Body Language, Expressions, and Other Signs of Lying
Can you tell when someone is lying to you?
They help us maintain harmony and foster more positive interpersonal relationships.
Other lies can be much more destructive and take a serious toll on mental health and well-being.
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How Often Do People Lie?
Research suggests that about half of all lies were told by just 5% of all the subjects.
The study suggests that, although prevalence rates vary, a small group ofprolific liarslikely exists.
Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin
The reality is that most people probably lie from time to time.
In reality, everyone lies from time to time.
How Can You Tell When Someone Is Lying?
Vocal Cues
Uncertain speech can indicate discomfort and a guilty conscience.
If the person seems unsure or insecure, they are likelier to be perceived as lying.
Some research suggests that verbal cues are a promising way to distinguish between truth and lies.
Language Cues
Look for someone who is telling a lie to leave out important details.
Researchers have come up with a strategy to ferret out lies using the concept of cognitive load.
Lying is more mentally taxing than telling the truth.
If you add even more cognitive complexity, behavioral cues may become more apparent.
Lying is, frankly, mentally exhausting.
Adding to the mental load makes lying much more difficult and cognitively taxing.
Some experts suggest that relying too heavily on certain signals may impair the ability to detect lies.
Instinctual Cues
Above all, listen to your gut reactions.
Researchers had 72 participants watch videos of interviews with mock crime suspects.
Some had stolen a $100 bill off a bookshelf; others had not.
All suspects were told to say they had not taken the money.
The results suggest that people may have anunconscious, intuitive idea about whether someone is lying.
Why Lying Is Hard to Detect
Conscious responses might interfere with our automatic associations.
However, an overemphasis on such unreliable indicators makes distinguishing between truth and lies difficult.
People Are Not Good at Spotting Lies
People are surprisingly bad at detecting lies.
One study found that training people to detect lies increased performance to approximately 70%.
Other researchers criticized these findings based on methodological problems.
Subsequent analysis suggests that training yields a much less significant advantage.
The reality is that there is no universal, surefire sign that someone is lying.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, trust your instincts.
You might have a great intuitive sense of honesty versus dishonesty.
Learn to heed those gut feelings.
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