Humans are continuously evolving to better adapt to the world we live in. Unfortunately, lying has become a maladaptive tool used by many. It has almost become the norm now. Because of this, ‘liars’ have developed more sophisticated techniques. One study found that people were only able to accurately detect lying 54% of the time in an experimental setting. That isn’t very reassuring, knowing that we cannot detect when we are being lied to nearly half the time.
In this article, we will discuss some of the most common behaviors I have observed throughout the years of my practice, along with the findings of a compilation of studies published in the American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry.
Red flags that someone may be lying
- Being vague; offering few details
- Being too specific; offering too many insignificant details that cannot be verified nor refuted
- Avoiding eye contact
- Attempts to evade the topic
- Repeating questions before answering them
- Speaking in sentence fragments; incomplete thoughts or sentences
- Failing to provide specific details when a story is challenged
- Grooming/comforting behaviors such as playing with hair
- Irregular speech pattern; changing tones and using a lot of fillers
- Inconsistencies; story changes more than once
- Using gaslighting technique; asserting that they never said something and accusing the listener of imagining things when confronted
- Contradictions in the story; claiming they went to the gym while also claiming they were sick.
- Exaggerated reactions; an overreaction to make a point
- Fake emotions; pretending to wipe out tears.
- The constant self-praise about being honest or rightful
Tips for catching lies
- Trust your instinct. Your immediate gut feeling may be more accurate than any conscious lie detection technique. A study published in Psychology Today found that subjects were more likely to associate words like “dishonest unconsciously” and “deceitful” with the suspects that were actually lying. They were also more likely to implicitly associate words like “valid” and “honest” with the truth-tellers.
- Ask Them to Tell Their Story in Reverse. People may assume they can just observe the person’s body language and facial expressions to spot a “lying attitude,” which is a passive approach that often does not work. A more proactive approach would be to ask the person to tell the story in reverse chronological order. This technique will present a more complex mental challenge for the person and is more likely to yield better results.
- Ask them the same question but from different angles. Lying is mentally more challenging than telling the truth. If you add another dimension to their task – such as asking indirect questions – it will increase the cognitive complexity, and a liar may start to give contradictory versions of their initial story.
Focussing on the misleading signals
While body language may be helpful, some experts suggest that relying too heavily on certain signals may be misleading.
Researcher Howard Ehrlichman – a psychologist who has been studying eye movements since the 1970s – has found that eye movements do not signify lying at all. In fact, he suggests that ‘shifting eyes’ mean that a person is thinking, or more precisely, that they are accessing their long-term memory.
Another common sign people tend to rely on is signs of anxiety, such as sweating or irritability. The person may very well be exhibiting signs of anxiety, but due to a different reason.
The best method to detect lies
There really is no universal, airtight method of lie detection that will work for everyone. In order to be able to minimize assessment error, it is beneficial to first have a baseline for how someone acts when they’re being honest. This is very important to be able to decide what is normal for this person and what isn’t. Once you’ve established that baseline, look for a shift in behavior, then use some of the techniques mentioned above to increase your chance of detecting lies.
