
Barbara it was found that success in real-world lie detection happens gradually, over time and not on
one chance encounter. Her research found that the most often reported method of disseminating lies
included third party information, confessions and physical evidence, none of which the studies thus far