Getting to the truth

We are now at a tipping point in the field of lie and truth detection. Peer-reviewed research and high-stake applications are showing that we need two main skillsets to perform better than the average human and the polygraph: 1) recognizing deceptive behavior via multi-channel analysis and 2) using unexpected prompts in interviews to elicit truth.

In this column, I’ll steer you away from the myths and toward the science and hard evidence in recognizing truth, reading emotions and detecting deception during interviews. I’ll avoid snake-oil claims and approaches that only use one or two elements to detect deception, such as “cognitive load,” facial expressions, body language, verbal content, voice and reliance on biometrics, such as polygraphs.

Investigators who depend on just a few of these approaches might yield risky and unreliable results (Porter and ten Brinke, 2010: 69). I encourage you to employ a multi-channel, corroborative approach to help you make reliable decisions (Pearse and Lansley, 2010).