To Catch a Liar

Sept. 12, 2014
Deception is defined as an act or statement intended to make a person(s) believe something that is not true. Deception can be achieved one of two ways. An individual can directly tell an untruth, or do so indirectly by leaving out information (who...

We all lie, we are all lied too; and much more often than you may think.  According to a University of Massachusetts study, 60% of adults can’t have a ten minute conversation without lying at least once. Researchers have determined that in a given day we may be lied to anywhere from 10-200 times.

Most of these lies are benign and harmless.  “White lies” are considered trivial, diplomatic, harmless or well-intentioned untruths. There is no victim. They are used when the truth could lead to unnecessary hurt feelings or arguments.  For example:

  • Telling your children about Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy.
  • Telling your boyfriend you don’t mind if he watches football – when you do
  • Telling your wife you like her new haircut - when it's too short.

However, as a society we are currently experiencing an epidemic of deception; especially when it comes to perpetrating crime, violating the rights of others, and spreading political agenda. 

The Six Major Types of Lies

Deception is defined as an act or statement intended to make a person(s) believe something that is not true.  Deception can be achieved one of two ways. An individual can directly tell an untruth, or do so indirectly by leaving out information (who, why, where, when, and how). Telling indirect lies tend to make people feel both less guilty and less accountable. The following distinct types of lies have been identified:

  1. Protective lies are told to guard the liar from any perceived danger.
  2. Heroic lies are told to protect others from danger.
  3. Playful lies are lies used to enhance a story.
  4. Ego lies are told to help the liar prevent embarrassment.
  5. Gainful lies are told to benefit the liar.
  6. Malicious lies are used to hurt others.

What distinguishes the more extreme forms of lying is the degree of harm they cause and the extent to which the behavior becomes habitual or uncontrollable. There is no specific psychiatric diagnosis in the DSM-V for lying. However, lying is associated with several mental illness diagnoses: childhood psychiatric disorder, conduct disorder, and several personality disorders; antisocial, borderline and narcissistic.

The Many Faces of Liars

Self-Serving Liars

Self-serving liars are the most common type of deceivers.  Basic selfish lying is done by just about everybody and is usually motivated by a desire to get something you want or to get out of something you don't want. Children learn this behavior usually around the age of 4:

“Did you eat that cookie?”

“No Daddy” (with the chocolate smear still on the face)

These liars can vary from the occasional liar to the frequent liar and the smooth liar.  Unfortunately, self-serving liars can escalate their behavior to the point that they appear to lose their sense of humanity, compassion, and morality. They manipulate others by: hiding information, distorting, and exaggerating in order to control another person’s choices and decisions. You don’t have to look far to find a self-serving liar; they are the criminals, con-artists, politicians, unscrupulous marketers…and everyone else who tries to take advantage of you.

Pathological Liars

Pathological lying is similar to selfish lying, while being more pervasive. A pathological liar is usually defined as someone who lies incessantly to get their way and does so with little concern for others. He/she lies when there may be no external motivation to tell a lie and when telling the truth might have actually been a better option. Pathologic lying is noted for the chronicity and frequency of the lies, as well as the apparent lack of benefit derived from them. The lies are often comprehensive, complicated, and ostentatious. Pathological liars have little, if any, regard or respect for the rights and feelings of others. The magnitude, callousness, or consequences of the lying behavior are quite simply irrelevant to them. A pathological liar frequently comes across as being manipulative, charming, cunning, and self-centered. They themselves may not be able to tell the truth from a lie. This causes them to contradict themselves. While most people lie for an external reward, the pathological liar's lies appear to be satisfying a more internal gratification. Most pathological liars will admit that they, in essence, prey on people.

Compulsive Liars

A compulsive liar (also referred to as habitual or chronic liar) is defined as someone who lies out of habit; lying simply becomes second nature to them. Lying is their normal and reflexive way of responding to questions. For the most part, compulsive liars are not overly manipulative and/or cunning. A compulsive liar will resort to telling lies, regardless of the situation. Compulsive liars take comfort in bending the truth about everything, large and small. For a compulsive liar, telling the truth feels awkward and uncomfortable, while lying feels safe. This behavior eventually becomes addictive. Compulsive lying can easily ruin any relationship.

Dissociative Liars

Dissociative liars can be thought of as people who also deceive themselves when they tell a lie. Dissociation is a psychological term used to describe a mental departure from reality.  When dissociative liars speak they may be unaware that what they are saying can be shown to contradict objective truths, verifiable facts, or statements they may have made in the past.

Think You Can Spot a Liar?

Think again, most deception is successful; it never gets detected. Yet, a large part of a law enforcement officer's job requires a degree of lie detection; and officers believe they are pretty good at this. However, studies demonstrate that officers are no better than the average college student in their ability to spot a liar. Eight studies have been published related to LE officers' ability to detect lies. The percentages of lie detection in most of these studies ranged from 45-60% (consider that 50% accuracy would be expected by chance alone). An officer's confidence is frequently based on false perceptions on deceptive behavior; and this confidence may actually impede his/her investigation.

Professor Aldert Vrij of the University of Portsmouth believes that the key to improving lie detection may be in the way that interviewers or observers respond to subjects' behavior. He has found that many of the widespread beliefs among police officers about deceptive behavior are in fact incorrect. Despite popular belief, there are no reliable nonverbal cues of deception. Behaviors such as gaze aversion, touching the body/face, or covering the eyes or mouth while speaking have not been found to be reliable indicators for deception. This is because people do not consistently give off the same nonverbal cues when they lie. Liars are concerned about not being believed, they often come across as helpful and truthful in an interview, and put more effort into impressing their interviewer. Another misconception is the belief that only guilty people appear nervous. Let’s face it, being questioned by law enforcement can be stressful for anyone. That anxiety can be easily heightened by accusatory questions and/or an aggressive interviewing style. Not surprisingly, innocent individuals often demonstrate many of the stereotypical behaviors associated with deception:  speech errors, fidgeting, and gaze aversion.

Detectives need to concentrate on the interview itself; they have to decide what to ask and how to specifically phrase their questions. They also have to listen to the suspect and reply appropriately. Vrij suggests using an indirect questioning method in lieu of the more usual direct line of inquiry to help identify lies. Ask yourself, "Is the suspect having to think hard about this answer?" Vrij also recommends that you ask the suspect to tell their alibis from back to front. Liars tend to tell their stories in a strict chronological time order and diverting from this order may well be too difficult for him to do. In most interviews, lying is cognitively demanding. More nonverbal and verbal cues to deception occur when suspects are told to tell their stories in a reverse order.

Forensic Lie Detection

For decades lie detection has been a challenge for forensic science. While there are many different techniques available, discerning which ones are accurate and reliable has been proven to be difficult. Given the use of these tests in the criminal justice system and their ability to change lives when they are used as evidence, extreme caution is needed while evaluating any new technique for lie detection.

In the past several years several new techniques have been developed which may be more accurate in determining if a person is honest or telling a lie than previous methods.  One technique monitors the brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).  This is purported to be more accurate as it measures changes in the brain as opposed to the usual stress responses observed in polygraphs and Computer Voice Stress Analyzers (CVSA).  There is still a considerable amount of controversy about whether or not the use of the fMRI is ethical due to the invasiveness aspects.  Still, a recent test claim is 97% accurate in finding out if someone is telling lies.

The second promising lie detector development is called the “Concealed Information Test”.  This test investigates whether the suspect recognizes undisclosed information about a crime (specific critical crime details that only the culprit could know). The Concealed Information Test has been supported by decades of research, and is used widely in Japan.

Conclusion

Lying is common, and for the most part people are good at it. The odds of getting caught in a lie are really quite low, it is estimated that people get away with over 95% of the lies they tell. Most of these lies are minor evasions of the truth without the intent to hurt another person. In fact, behavioral experts agree that little white lies are acceptable (in moderation) to preserve social harmony. However, problems arise when an individual rationalizes that self-serving and worse lies are acceptable and necessary. This type of lying is not benign, it is not acceptable, and there are (sometimes hefty) consequences. 

In the future, ask yourself these five questions:

  1. Would anyone be harmed if I was not completely truthful?
  2. Can someone change or grow from my honest feedback, or would it be hurtful?
  3. Is this the best way to avoid unnecessary conflict?
  4. How would I feel if someone withheld the truth from me under the same circumstances?
  5. Is avoiding the truth in this situation an act of cowardice or of compassion?

People tend to save their biggest and most serious lies for those they love. Deception often destroys relationships. If your deception is exposed, it will affect how a person interacts with you forever. Even true remorse may not be enough to save someone, especially if the person is repeat lie offender. 

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