Recognizing Deception Through Verbal and Non-Verbal Cues and Behaviors
Gina Marie Merante
DeSales University
RECOGNIZING DECEPTION VERBAL AND NON 2 Abstract
Every single day in this world, lies are told, many times over. We are deceived more than we probably care to admit and the same goes for deception within ourselves. We as humans are not perfect and engage in deception throughout our lives, some of us more than others. Deception involves various factors that influence human behavior. Three theoretical perspectives have been identified …show more content…
The first opportunity to determine if someone is lying, is when you ask the question. If the interviewee is being deceptive, they will typically restrict their movement in some way. For instance, compressing their lips or withdrawing their chin. They will react negatively in some physical manner to the particular question being asked. The interviewer is looking at these indicators to determine deception.
The second opportunity to detect deception, is when the person being interviewed starts to think about and process the question he/she was just asked. They may seem hesitant or seem to be confused. Their body may tense up, their eyes may shift back and forth in a quick manner, they tend to blink more than what would be considered normal. Any change in behavior or facial expression is what the interviewer is trained to focus on to determine deception.
Thirdly, the opportunity comes when the interviewee begins to answer the question. They may answer with hesitation, a shaky voice perhaps, or even raising their shoulders up to their ears. They may seem to lack confidence in what they are saying, they appear reluctant to answer, speech errors may occur, they may have a higher pitched voice at times, and just general indicators of stress may be observed. An individual may appear tensed-up, nervous, and may be
RECOGNIZING DECEPTION VERBAL AND NON …show more content…
The interviewer will look to see if the individual exhibits certain behaviors, for instance, exhaling harshly by puffing out the cheeks, moving around and shifting in their seat, adjusting themselves or their clothing, extremely drawn-out exhale or several deep breaths, or some type of self-touching to sooth themselves in some way. The interviewer will look for the individual to be almost relieved that the question is over. All of these behaviors, the interviewer will take into account as to whether there is ultimately deception.
All of these behaviors and cues, whether physiological, verbal or non-verbal, in and of themselves, may not necessarily be indicators of deception and lying, but when many of these behaviors are seen within one interview, there is a much higher probability of deception.
Beyond just the opportunities one may have in determining deception, there are many things to look for just generally when wanting to decipher when one is telling a truth or a non-truth. A deceptive person is usually anxious and fears being caught, so they tend to show signs of stress. They tend to have awkward pauses when speaking and their sentence structure may seem off or irregular. They may cover their mouth when speaking, rub or itch their nose or eyes, pull at their ears, or collars. Eye contact can also be a significant way to determine deception. Any
RECOGNIZING DECEPTION VERBAL AND NON