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The American deception epidemic: why public relations practitioners should take notice
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Content
THE AMERICAN DECEPTION EPIDEMIC:
WHY PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTITIONERS SHOULD TAKE NOTICE
by
Lauren Alboini
________________________________________________________________________
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS)
August 2014
Copyright 2014 Lauren Alboini
i
Dedication
This thesis would not have been possible without the unwavering support from my
parents and close friends. Thank you for all your love, patience and words of
encouragement throughout this journey.
ii
Acknowledgements
The process to writing this thesis was long, stressful and overwhelming, yet none of
those come close to matching how incredibly rewarding it was. Getting to this final
product was a feat I never imagined myself being cut out for, but I learned very quickly
that the journey was much less daunting with a network of advocates rooting for my
success.
Firstly, I would like to thank my thesis committee chair and mentor, Jennifer Floto.
Her positive words of encouragement, vision for my work and confidence in my abilities
were a driving force behind the completion of this thesis. I am so appreciative of her
guidance and support not only during this process, but also throughout my graduate
career at USC. She was always someone I could turn to and was always there -- for that I
will always be grateful. I would also like to thank my committee members Brenda Lynch
and Jonathan Kotler for their much appreciated feedback and direction. Their insights
significantly strengthened this thesis and it wouldn’t have been what it is without them.
iii
Table of Contents
Dedication i
Acknowledgements ii
List of Figures v
Abstract vi
Preface vii
Research Methodology vii
Special Considerations vii
Introduction 1
Chapter One: Why Deception Is Here & Not Going Away 3
Widespread and Expensive 3
An Everyday Act 4
Historical Footprint 6
Early Beginnings 8
Individual Differences 9
Where Deception Happens 11
Why Deception Happens 12
The Impact of Technology 16
The Truth Bias 16
People Have It Wrong 17
Tools Have It Wrong 20
Something Can Be Done 20
Chapter Two: The Importance & Growth of Visual Literacy 22
Chapter Three: Non-Verbal Behavior & Its Role in Deception Detection 26
Chapter Four: Deception Detection Research Then & Now 28
Chapter Five: Facial Expressions 34
Surprise 34
Fear 35
Disgust 36
Anger 36
Happiness 37
Sadness 37
Contempt 37
Chapter Six: Body Language 42
iv
Chapter Seven: Statement Analysis 46
Statement Structure 46
Verbal Leaks 49
Story Analysis 49
Chapter Eight: Baseline Behavior 51
Chapter Nine: Contemporary Cases of Deception 55
Lance Armstrong 55
John Edwards 58
Anthony Weiner 60
Herman Cain 63
Ryan Braun 67
Chris Christie 69
Chapter Ten: Global Applicability 74
Domestic Law 74
National Security 76
International Relations 77
Facial Action Coding System 77
Proven Detection In Real Time 78
Chapter Eleven: There’s An App For That 80
Chapter Twelve: Deception Detection for PR 83
An Opportunity For Success 83
Better Communication, Better Reputation and More Trust 84
Deception Audit 85
Concluding Thoughts 86
Bibliography 88
v
List of Figures
Figure 1: Unethical conduct by organizations 3
Figure 2: Microexpression Identification Key 38
Figure 3: “VW Wings” Commercial Response 81
Figure 4: Dannon Oikos Commercial Response 81
vi
Abstract
Deception is a parasite that is permeating through American society. Consciously or
not, and at some point or another, everybody has been a victim or perpetrator of
deception. From exaggerating on a resume in the hopes of getting a job offer, to taking
credit for work performed by a coworker, making a promise to someone with the
intention of breaking it, and misrepresenting a client to achieve a deliverable, today’s
cultural environment is a breeding ground of deception. This paper, therefore, examines
this deception epidemic that is plaguing the United States. It chronicles its severely
widespread nature in daily life, demonstrates how it has seeded itself in history and
explains its ongoing propensity through an extensive examination into human behavior.
A sophisticated body of research that has come about over the years offers evidence that
an increased perception and heightened awareness of others’ behaviors, like facial
expressions, body language and statement analysis can be a window into their true
emotions. The relatively recent cultural shift towards a more visual world as attributed to
the influx of images, photographs and videos suggests that people have an increased
visual acuity that can be channeled into helping them be more cognizant of others. Six
mini-cases featuring the public deception of two professional athletes and four politicians
in televised interviews and press conferences are analyzed. The principal conclusion is
that public relations (PR) practitioners will be better communicators, build more trust
with their stakeholders and build better reputations for themselves with an increased
cognizance and use of deception detection techniques.
vii
Preface
Research Methodology
In preparation for this thesis, the researcher conducted both primary and secondary
research. Before conducting primary research, the researcher read an extensive amount of
academic journal articles, research studies, books, expert deception detection blogs,
magazine features and industry publications. Content analysis was performed on a
number of televised interviews and press conferences that the researcher watched,
transcribed and analyzed for visual and auditory cues to deception.
Special Considerations
As the researcher is not a trained expert in deception detection, she was limited in
the extent to which she could perform much of her own deception detection analysis.
Therefore, any content analysis performed was supplemented with and supported by
expert analysis.
1
Introduction
When the idea of deception comes to mind, and all the infamous men and women
who have conned, clawed, stolen, manipulated and cheated their way through life, Henry
Oberlander is not typically one of them, but he ought to be. He was a con man in the
1930s who tried to defraud banks with forged drafts
1
, and was apparently so skilled that
British authorities claimed he had the power and the means to bring down the entire
banking system of the Western World
2
. Type his name into a search engine, however,
and all that can be found on him beyond this information is one photograph and the text
from one recorded interview. He could have been the most deceptive and damage-
inflicting man of his time, or even in the 21
st
century, and nobody knows who he is.
Deception is a very real, common and ongoing problem that is more pervasive than
most people want to believe. Like Oberlander, it can fly under the radar unbeknownst to
anyone in its way and have detrimental impact. Deception puts people and organizations
at tremendous risk because it’s woven into the fabric of daily life. The culture of
deception is a vicious cycle: despite the fact that people know it is prevalent, they are
relying on the wrong assessments to detect it, have a propensity to be more trusting than
cautious and, more often than not, choose not to report it if detected. However, given the
cultural shift towards a more visual world, coupled with the diminishment of face-to-face
interaction in the workplace, the PR industry stands to benefit from deception detection.
The following thesis will explore the severity of deception in American society,
1
Hungarian Circle trial. (1978, May 30). British Universities Film & Video Council. Retrieved from
2
[TEDGlobal 2011]. (2011, October). Pamela Meyer: How to spot a liar [Video podcast]. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/pamela_meyer_how_to_spot_a_liar.html
2
offer research-based techniques to identify deception and propose reasons as to how the
PR world can not only combat its growing and threatening force in the workplace, but use
it as an opportunity to enhance communications with stakeholders, build trust and
generate more successful business.
3
Chapter One: Why Deception Is Here & Not Going Away
“Everyone is willing to give something for whatever it is they desire the most” – Henry Oberlander
Widespread and Expensive
To say that deception is a serious problem that is costing the American economy
significantly would be an understatement. In 2002, Ernst & Young, with the help of
research firm Ipsos Reid, retrieved staggering findings when it measured attitudes of 617
American workers about fraud in the workplace. Among the findings: employers lose 20
cents of every dollar earned to some type of workplace fraud; one in ten felt that
workplace fraud was increasing in their own places of employment; 44 percent felt that
their employer could do more to reduce workplace fraud; and, even though 80 percent
claimed they were willing to report a case of fraud, only 43 percent had actually followed
through
3
.
Figure 1: Unethical conduct by organizations
3
Smith, S. (2002, August 6). Study: Employers Lose 20 cents of Every Dollar to Workplace Fraud. EHS Today.
Retrieved from http://ehstoday.com/news/ehs_imp_35720
4
Ernst & Young also conducted an international fraud survey of over 3,000 board
members, executives, managers and their teams across 36 countries and found that one in
five respondents had seen financial manipulation of some kind occurring in their own
companies, 42 percent of directors and senior management were aware of some type of
irregular financial reporting in their company, and 57 percent of respondents felt that
corrupt practices were widespread
4
.
The 2012 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse noted that
because fraud inherently involves concealment, many cases go undetected, and of those
that do, the full amount of losses might never be determined or reported
5
. However,
survey participants estimated that the typical organization loses five percent of its
revenue to fraud annually, which, if applied to the 2011 Gross World Product, equates to
a potential projected annual loss of more than $3.5 trillion
6
. Of that, $994 billion was lost
due to corporate fraud in the United States
7
.
An Everyday Act
Humans lie to one another everyday and almost chronically. On average, college
students lie twice a day -- a finding discovered in a study that analyzed 77 diaries written
4
Ernst & Young. Navigating today’s complex business risks: Europe, Middle East, India and Africa Fraud Survey
2013. Retrieved from
http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/Navigating_todays_complex_business_risks/$FILE/Navigating_todays_c
omplex_business_risks.pdf
5
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Report to the nations on occupational fraud and abuse: 2012 global fraud
survey. Retrieved from http://www.acfe.com/uploadedFiles/ACFE_Website/Content/rttn/2012-report-to-nations.pdf
6
Report to the national on occupational fraud and abuse, 2012
7
Meyer, P. (2010, August 6). Interview by J. Hubbard. The conversation: How to spot a lie. ABC News. Retrieved from
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/conversation-spot-lie-11342270
5
by participants who were instructed to detail all the lies they told in one week
8
. Some
studies go so far as to estimate that the average person is lied to anywhere from ten to 200
times a day
9
. Adultery, the defrauding of an employer and perjury are among the worst
lies that people tell
10
. In a follow-up study when participants were asked how they felt
about the lies they told, they expressed guilt yet felt an inclination to commit the same act
again due to the fact they had gotten away with their previous ones
11
. Even more
disturbing is the fact that people tend to feel positive after committing a moral
transgression
12
.
A cultural shift has already begun: people are lying more because it’s easier to and,
in some ways, it’s more acceptable
13
. Deceit has been so deeply engrained into the human
psyche that people hardly even notice they are engaging in it to the point that it has
become a reflexive act. The findings that stem from a study conducted by Robert
Feldman at the University of Massachusetts confirm its severity. Feldman and his team of
researchers asked groups of strangers to converse with one another for ten minutes. The
conversations were recorded and afterward each subject was asked to review the tape and
report back how many times he/she had lied. They assured the researchers that they had
8
Angier, N. (2008, December 23). A highly evolved propensity for deceit. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/23/science/23angi.html
9
Meyer, P. (2010a, August 26). Leaping to conclusions is for louts. Huffington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pamela-meyer/leaping-to-conclusions-is_b_679127.html; Meyer, P. (2010b, August).
Pamela Meyer on the Huffington Post – leaping to conclusions is for louts. Retrieved from
http://liespotting.com/2010/08/pamela-meyer-on-the-huffington-post-%E2%80%93-leaping-to-conclusions-is-for-
louts/; Meyer, 2010; Brownstein, H. B. (2011). "But he had an honest face": An interview with Pamela Meyer, author
of Liespotting. The Secured Lender, 67(7), 49-50, 52.
10
Angier, 2008
11
Angier, 2008
12
Ruedy, N.E., Moore, C., Francesca, G. & Schweitzer, M.E. (2013). The cheater’s high: The unexpected affective
benefits of unethical behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105(4), 531-548.
http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/psp-a0034231.pdf
13
Bennett, J. (2009, August 25). The truth is, we're all raging liars. Newsweek. Retrieved from
http://www.newsweek.com/truth-were-all-raging-liars-78965
6
been honest and accurate in their statements. However, when asked to re-watch the tapes
and identify any lies, the final count told a very different story. Within those ten minutes,
the participants had told an average of three lies about themselves, perhaps in an effort to
make themselves look better in front of their counterpart
14
. They had been under the
impression that they had been honest. They hadn’t even realized they were lying.
Pamela Meyer is a certified deception detection expert whose work has helped
bring the severity of deception in American society into the mainstream. At
TEDGlobal2011, she shared a hallmark observation: the power of a lie comes to life
when someone agrees to believe it
15
. A lie has no power by its mere utterance; people are
lied to because they have agreed to be lied to
16
, making us unknowingly willing
participants in our own deception.
Historical Footprint
Deception has been a staple to human condition for thousands of years, and a
number of notorious acts exemplify how expensive, damaging and fatal it can be. The
Greeks built the Trojan Horse to conquer Troy and end the Trojan War. Han van
Meegeren forged the work of some of the most famous artists in the world. Franziska
Schanzkowska fooled the world into thinking she was Anastasia Romanov, the youngest
daughter of the last Tsar of Russia who was rumored to have escaped during the Russian
Revolution when the rest of her family was murdered. Charles Ponzi ran a highly
14
How often does the average person tell a lie? (n.d.) Curiosity. Retrieved from
http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/average-person-tell-lie
15
Meyer, P. (2010c). Liespotting: Proven techniques to detect deception. (1st ed.). New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.
16
"Pamela Meyer: How to spot a liar," 2011
7
profitable and expansive investment scheme by paying out investor returns with the
money from other investors
17
, the act of which is now infamously named after him. Adolf
Hitler launched a massive campaign of anti-Semitism propaganda to convince Germans
that Jews were the enemy. Richard Nixon denied allegations of his involvement in the
Watergate scandal, which ultimately led to his resignation of President of the United
States. Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives after he committed
perjury about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Bernard Madoff
conned $50 billion
18
from trusting investors for more than a decade. Jérôme Kerviel’s
fraudulent trades cost his company – Société Générale – more than $7 billion
19
. Twenty-
two Chinese dairy producers knowingly distributed milk that had been adulterated with
melamine, a toxic chemical used to boost protein levels, which resulted in the death of six
babies and hundreds of thousands of illnesses in Asian and European countries
20
. And the
list goes on.
Often, these deceivers publicly recover, benefit and improve their lives -- creating a
false sense of hope for others and a pool of temptation to follow in their footsteps
21
. After
the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Bill Clinton stayed married to Hillary and went on to
receive honorary degrees from various colleges and universities
22
, to have statues
23
and
17
Charles Ponzi Biography. (n.d.). Bio.com. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/charles-ponzi-
20650909#awesm=~oHjbXiSV4psbtY
18
Lenzner, R. (2008, December 12). Bernie Madoff's $50 Billion Ponzi Scheme. Forbes. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/12/madoff-ponzi-hedge-pf-ii-in_rl_1212croesus_inl.html
19
Meyer, 2010c
20
Paul Custance, Keith Walley, Dongni Jiang, (2012) "Crisis brand management in emerging markets: Insight from the
Chinese infant milk powder scandal", Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 30(1), 18 – 32.
21
Bennett, 2009
22
Honorary Degrees. (n.d.). UNC Office of Faculty Governance. Retrieved from
http://faccoun.unc.edu/awards/honorary-degrees/; Bill Clinton To Speak At NYU Commencement. (2011, March 9).
CBS New York. Retrieved from http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/03/09/bill-clinton-to-speak-at-nyu-commencement/;
Bill Clinton awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Mediterranean University. (n.d.). Atlas Foundation. Retrieved
from http://www.atlasfoundation.me/novost/9556/bill-clinton-awarded-an-honorary-doctorate-from-the-mediterranean-
8
centers
24
built in his honor, to be named one of the most widely admired people of the
twentieth century
25
and to receive countless awards -- among them a Grammy Award for
Best Spoken Word Album
26
, a J. William Fulbright Prize for International
Understanding
27
, a TED Prize for his work in Rwanda
28
and the Presidential Medal of
Freedom
29
.
Early Beginnings
Deception begins before children can even walk. Infants as young as six months
learn that fake crying will get the attention of others
30
, one-year-olds learn concealment,
two-year-olds bluff
31
, four-year-olds lie at least once every two hours, six-year-olds lie
every 90 minutes
32
, nine-year-olds know how to cover something up
33
, and cheating
among youth is rampant. The Josephson Institute surveyed 23,000 students for their 2012
Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth and found that 52 percent reported
cheating on a test in school and 74 percent reported copying another’s homework within
university; Honorary degree for Bill Clinton. (2013, June 27). The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved from
http://www.ed.ac.uk/about/edinburgh-global/news-events/news/clinton-210613
23
Bill Clinton unveils statue of himself in Kosovo. (2009, November 1). The Telegraph. Retrieved from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/kosovo/6481057/Bill-Clinton-unveils-statue-of-himself-in-
Kosovo.html
24
President Clinton. (n.d.). Clinton Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.clintonfoundation.org/about/biography
25
Newport, F. (1999, December 31). Mother Teresa Voted by American People as Most Admired Person of the
Century. Gallup. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/3367/mother-teresa-voted-american-people-most-
admired-person-century.aspx
26
Past Winners Search. (n.d.). Grammy.com. Retrieved from
http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=&field_nominee_work_value=&year=All&genre=32
27
Former President Bill Clinton to Receive J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding. (n.d.).
PRNewswire. Retrieved from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/former-president-bill-clinton-to-receive-j-
william-fulbright-prize-for-international-understanding-56382667.html
28
Clinton Health Access Initiative: Rwanda - Bill Clinton. (n.d.). TED. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/participate/ted-prize/prize-winning-wishes/chai-rwanda-bill-clinton
29
Epstein, J. President Obama awards Medals of Freedom to Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey. (2013, November
20). POLITICO. Retrieved from http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/barack-obama-bill-clinton-oprah-medal-of-
freedom-100135.html
30
Meyer, 2010; Meyer, P. (2010, June). 10 research findings about deception that will blow your mind. Retrieved from
http://liespotting.com/2010/06/10-research-findings-about-deception-that-will-blow-your-mind/
31
"Pamela Meyer: How to spot a liar," 2011
32
How often does the average person tell a lie, n.d.
33
"Pamela Meyer: How to spot a liar," 2011
9
the last year
34
. They also pick up on adult deception at a young age. In the same report 57
perfect of students agreed that successful people in the real world do what they have to do
to win, even if it involves cheating
35
.
Individual Differences
Studies have consistently shown that men and women do not differ in their abilities
to distinguish truths from lies
36
. They also lie in equal amounts, however the types of lies
they are more prone to tell differ
37
. In general, men are less trusting
38
and lie significantly
more about themselves than they do about others -- specifically to feel more powerful,
interesting and successful
39
. They are also prone to embellishing their salaries and
making their jobs seem more important
40
.
The Washington Post published a profile on prominent CEOs and leaders who were
caught with falsified résumés. Every single case resulted in resignations with the
exception of one retirement. Former Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson listed a computer
science degree that he never earned and resigned ten days after the fabrication was
confirmed; former MGM Mirage chairman and CEO Terry Lanni claimed he earned an
MBA from the University of Southern California; George O’Leary resigned five days
34
Josephson Institute (2012). 2012 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth. Retrieved from
http://charactercounts.org/pdf/reportcard/2012/ReportCard-2012-DataTables-HonestyIntegrityCheating.pdf
35
Josephson Institute, 2012
36
DePaulo, B. M. (1994). Spotting lies: can humans learn to do better? Current Directions in Psychological Science,
3(3), 83-86.
37
Meyer, 2010c
38
DePaulo, 1994
39
Original research conducted by Bella DePaulo, Deborah Kashy, Susan Kirkendol, and Melissa Wyer, “Lying in
Everyday Life,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 70, no.5 (1996): 979-995 as reported in Mirko Bagaric,
“Is the Glass Ceiling Worth Breaking?,” The Age (Australia), February 8, 2007,
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/is-glass-ceiling-work-breaking/2007/02/07/1170524164582.html, as cited in
Meyer, 2010c
40
Meyer, 2010
10
after being hired as the University of Notre Dame’s football coach after it was discovered
he falsely claimed to have earned a master’s degree in education and to have played
college football; former RadioShack CEO David Edmondson resigned after it was
confirmed he had not received theology and psychology degrees from Pacific Coast
Baptist College in California; and, former dean of admissions at MIT Marilee Jones never
earned an undergraduate degree that she claimed to have back in the 1970s when she was
first hired
41
.
Women, on the other hand, have more of a tendency to lie for the sake of others --
to protect their feelings or to make them feel better about themselves
42
but they typically
feel more uncomfortable
43
, guilty, anxious and fearful
44
about being deceptive. There is
also evidence that as women develop deeper friendships and relationships with other
women, they become more attune to both their normal and deceptive behaviors than do
men with their male counterparts
45
.
Physical attractiveness has also been tested as a variable in detecting deception. A
study by Bella DePaulo and colleagues found that physically attractive people are not
more skilled than unattractive people at discriminating truth from lies
46
. However, there
is an interesting insight regarding how well people of a certain level of attractiveness
41
Yahoo CEO isn’t the only leader who has fudged résumé. Washington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/yahoo-ceo-isnt-the-only-leader-who-has-fudged-
resume/2012/05/10/gIQARucmFU_gallery.html#item1
42
Meyer, 2010c; Ekman, P., O'Sullivan, M., & Frank, M. G. (1999). A few can catch a liar. Psychological Science,
10(3), 263-266.
43
Meyer, 2010c
44
Meyer, 2010c
45
Meyer, 2010c
46
DePaulo, B. M., Tang, J., & Stone, J. I. (1987). Physical attractiveness and skill at detecting deception. Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin, 13, 177-187.
11
detect deception in someone at or near their same level of attractiveness: attractive people
and people of average attractiveness are more skilled at detecting deception in other
attractive people, and both relative- to moderately-attractive and very unattractive people
are more successful at detecting deception in other unattractive people
47
.
Research also contends that extroverts lie more often than introverts
48
, and there is
no correlation between accuracy and age
49
, education, confidence or personality traits
with a propensity to deceive
50
.
Where Deception Happens
Deception is significantly more prevalent in professional settings than in public
ones. People tend to lie far more to coworkers than to strangers
51
, which could
unfortunately explain the high levels of workplace fraud reported in the aforementioned
Ernst & Young 2013 international fraud survey and the 2012 Report to the Nations on
Occupational Fraud and Abuse. It has been suggested that the prevalence of lying in the
workplace is higher than anywhere else because people are most protective of their public
persona in a professional setting
52
. Moreover, when the stakes are higher, people are
more willing to be deceptive if the opportunity presents itself. Maurice Schweitzer of the
47
DePaulo, Tang & Stone, 1987
48
Vrij, Detection Lies and Deceit, 14-17. Research cited includes Kashy D. & DePaulo, B.M. (1999) “Who Lies?,”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 70, 1037-1051; Vrij, A. & Holland, M. (1999) “Individual Differences in
Persistence in Lying and Experiences while Deceiving,” Communication Research Reports 3, 299-308; Vrij, A. &
Winkel, W. (1992) “Social Skills, Distorted Perception and Being Suspect: Studies in Impression Formation and the
Ability to Deceive,” Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology 8, 2-6 as cited in Meyer, 2010c
49
Ekman, P., & O'Sullivan, M. (1991). Who can catch a liar? American Psychologist, 46(9), 913-920.
50
Aamodt, M.G. & Custer, H. (2006) Who can best catch a liar? A meta-analysis of individual differences in detecting
deception. Forensic Examiner 15, 6–11 as cited in Reinhard, M. (2010). Need for cognition and the process of lie
detection. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 46, 961-971.
51
Argo, J.J., White, K. & Dahl, D.W. (2006). “Social Comparison Theory and Deception in the Interpersonal Exchange
of Consumption Information,” Journal of Consumer Research 22, 99-108, as reported by Lloyd, R. (2006) “Why We
Lie,” LiveScience, http://www.livescience.com/health/060515_why_lie.html, as cited in Meyer, 2010c
52
Meyer, 2010c
12
University of Pennsylvania found through a controlled study that 100 percent of
participants lied about a problem to close a deal
53
-- a troubling statistic given the vast
array of negotiations that happen in all areas of daily personal, social and professional
arenas.
Why Deception Happens
There is a wide range of reasons why people are deceptive but Meyer succinctly
summarized them into nine offensive and defensive motives in her book Liespotting:
Proven Techniques to Detect Deception.
People deceive to gain advantage over a situation or another person
54
. Insider
training is a classic example. On December 27, 2001 while on a flight to Mexico, Martha
Stewart sold all her 3,928 shares in biotech company ImClone Systems based on a
recommendation provided by her Merrill Lynch broker Peter Bacanovic
55
. The next day,
the stock dropped after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its refusal to
review the company’s cancer drug Erbitux
56
. Stewart sold her shares in time and although
she avoided a loss of $45,673, she lied to investigators from the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) regarding the reasons she made the trade
57
. She served five months in
prison and suffered the loss of millions of dollars on paper when the market value of
53
Meyer, P. (2010, June). 5 surprising truths about workplace deception. Retrieved from
http://liespotting.com/2010/06/5-surprising-truths-about-workplace-deception/
54
Meyer, 2010c
55
Grigoriadis, V. (2012, April 1). I Just Want to Focus on My Salad. NYMag.com. Retrieved from
http://nymag.com/news/features/scandals/martha-stewart-2012-4/
56
Baykal, L., McAlister, D. T., & Sawayda, J. (2011). Martha Stewart's Insider Trading Scandal. Retrieved from
http://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu/pdf/Martha%20Stewart%20Case.pdf
57
Henning, P. J. (2012, April 4). Insider Trading Riddle: Why Do the Rich Risk It?. The New York Times. Retrieved
from http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/insider-trading-riddle-why-do-the-rich-risk-
it/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1
13
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia plunged after the charges were filed
58
.
People also deceive to create a positive impression and win the admiration of
others
59
. In 2010, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a Democrat who
at the time was running for the United States Senate, was caught lying about his military
service in Vietnam by The New York Times when a published piece revealed a quote from
a speech that he gave while at a veteran-honoring ceremony in March 2008
60
. He had
said:
“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam, and
[veterans] exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it --
Afghanistan or Iraq -- we owe our military men and women unconditional
support.”
61
He had, instead, received five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 that helped him
avoid going to war
62
. Henry Mark Holzer, co-author of “Fake Warriors: Identifying,
Exposing and Punishing Those Who Falsify Their Military Service” claimed that this is
common practice among those who seek to embellish their records to be seen as tough,
disciplined and patriotic
63
. Blumenthal later professed to the “few misplaced words” he
had uttered
64
.
58
Henning, 2012
59
Meyer, 2010c
60
Hernandez, R. (2010, May 17). Candidate's Words Differ From His History. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/nyregion/18blumenthal.html?pagewanted=all
61
Politicians and their fake war stories. (2010, May 19). The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/politicians-and-their-fake-war-stories/
62
"Politicians and their fake war stories," 2010
63
"Politicians and their fake war stories," 2010
64
Dowd, M. (2010, May 22). Lies as wishes. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/opinion/23dowd.html?hp=&pagewanted=print
14
People also deceive to protect others
65
. In January 2011, Steve Jobs announced that
he was taking a medical leave from Apple. The announcement contained details that
during this time he would not be stepping down as the company’s CEO and would still be
involved in its major strategic decisions
66
. However, information about the reason behind
his departure, when he would return and who would be named the interim CEO in his
absence was left out
67
. Although Apple wasn’t intentionally acting deceptively because
the company legally didn’t have to disclose those details, the public perceived the
company as being deceptive. The media placed Apple and Jobs in the spotlight and
started calling for the SEC to mandate the release of more details on the basis that they
were material
68
. This goes hand-in-hand with the idea that when it comes to PR, it’s not
always about what is said, but rather what is heard -- or in this case, not heard.
People also deceive to exercise power over others or obtain a reward
69
. Information
is power and it is often commonplace for people to go to great lengths to protect and
withhold it. An up-and-coming actress, for example, who is seeking professional
representation might not divulge to all the prospective PR firms that are pitching for her
business how many others are being considered for the job.
People also deceive to avoid being punished, to avoid embarrassment, to protect
themselves from harm, to avoid an awkward situation and to maintain privacy.
65
Meyer, 2010c
66
Bosker, B. (2011, January 19). Apple Secretive About Steve Jobs' Health. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/19/steve-jobs-health_n_810797.html
67
Bosker, 2011
68
Heineman Jr., B. W. (2011, January 17). Disclosure About Steve Jobs's Illness: Apple Should Provide It, the SEC
Should Require It. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/01/disclosure-about-
steve-jobss-illness-apple-should-provide-it-the-sec-should-require-it/69670/
69
Meyer, 2010c
15
Considered one of the best baseball players of all time, Alex Rodriguez was suspended
on August 5, 2013 by Major League Baseball (MLB) through the 2014 season due to his
use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs)
70
. The original 211-game suspension was
dropped to 162 in January 2014
71
. His suspension was estimated to cost him $25 million
of his contract with the New York Yankees
72
. This incident first came to light back in
2007 when retired outfielder and confessed steroid user Jose Canseco announced plans to
publish a book that would cite names of players who use banned substances, among them
Rodriguez
73
. Shortly after news of the book, Katie Couric interviewed Rodriguez about
the use of steroids and PEDs in MLB baseball, during which he denied all allegations yet
simultaneously leaked a number of non-verbal deceptive cues that eluded to deceit
74
.
Eventually, on February 9, 2009, Rodriguez admitted to using PEDs from 2001 to
2003 in an interview with ESPN after Sports Illustrated reported that he was one of 104
players who tested positive in 2003
75
. During this confession he admitted to lying to
Couric during the interview
76
and wrote her an apology
77
. Couric later admitted in an
interview with The Huffington Post that she hadn’t suspected he was lying to her, citing
70
Rodriguez: A Continual Stir. (2014, January 11). Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/sports/baseball/2013alexrodrigueztimeline.html#/#time12_7827
71
Rodriguez: A Continual Stir, 2014
72
Bosch, A. (2014, January 12). The Case of Alex Rodriguez [Interview by Scott Pelley] CBS News. Retrieved from
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-case-of-alex-rodriguez/
73
Rodriguez: A Continual Stir, 2014
74
Meyer, P. (2010f, August 12). Lie detector: Sarah Palin, Bill Clinton, John Edwards 10 'liespotting' tips for taking
back the truth. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pamela-meyer/lie-detector-sarah-
palin_b_679271.html#comments; Meyer, P. (2010g, August 12). [Lie detector: Sarah Palin, Bill Clinton, John Edwards
10 ]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pamela-meyer/lie-detector-sarah-palin_b_679271.html
75
(2009, February 10). A-Rod admits taking PEDs during 3-year period. ESPN.com. Retrieved from
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3894847
76
(2013, November 21). Alex Rodriguez lied to Katie Couric on '60 Minutes' in 2007 but says he’s telling Mike
Francesa the truth. NY Daily News. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/a-rod-ped-
denials-article-1.1524302
77
Couric, K. (2013, June 6). Katie Couric: I Couldn't Tell Alex Rodriguez Was Lying To Me About Steroid Use
(VIDEO). HuffPost Media.
16
that she sees the good in people and wants to believe they tell the truth
78
. This sentiment
is consistent with research findings that people have an innate truth bias.
The Impact of Technology
The prevalence of face-to-face communication and interactions in the last few
decades has been eroded by technology to the point where it is now considered common
practice to conduct business with people whom we have never met or spoken with in
person
79
. This means that more than ever before, people have increasingly fewer
opportunities to spot deception through the available cues in facial expressions and body
language and are instead left with relying on words only -- a component that
encompasses only seven percent of how humans communicate
80
. A study conducted by
Jeffrey Hancock and colleagues at Cornell University to assess the impact of technology
on lying behavior in everyday social interaction found that over a one-week period, lies
were detected in 37 percent of phone calls, 27 percent of face-to-face meetings, 21
percent of instant-message conversations and 14 percent of emails
81
. When considering
the permanency of words, these results seem logical: written words in an email are
recorded and can be traced through a paper trail, which could be a motive for people to be
more truthful in them
82
. On the contrary, words spoken over the phone can be delivered
without the possibility of being contradicted by non-verbal cues
83
.
The Truth Bias
78
Couric, 2013
79
Meyer, 2010c
80
Meyer, 2010c
81
Meyer, 2010c
82
Meyer, 2010e
83
Meyer, 2010e
17
Deception is running rampant and to a large extent people already know this. On a
routine basis, email inboxes are littered with spam, social media accounts with fake
digital friends, neighborhood billboards with exaggerated advertising, and everyday
language with everyday pleasantries like “it’s so nice to meet you,” “I love your outfit,”
and, “let’s definitely catch up soon.” Feldman described this perfectly as “omnipresent
white noise we’ve learned to tune out”
84
. Yet despite this, as a society we are hardwired
to be very trusting. This is not a new concept, but makes for a disturbing paradox. Public
opinion polls consistently show that honesty is among one of the most important
characteristics that people look for in others
85
. In the 2012 Josephson Institute survey, 98
percent of respondents agreed that trust and honesty are essential to personal relationships
and 95 percent agreed that they are essential in business and the workplace
86
.
Humans have a naturally trusting nature
87
with a counterintuitive motivation not to
detect lies
88
, yet it is fueling the deceptive landscape that is unquestionably widespread.
Lies can be kind-hearted, habitual, trivial, altruistic, self-serving, devious or toxic, but
regardless of their well-meaning intention or severity, they collectively pose a danger to
American society because of the standard they create
89
. With every lie told, the more
frequently they are told and the more people they are told to, the more deceptive society
becomes.
People Have It Wrong
84
Bennett, 2009
85
Bennett, 2009
86
Josephson Institute, 2012
87
DePaulo, 1994
88
Angier, 2008
89
Bennett, 2009
18
Even though people admit to being deceitful and being deceived, study after study
demonstrates that the wrong measurements and methods to spot deception are being
relied upon
90
. A comprehensive meta-analyses of more than 200 studies revealed that
without special training, people, on average, have a deception detection accuracy of 54 to
57 percent -- close to the accuracy of guessing heads or tails on a coin flip
91
. Even studies
that have tested the accuracy of professions that largely and routinely rely on lie detection
-- police, customs officers and judges -- show little difference between them and the
general public
92
. Chimpanzees also have virtually the same success rate
93
. Only members
of the United States Secret Service fared consistently better than the average person at
detecting deception
94
. Fewer than five percent of people in the world are estimated to
have an innate ability to detect deception with accuracy
95
.
What is even more daunting is that the 54 to 57 percent statistic only applies to
situations when someone suspects they are being deceived
96
, and between 75 and 82
percent of lies go undetected
97
. Why? Because liars don’t behave the way people
typically expect them to
98
. Behavioral cues such as an increase in pauses
99
, a nervous
90
Bennett, 2009; Reinhard, 2010
91
Towl, G., Farrington, D. P., Crighton, D., & Hughes, G. (2008). Dictionary of forensic psychology. (1st ed.) Willan
Publishing.; Bennett, 2009; Meyer, 2010d; Reinhard, 2010; Porter, S., & ten Brinke, L. (2008). Reading between the
lies: identifying concealed and falsified emotions in universal facial expressions. Psychological Science, 19(5), 508-
514. They were also in line with previous meta-analytic reviews that reported accuracy rates in the range of 45 to 60
percent (M.G. Aamodt, H. Custer. Who can best catch a liar? A meta-analysis of individual differences in detecting
deception. Forensic Examiner, 15 (2006), pp. 6–11; P. Ekman, M. O'Sullivan. Who can catch a liar? The American
Psychologist, 46 (1991), pp. 913–920; G. Koehnken. Glaubwürdigkeit [Credibility] Psychologie Verlags Union,
München (1990); A. Vrij. Detecting lies and deceit. The psychology of lying and the implications for professional
practice. John Wiley, Chichester (2000) as cited in Reinhard, 2010
92
Towl, Farrington, Crighton & Hughes, 2008; Meyer, 2010d
93
Meyer, 2010c
94
Meyer, 2010d
95
Marantz Henig, R. (2006, February 5). Looking for the lie. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/05/magazine/05lying.html
96
Meyer, 2010c
97
Meyer, 2010d
98
Towl, Farrington, Crighton & Hughes, 2008; Reinhard, 2010
19
sweat or the inability to maintain eye contact are commonly mistaken for signs of deceit,
when really they’re stronger indications of nervousness, discomfort or shyness
100
.
Crossed arms, crossed legs and covering of the mouth are also common body movements
that many people universally attribute to deception
101
.
These stereotypical misattributions are made all over the world
102
. Of 2,520 adults
surveyed in 63 countries
103
, 72 percent falsely cited gaze aversion as a sign of lying more
than any other indicator
104
. However, when it comes to speech patterns, beliefs about
cues of deception were more accurate -- people correctly identified lies as less sensible,
less plausible, less logically structured and consistent, more superfluous with fewer
relevant details, and more discrepant and ambivalent
105
.
This uncertainty feeds the deception culture. People tend to assume that most of the
behavior they encounter from others is truthful, yet there is a lack of accurate feedback to
fix their inaccurate judgments
106
. Meyer described this notion as a learning curve
challenge
107
. What, on the other hand, is more likely to be seen in liars is the opposite -- a
reduction of nervous movements like fidgeting, blinking and pauses in speech, as well as
an ability to maintain eye contact
108
. This is in large part due to the increase in cognitive
99
Akehurst, L., Koehnken, G., Vrij, A. & Bull, R. (1996) Lay persons' and police officers' beliefs regarding deceptive
behavior. Applied Cognitive Psychology 10, 461–471 as cited in Reinhard, 2010
100
Bennett, 2009; Reinhard, 2010
101
Marantz Henig, 2006
102
The Global Deception Research Team. (2006) A world of lies. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 37, 60–74 as
cited in Reinhard, 2010
103
Marantz Henig, 2006
104
Meyer, 2010d
105
Reinhard, 2010
106
Towl, Farrington, Crighton & Hughes, 2008
107
[ExpandedBooks]. (2010, September 13). Pamela Meyer: Liespotting: Proven techniques to detect deception [Video
file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPk1toUHJRw
108
Towl, Farrington, Crighton & Hughes, 2008
20
load necessary to fabricate a lie. People have to work harder to tell a lie than a truth,
which results in an increased concentration on aspects like inventing a plausible lie,
delivering it convincingly and monitoring the person to whom it’s being
communicated
109
. This is where accurate deception detection comes in. When people are
being deceptive, the majority of their concentration is focused on their words rather than
their non-verbal behavior, like facial expressions and body language.
Tools Have It Wrong
Military and intelligence agencies have been funding the study of deception for
decades, of which the most relied upon tool has been the polygraph
110
, but even this has
proved unreliable and inadmissible in many cases
111
. The modern polygraph measures a
person’s heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and skin conductivity, and rests on the
theory that any marked physiological response is a likely result of the stress a person
experiences when telling a lie
112
. However, as previously discussed, these responses are
not always indications of deceit, which is why this technology is so debated and
speculated
113
.
Something Can Be Done
Situations arise where it is in people’s interest to know if they have been the victim
of deceit
114
, making deception detection a critical modern skill that people need to regain
109
Towl, Farrington, Crighton & Hughes, 2008
110
Meyer, 2010c
111
Bennett, 2009
112
Meyer, 2010c
113
Higginbotham, A. (2013, January 17). Deception Is Futile When Big Brother’s Lie Detector Turns Its Eyes on You.
Wired.com. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2013/01/ff-lie-detector/all/
114
Towl, Farrington, Crighton & Hughes, 2008
21
the truth in a world where sophisticated modern technology and the instant nature of
contemporary communications have multiplied the opportunities for deception
115
. Or, as
Meyer puts it:
“We need to arm ourselves with new human skills in a world where we don’t trust
politicians to tell us the truth, we don’t trust the media to seek the truth, we don’t
expect CEO’s to level with us and it’s as easy as hitting ‘enter’ on the keyboard to
create false identities and false information.”
116
But not all hope is lost: training in the verbal and non-verbal cues of deception can, and
has been proven to strengthen a person’s deception detection ability by 25 to 50
percent
117
. Imagine the positive repercussions of such an improvement.
115
Meyer, P. (2010h, August 26). How to avoid being lied to. Forbes, Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/26/lying-liespotting-detection-leadership-managing-honesty.html
116
Meyer, 2010a; Meyer, 2010b
117
Meyer, 2010d
22
Chapter Two: The Importance & Growth of Visual Literacy
“Perhaps it was John F. Kennedy’s handsome face or the opportunity most Americans had to watch his
funeral. Maybe this turning point came with the burning huts of Vietnam, the flags and balloons of the
Reagan presidency or Madonna’s writings on MTV. But at some point in the second half of the twentieth
century – for perhaps the first time in human history – it began to seem as if images would gain the upper
hand over words”
118
– Mitchell Stephens
Over 250 billion photos are uploaded to Facebook everyday
119
. One hundred hours
of video are posted on YouTube every minute
120
. Five Vines are tweeted every second
121
.
The world of literacy is now a world of visuals. Images are everywhere and never before
have they been as dominant as they are now
122
. They are bombarding the social and
cultural landscape of American society and, in many contexts their importance has started
to supersede that of written text.
Evolutionary history proves that visual acuity has been necessary to ensure
survival
123
, and over time, the human brain has matured to account for a higher, more
sophisticated and extensive amount of visual processing. The visual sense is the one most
often used in our waking lives
124
. Sight accounts for at least 80 percent of how people
learn about the world around them, two-thirds of stimuli that reach the brain are visual,
and more than half of the brain is devoted to processing visuals
125
, which is done 60,000
times faster than text
126
.
118
Stephens, M. (1998). The rise of the image, the fall of the word. New York, NY: Oxford University Press as cited in
Natharius, 2004
119
Bennett, S. (2013, December 25). Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram – Incredible Social Media Statistics From
2013 [VIDEO]. Mediabistro. Retrieved from https://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-stats-video_b53364
120
Bennett, 2013
121
Bennett, 2013
122
Natharius, D. (2004). The more we know, the more we see: The role of visuality in media literacy. The American
Behavioral Scientist, 48(2), 238-247.
123
Hill, D. (2003). Tell me no lies: Using science to connect with consumers. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 17(4),
61-72.
124
Natharius, 2004
125
Hill, 2003
126
Bovée, C. L., Thill, L. V., & Schatzman, B. E. (2003). Business communication today (7th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall as cited in Albritton, F. J., Bendriss, R., & Hahs-Vaughn, D. L. (2006). Presentation software
23
With this explosion of imagery has come a growth in visual literacy -- the ability to
analyze, interpret and derive meaning from an image. In today’s world, people equate
literacy with the acquisition of a specific skill. Reading literacy, after all, is the ability to
read and write -- to learn, memorize and utilize letters to form words and then sentences.
Visual literacy, however, is a more sophisticated skill that calls for people to read visuals
and make meaning from the information presented in them. Visual literacy is becoming a
prerequisite for people to comprehend the world around them. The more information
acquired, the more visual knowledge is attained because real-world experience dictates
the social construct we attribute to images in photographs, movies, television and all
other forms of media
127
. Viewers, for example, who see a certain facial expression on a
politician might presume he or she is angry based on the way anger has been constructed
to appear in their minds as a result of the influx of and exposure to anger-infused visuals.
The bombardment factor not only comes into play here but aggravates such rush
judgments, given the sheer volume of images with which we’re assaulted daily.
In recent history, no event has been more visually powerful than 9/11. Images of
the smoke billowing over the New York City skyline, the collapsed wing of the Pentagon,
the crash site in Pennsylvania where passenger-overtaken United Airlines flight 93 went
down, the trapped employees leaning out the windows from the Twin Towers, the people
jumping to their deaths, the smoke and debris-covered civilians helping one another, the
moment George W. Bush was notified while in a Florida classroom, the two towers
and visual imagery: The influence of language and culture on interpretation of abstract symbols. The Journal of
Language for International Business, 17(2), 42-59.
127
Natharius, 2004
24
collapsing, the post-apocalyptic sight of Ground Zero, and perhaps most memorable of all
-- the image of United Airlines flight 175 split seconds away from crashing into the South
Tower -- elicited different emotional reactions at the time due to varying respective
cultural and political perspectives. These emotions have since entrenched and embedded
themselves into those images and have, thus, altered the way people view them.
Essentially, emotion and visual literacy go hand in hand.
Enhanced visual literacy has also brought on enhanced “intertextuality” -- where
the experience-driven and constructed meaning of one image creates or enhances
meaning in another image
128
. Drawing on 9/11, the photograph of the three firefighters
hoisting up the American flag amidst the debris at Ground Zero provokes a hauntingly
similar connection to the iconic photograph of the six American Marines raising the flag
on Iwo Jima during World War II
129
.
Through the ages, however, humans have been conditioned to believe what they
see, and individual difference dictates that we each see the world around us slightly
differently from one another
130
. Visual images can hold incredible manipulative power
that we too often can fall victim to, which is why it is so important for people to learn
how to use their intellect and collective experience to accurately interpret the visual cues
around them. Nonverbal behavior wields this same manipulative power. Our visual sense
is the most immediate
131
, making it more suspect to being misled and deceived. Humans
128
Natharius, 2004
129
Natharius, 2004
130
Natharius, 2004
131
Natharius, 2004
25
have already started to grow increasingly attuned to and adept at visual literacy, so this
sophisticated skill should be channeled towards the recognition, understanding and
analysis of nonverbal behavior.
26
Chapter Three: Non-Verbal Behavior & Its Role in Deception Detection
The study of nonverbal behavior and how people use these behaviors to form
impressions of others has been a significant area of research for decades
132
. Bestselling
author Malcolm Gladwell went so far as to say that the judgments we make and the
impressions we form of other people are the most common and important forms of rapid
cognition -- every waking minute that we are in the presence of someone, we conjure a
constant stream of predictions and inferences about what that person is thinking and
feeling
133
.
In general, people can make relatively accurate judgments from slices of behavior
lasting anywhere from a few seconds to five minutes
134
, and these judgments are made
automatically and unconsciously
135
. This tendency to form judgments is rooted in the
utility of knowing how to interact with people
136
, as well as reading social affordances.
This explains why, for example, the sight of an infant’s face typically emits a positive,
nurturing reaction from adults -- the combination of a baby’s large eyes, small rounded
chin and disproportionately large head signals non-threatening dependence
137
.
The judgments people quickly make about others are not only relatively accurate,
but are also highly practical
138
because the ability to read nonverbal behavior is related to
132
Natharius, 2004
133
Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink: the power of thinking without thinking. New York, NY: Back Bay Books.
134
Patterson, M. L., Foster, J. L., & Bellmer, C. D. (2001). Another look at accuracy and confidence in social
judgments. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 25(3), 207-219.
135
Patterson, Foster & Bellmer, 2001
136
Patterson, Foster & Bellmer, 2001
137
Berry, D.S., & McArthur, L.Z. (1985). Some components and consequences of a babyface. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology 48, 312-323. as cited in Patterson, Foster & Bellmer, 2001
138
Patterson, Foster & Bellmer, 2001
27
a number of important social skills
139
. Accuracy in recognizing emotions, in particular,
has been related to personality traits
140
, sociocultural adjustment, mental health
141
,
negotiation effectiveness
142
, and workplace performance
143
. However, there is a concern
regarding people’s sensitivity to knowing if and when they are likely to be correct or
incorrect in their judgments -- if people are accurate in judging others but have little
confidence in their perceptions then they could be less inclined to act on those judgments,
and alternatively if people are confident but inaccurate in their judgments then it could
hurt them
144
. Research supports the notion that confidence is not the best predictor of
judging accuracy
145
, however others contend that people do have some awareness of how
accurate or inaccurate their judgments are but do not always know how to articulate the
specific basis for their confidence
146
. To better understand nonverbal behavior and its
current implications -- specifically facial expressions and body language cues that signal
deception -- it is necessary to look back, explore and learn from the research that brought
us to the present day.
139
Matsumoto, D., & Hwang Sung, H. (2011). Evidence for training the ability to read microexpressions of emotion.
Motivation and Emotion 35(2), 181-191.
140
Matsumoto, D., LeRoux, J.A., Wilson-Cohn, C., Raroque, J., Kooken, K., Ekman, P., et al. (2000). A new test to
measure emotion recognition ability: Matsumoto and Ekman’s Japanese and Caucasian Brief Affect Recognition Test
(JACBART). Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 24(3), 179-209 as cited in Matsumoto & Hwang Sung, 2011
141
Carton, J.S., Kessler, E.A., & Pape, C.L. (1999). Nonverbal decoding skills and relationship well-being in adult.
Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 23, 91-100 as cited in Matsumoto & Hwang Sung, 2011
142
Elfenbein, H.A., Foo, M.D., White, J., Tan, H.H., & Aik, V.C. (2007). Reading your counterpart: The benefit of
emotion recognition accuracy for effectiveness in negotiation. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 31, 205-223 as cited in
Matsumoto & Hwang Sung, 2011
143
Rosenthal, R., Hall, J.A., DiMatteo, M.R., Rogers, P.L., & Archer, D. (1979). Sensitivity to nonverbal
communication: The PONS Test. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press as cited in Matsumoto & Hwang
Sung, 2011
144
Patterson, Foster & Bellmer, 2001
145
DePaulo, B.M., Charlton, C., Cooper, H., Lindsay, J.J., & Muhlenbruck, L. (1997). The accuracy-confidence
correlation in the detection of deception. Personality and Social Psychology Review 1, 346-357 as cited in Patterson,
Foster & Bellmer, 2001
146
Smith, H.J., Archer, D., & Costanzo, M. (1991). “Just a hunch”: Accuracy and awareness in person perception.
Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 15, 3-18 as cited in Patterson, Foster & Bellmer, 2001
28
Chapter Four: Deception Detection Research Then & Now
Although deception detection has received more recognition in the last few years,
its roots began in the 1840s with French neuroanatomist Guillaume Duchenne. He
studied the physiology of facial expressions and examined the muscles around the eyes
and mouth to identify the difference between a false smile and a genuine, spontaneous
smile
147
. Inspired by Duchenne’s work a few years later in 1872, Charles Darwin built on
this area of study and claimed in his book, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and
Animals, that all human emotions have facial expressions that are universal across all
cultures
148
. This observation, however, was ignored and rejected
149
for nearly 100 years.
In 1966, E.A. Haggard and Kenneth S. Isaacs reviewed and analyzed film taken of
patients in psychotherapy sessions. The social scientists broke the film into frame-by-
frame increments to analyze what they called “micro-movements” and published a report
-- Micro-momentary Facial Expressions as Indicators of Ego Mechanisms in
Psychotherapy -- that concluded these expressions represented signs of concealed
emotion
150
.
Paul Ekman’s research has received the most attention over the last few years
151
.
Ekman was intrigued by both Darwin and Duchenne’s work and decided to test their
147
Meyer, 2010c
148
[Paul Ekman Group]. (2013, July 2). Dr. Paul Ekman on expression and gesture and their role in emotion and
deception - part 1 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9i-9_QuetA; Ekman & O'Sullivan,
2006; Meyer, 2010c
149
Paul Ekman Group, 2013; Ekman, P. & O'Sullivan, M. (2006). From flawed self-assessment to blatant whoppers:
The utility of voluntary and involuntary behavior in detecting deception. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 24(5), 673-
686.
150
Hess, U., & Kleck, R. E. (1990). Differentiating emotion elicited and deliberate emotional facial expressions.
European Journal of Social Psychology 20, 369–385 as cited by Hurley, C. M. (2011). Do You See What I See?
Learning to Detect Micro Expressions of Emotion. Motivation and Emotion 36(3), 371-381.
151
Meyer, 2010c
29
theories
152
. Critical to testing Darwin’s theory, in particular, was to find people who
wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn either expressions or gestures by contact with
the outside world or any form of media
153
. This led him to Papua New Guinea in 1967 to
study the Fore tribe -- an extremely isolated population that had very little exposure to
outsiders, and no exposure to media like movies, books, magazines and television
154
.
Ekman knew that if their expressions were the same as those in Western cultures then
Darwin’s claim was true
155
. When he showed these tribal members photographs of people
with various facial expressions -- happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, anger, disgust and
contempt -- they attributed them to the same expressions that people in Western cultures
had
156
. Not only that, but they could activate the same combination of muscle movements
as people in all other cultures
157
. This gave Ekman sufficient evidence that human facial
expressions are biologically innate, not culturally determined
158
, thus solidifying
Darwin’s original claim.
Armed with concrete evidence, he next deciphered why so many people had
previously rejected Darwin’s theory. This curiosity brought him to Japan, where he made
an important discovery about the influence of background and culture on the ability to
control facial movements: people are better at masking their emotions if raised in a
culture that believes in masking emotion than people who were raised in a culture that
152
Paul Ekman Group, 2013
153
Paul Ekman Group, 2013
154
Meyer, 2010c
155
Paul Ekman Group, 2013
156
Meyer, 2010c
157
Meyer, 2010c
158
Meyer, 2010c
30
encourages the expression of emotions
159
. Ekman called these “display rules” -- the rules
that people learn about managing their expressions in the course of growing up
160
. In
private settings, people across all cultures have universal expressions, however in public
settings, the influence of culture dictates different management of emotional
expression
161
. This finding was confirmed in an experiment with American and Japanese
students who watched graphic films either by themselves or with others. Ekman found
that the American students showed the same shock and horror regardless of whether they
were alone or with other students, however, the Japanese students kept their faces more
masked of emotion when in a group than when alone
162
.
Ekman presented his Papua New Guinean and Japanese findings to a broad range of
audiences, among them therapists working in mental hospitals who inquired if the results
could help determine if someone was being deceptive
163
. This inquiry inspired Ekman’s
next course of research. Alongside Wallace Friesen, he began analyzing clinical
interviews of psychiatric patients who had lied to conceal plans to commit suicide or lied
about the presence of hallucinations
164
, and searched for expressions or gestures that
might indicate the severity of their mental disorders
165
. A frame-by-frame analysis
revealed that patients exhibited brief emotions that contradicted what they said
166
. These
came to be known as microexpressions -- involuntary expressions that flash across the
159
Meyer, 2010c
160
Paul Ekman Group, 2013
161
Paul Ekman Group, 2013
162
Meyer, 2010c
163
Meyer, 2010c
164
Ekman & O'Sullivan, 2006
165
Meyer, 2010c
166
Meyer, 2010c
31
face in as little as 1/25
th
of a second and leak true underlying emotions
167
. They are the
result of triggers that come from the emotional part of the brain but are quickly concealed
by the controlling part of the brain
168
. Described as “barely perceptible to the untrained
observer
169
,” they can be fragments of, or full movements associated with, the respective
macroexpression that are greatly reduced in time
170
. Although they can be activated with
the intent to deceive, they may “leak” for other reasons as well; for instance, when an
individual experiences more than one emotion simultaneously, and is uncertain of his or
her emotions, or may not wish to express a particular emotion in a particular situation
171
.
This discovery had therapeutic value and it quickly became clear that the study of
microexpressions could net huge potential in other areas
172
.
Ekman and Friesen then developed the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) -- a
detailed, anatomically based, cross-cultural guide that systematically illustrates every
observable facial expression a human being can make
173
, and describes all the
accompanying facial muscle movements for each expression
174
, as well as rules for
reading and interpreting them
175
. The expressions were cataloged with photographs and
digital videos
176
. Ekman and Friesen also identified 43 facial movements, or action units
as they referred to them, across three regions of the face: brow and forehead; eyes,
167
Meyer, 2010c
168
Catching liars 101. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.clarkfreshman.com/lie-detection/catching-liars-101/
169
Ekman & O'Sullivan, 2006
170
Ekman & O'Sullivan, 2006
171
Ekman & O'Sullivan, 2006
172
Meyer, 2010c
173
Paul Ekman Group, 2013
174
FACS. (n.d.). Paul Ekman Group. Retrieved from http://www.paulekman.com/facs/
175
Gladwell, 2005
176
FACS, n.d.
32
eyelids, bridge of nose; and, cheeks, nose, mouth, chin and jaw
177
. These action units
either individually or in combination with others produce a variety of facial movements
that are attributed to the seven basic universal emotions -- happiness, sadness, fear,
surprise, anger, contempt and disgust. It is these movements that not only help identify all
the microexpressions attributed to these emotions, but also determine a genuine
expression from a fake one, regardless of gender, racial or cultural differences
178
, since
facial muscles move differently when being activated authentically than not
authentically
179
.
Ekman was recently voted one of Time magazine’s one hundred most influential
Americans for his research
180
and was the inspiration behind the FOX network television
series “Lie to Me” from 2009 to 2011 that aired in over 60 countries worldwide
181
. Other
researchers have used Ekman’s work as a catapult to discover more
182
. The Japanese and
Caucasian Brief Affect Recognition Test (JACBART) was the first standardized test of
microexpression recognition accuracy that contained FACS-scored images
183
. Tested
among an international audience to ensure cross-cultural agreement
184
, each expression is
preceded and followed by a neutral facial expression
185
in an effort to simulate its real-
life occurrence. The Micro Expression Training Tool (METT) is another training tool that
offers a pre-test, training section, practice examples with feedback, a review section and a
177
Hill, 2003
178
Hill, 2003
179
Ekman & O'Sullivan, 2006
180
Meyer, 2010c
181
Lie to Me. (n.d.). Paul Ekman Group. Retrieved from http://www.paulekman.com/lie-to-me/
182
Porter & ten Brinke, 2008
183
Hurley, 2011
184
Biehl, M., Matsumoto, D., Ekman, P., Hearn, V., Heider, K., Kudoh, T., et al. (1997). Matsumoto and Ekman’s
Japanese and Caucasian facial expressions of emotion (JACFEE): Reliability data and cross-national differences.
Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 21, 3–21 as cited in Hurley, 2011
185
Hurley, 2011
33
post-test to help people improve their accuracy at reading microexpressions
186
. David
Matsumoto and Hyi Sung Hwang recently discovered that this type of training improved
people’s ability to read microexpressions -- making them more accurate and faster in
their responses. In addition, they found that improved skills in reading microexpressions
lasted a few weeks after and resulted in increased social and communication skills
187
.
Despite this abundance of research and all of these tools, not enough professionals -
- particularly in the communications/PR fields -- know about it and are using it to their
strategic advantage.
186
Hurley, 2011
187
Matsumoto & Hwang Sung, 2011
34
Chapter Five: Facial Expressions
In an interview with Malcolm Gladwell for his book Blink, Ekman recounted an
instance during the 1992 Democratic primary election with Bill Clinton:
“I knew someone who was on Clinton’s communications staff. So I contacted him.
I said, ‘Look, Clinton’s got this way of rolling his eyes along with a certain
expression, and what it conveys is “I’m a bad boy.” I don’t think it’s a good thing. I
could teach him how not to do that in two to three hours.’ And he said, ‘Well, we
can’t take the risk that he’s known to be seeing an expert on lying.’ Ekman’s voice
trailed off. It was clear that he rather liked Clinton and that he wanted Clinton’s
expression to have been no more than a meaningless facial tic. Ekman shrugged.
‘Unfortunately, I guess, he needed to get caught -- and he got caught.’”
188
The first rule in deception is to watch the face
189
-- it is a dynamic canvas and an
enormously rich source of information about emotions. It doesn’t just display a signal of
what’s going on inside our minds, it shows exactly what is going on inside our minds
190
.
People are generally very receptive to what the seven basic universal emotions look like,
but it is necessary to be acutely aware of them to be more even more receptive to
deception.
Surprise
When a person is surprised, her/his eyebrows will curve and raise up, the skin
below the brow will stretch, horizontal wrinkles will appear across the forehead, the eyes
will widen and the jaw will drop to produce an open mouth with no tension or stretching
around the lips
191
. All of these facial components are typically seen collectively, however
on their own can symbolize different types and degrees of surprise. Sometimes the raised
188
Gladwell, 2005
189
Meyer, 2010c
190
Gladwell, 2005
191
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1975). Unmasking the face: A guide to recognizing emotions from facial
expressions. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
35
eyebrows can appear in an otherwise neutral face and when this happens, it signals doubt
or uncertainty -- often in regards to what another person is saying or doing
192
. If the
raised eyebrows occur with a head tilt or a slight upward or downward movement of the
head, it is a greeting emblem -- something that could be employed as a conversational
punctuator
193
. For example, a person may quickly raise and lower their eyebrows while
talking to emphasize a particular word or phrase. The opened mouth will be relaxed, as if
it fell open, and could appear slightly, moderately or widely opened depending on the
intensity of the surprise
194
. If this occurs on a seemingly neutral face, this means the
person is dumbfounded
195
.
Fear
When a person is expressing fear, her/his eyebrows will raise and draw together so
the inner corners are closer together, the center of the forehead will wrinkle, the eyes will
open and tense up, the mouth will open and the lips will either be tensed slightly and
drawn back or stretched and drawn back
196
. Like in a surprised expression, the raised and
drawn together eyebrows expressed in fear can sometimes appear on a neutral face, and
when this happens, the person could be expressing worry, apprehension or controlled
fear
197
. Fear can also vary in intensity, and this is shown in the eyes with the raising of
the upper lid and the tensing of the lower lid increasing as the intensity of fear
increases
198
. Fear may also occur simultaneously with sadness, anger or disgust, but is
192
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
193
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
194
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
195
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
196
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
197
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
198
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
36
most commonly combined with surprise
199
.
Disgust
When a person is expressing disgust, his/her upper lip raises, the lower lip raises
and either pushes up to the upper lip or slightly protrudes, the nose wrinkles, the cheeks
rise, lines produce below the lower lid and the eyebrows lower
200
. The more extreme the
disgust, the more apparent the nose-wrinkling and upper lip raising. In another part of
Blink, Gladwell recounts an instance with Ekman where he detailed a classic example of
disgust that he found while watching a tape of the O.J. Simpson trial:
“[The tape] was of Kato Kaelin, Simpson’s shaggy-haired house guest, being
examined by Marcia Clark, one of the prosecutors in the case. Kaelin sits in the
witness box, with his trademark vacant look. Clark asks a hostile question. Kaelin
leans forward and answers softly. ‘Did you see that?’ Ekman asked me. I saw
nothing, just Kato being Kato -- harmless and passive. Ekman stopped the tape,
rewound it, and played it back in slow motion. On the screen, Kaelin moved
forward to answer the question, and in that fraction of a second his face was utterly
transformed. His nose wrinkled, as he flexed his levator labii superioris, alaeque
nasi. His teeth were bared, his brows lowered…‘It’s disgust, with anger there as
well, and the clue to that is that when your eyebrows go down, typically your eyes
are not as open as they are here. The raised upper eyelid is a component of anger,
not disgust. It’s very quick.’ Ekman stopped the tape and played it again, peering at
the screen. ‘You know, he looks like a snarling dog.’”
201
Anger
When a person expresses anger, her/his eyebrows lower and draw together, vertical
lines appear between the eyebrows, the upper and lower lids tense up, the eyes bulge, and
the lips either press firmly together or tense as if he or she were shouting
202
. Sometimes
drawn-together eyebrows can appear on a neutral face and this can mean one of many
199
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
200
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
201
Gladwell, 2005
202
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
37
things: the person is angry but is trying to control or suppress that anger; slightly annoyed
or in the beginning stages of anger; in a serious mood; or, is concentrating on something
intently
203
. The eyebrows can also make this look when a person is accentuating a
particular word or phrase as part of a conversational punctuator
204
.
Happiness
When a person is expressing happiness, the corner of her/his lips will draw back
and up, the mouth may or may not be parted with teeth partially or fully exposed, a
wrinkle will appear from the nose to the corner of the lips -- a naso-labial fold, wrinkles
will show below the lower eyelid, and crows-feet wrinkles will appear from the outer
corners of his/her eyes
205
. The intensity of happiness is primarily determined by the
position of the lips, and, in turn, the pronunciation of wrinkles under the lower eyelid and
the naso-labial fold
206
. Happiness can blend with surprise, contempt, anger and fear.
Sadness
When a person is expressing sadness, the inner corners of her/his eyebrows raise,
the skin below the eyebrows triangulates as if he or she were squinting, the inner corner
of the upper eyelids raise, the corners of the lips lower and the lip could tremble
207
.
Sadness can blend with anger, fear and happiness.
Contempt
203
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
204
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
205
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
206
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
207
Ekman & Friesen, 1975
38
Contempt is the only naturally asymmetrical expression and when someone is
expressing it, one of the corners of her/his lip pulls in and back, and the chin sometimes
lifts as if to raise her or himself above the person to whom he/she is showing contempt
towards
208
.
Humans are capable of making 10,000 unique facial expressions
209
, but when it
comes to detecting deception, the aforementioned seven key emotions are the ones worth
knowing the most about. The following figure illustrates the most common action units
associated with each of the seven emotions:
Figure 2: Microexpression Identification Key
As previously expressed, it is common for many of these emotions to blend with each
208
Meyer, 2010c
209
An, D. (2007). Advertising visuals in global brands' local websites: A six-country comparison. International Journal
of Advertising 26(3), 2-22.
39
other. When this happens, it is typically because a person is either expressing multiple
emotions simultaneously or masking one emotion with another. This is where deception
can come into the mix: when someone deliberately tries to manipulate their facial
muscles to suppress how they are really feeling. However, although some people are
more skilled at this than others, no one can control their face completely since the
neurological systems that regulate the face are directly connected to the part of the brain
that processes emotions
210
. And, as noted earlier, these emotions literally occur in the
blink of an eye, so learning to detect them takes practice.
Spotting deception through microexpressions can be difficult, but there are a few
other facial factors to monitor: squelched expressions, reliable muscle patterns, blink
rates, pupil dilation, asymmetry and timing
211
. Squelched expressions occur when a
person is purposely trying to express one emotion, often in an attempt to mask a different
emotion. A smile is the most common example
212
-- it is one of the easiest expressions a
person can voluntarily make and is often used to conceal negative feelings
213
. As noted,
several studies have proven that there is a clear difference between a real, genuine smile
and a fake smile, and knowledge of reliable facial muscle patterns is helpful to knowing
the difference. Although a person can consciously and relatively easily manipulate the
muscles around their mouth to form a smile
214
, it is extremely difficult to control other
muscles like the orbicularis oculi -- the muscle that orbits the eye and produces crow’s-
feet at the outer corners of the eye -- making it a key determinant in assessing smiles for
210
Meyer, 2010c
211
Meyer, 2010c
212
An, 2007
213
Porter & ten Brinke, 2008
214
An, 2007
40
genuineness. Therefore, if a person is smiling but there are no crow’s-feet, then the smile
is fake. Similarly, muscle movement in the chin is an indication of artificial sadness
215
.
The majority of people cannot pull down the corners of their lips without also moving
their chin muscles, making movement in the chin a key indicator of deception.
It is also a myth that people who are lying cannot look directly into the eyes of a
person who they are trying to deceive. A truth-teller is just as likely to break eye contact
as someone who is lying
216
. Good liars are often, in fact, skilled at maintaining eye
contact with others -- often for longer stretches of time -- so assessing blink rates is a
more important cue. People can control how much or low little they blink, but those who
are being deceitful will often involuntarily blink more than they do when telling the
truth
217
. During a 2008 televised interview on a local station in Maine, when asked to
comment on Sarah Palin’s experience on national security, presidential candidate John
McCain said “she knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United
States of America
218
.” However, the noticeable increase in his blink rate when he made
the statement
219
is a clear indicator that he did not believe what he was saying.
Pupil dilation is also a reliable indicator of deceit. Dilated pupils indicate that a
person is aroused, which can often be attributed to fear or other emotions that a person is
unable to control. With the exception of contempt, all genuine expressions of emotion are
symmetrical. Therefore, when an expression is being made deliberately, it will typically
215
An, 2007
216
An, 2007
217
Meyer, 2010c
218
Marshall, J. [tpmtv]. (2008, September 11) McCain: Palin most knowledge person in American on energy [Video
file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fRjtAK66as
219
Meyer, 2010g; Meyer, 2010f
41
appear lopsided -- like a crooked smile
220
. Finally, facial expressions are naturally
expressed in sync with physical gestures, so if the timing of gestural cues does not match
with expressed facial movements then this is a likely sign of deception
221
. If a person is
genuinely angry, he/she will cross their arms and scowl simultaneously, whereas if the
person was pretending to be angry, one of these actions would have appeared before the
other
222
.
220
Meyer, 2010c; An, 2007
221
An, 2007
222
Meyer, 2010c
42
Chapter Six: Body Language
“No mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips” - Sigmund Freud
223
Freud was right: sixty five percent of nonverbal human communication is conveyed
through body language
224
. So much emphasis is placed on words that people tend to
overlook the powerful messages that are transmitted every waking minute through body
language. People are ignorant of the messages they are projecting to others just as much
as they often fail to properly observe and take notice of the body language being
communicated by others -- therefore missing important cues that indicate what they are
thinking and how they are feeling
225
. This isn’t to say that people are not aware of body
language -- in fact, most are familiar with the most obvious physical expressions of
emotion. However, many people are not attuned to the subtle ways in which bodies can
contradict words. This is especially important to notice when detecting deception,
because liars tend to rehearse their words but not their gestures
226
.
It is just as important to observe emotional leaks in body language as it is in facial
expressions
227
. Meyer identified three different types of body movements that express
emotional leaks -- emblems, illustrators and mirroring -- which, unlike facial expressions,
won’t be foolproof indicators of deception across all people, but their presence, absence
or the way they are used can be extremely helpful in spotting deception
228
.
223
"Pamela Meyer: How to spot a liar," 2011
224
Meyer, 2010c
225
Warren, G., Schertler, E., & Bull, P. (2008). Detecting deception from emotional and unemotional cues. Journal of
Nonverbal Behavior 33, 59-69.
226
Warren, Schertler & Bull, 2008; Meyer, 2010c
227
Meyer, 2010c
228
Meyer, 2010c
43
Emblems are signals that have meaning independent of speech and are typically
used when speech is not possible, like a shrug or clenched fists
229
. When an emblem
gesture appears outside its usual context, this may reveal that a person is trying to keep
his or her emotions in check. Like facial expressions, genuine emblems will appear
symmetrical and fake emblems asymmetrical.
Illustrators are actions used to emphasize a spoken word or phrase, like when
someone rubs their stomach to showcase their hunger
230
. Their use tends to decrease
when people are lying. When people are concentrating intently on what they are saying,
their focus tends to remain strictly on crafting and maintaining the spoken story, which is
why the actions used by liars tend to appear unnatural or out of sync with their words.
Finally, mirroring is a natural reaction when people feel comfortable in the
presence of others. When someone is at ease he/she mirrors the other person’s body
language with postural cues that indicate he or she is engaged in a conversation
231
-- for
example, leaning in when the person he/she is talking to does. When someone is lying,
and therefore uncomfortable or trying to avoid communicating, he or she will make
gestures that oppose the person or people he/she is conversing with. In keeping with the
above example, the liar might lean backward as the converser leans forward.
Beyond these three body movements, specific body parts can also be indicators of
deception. Liars will often inadvertently move their heads in the direction that contradicts
229
Meyer, 2010c
230
Meyer, 2010c
231
Meyer, 2010c
44
an answer; they will nod their head up and down when really saying “no” and shake their
head back and forth when saying “yes.” Half-shrugging or other asymmetrical shoulder
movements could also be present. Awkward body stiffness could happen since liars
typically freeze up in an attempt to prevent the leaking of emotional gestures. A cross-
armed stance is a sign of defensiveness, negativity or unwelcomeness and could be
exhibited. Unnatural hand movements, exaggerated hand gestures, clenched fists and
folded palms could indicate that a person isn’t completely invested in what they are
saying. A wide stance could be a way for someone to assert dominance and mask
weakness. The action of rubbing one’s thighs together is a way to soothe underlying
tension. Locked ankles when seated could be a sign of discomfort and anxiety. The
tapping of a foot is a classic sign that the person is nervous. Liars will inadvertently
express their desire to remove themselves from an uncomfortable situation by facing their
feet towards a door or exit. Liars might set up physical boundaries by placing objects in
between themselves and others, and lastly, nervous gestures like face touching, nose
scratching, ear tugging, lip smacking and mouth covering could increase in frequency
232
.
During a World News interview with Charles Gibson, Governor Sarah Palin
demonstrated excessive lip licking while providing her opinion on the Bush Doctrine
233
,
which is an indication that she was uncertain in what she was saying
234
, especially when
she said:
“I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic
extremism, terrorists who are hell-bent on destroying our nation, there have been
232
Meyer, P. (n.d.). 10 body language "tells" that reveal deception. Retrieved from http://liespotting.com/liespotting-
basics/body/
233
Meyer, 2010g; Meyer, 2010f
234
Meyer, 2010f
45
blunders along the way though, there have been mistakes made, and with new
leadership, and that’s the beauty of American elections of course and democracy, is
with new leadership comes opportunity to do things better.”
235
235
[tpmtv]. (2008, September 11). Sarah Palin holds forth on bush doctrine, Pakistan [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Z75QSExE0jU
46
Chapter Seven: Statement Analysis
Though facial expressions and body language account for a combined 93 percent of
how people communicate
236
, it is still crucial to be wary of a person’s words and analyze
them carefully because people excel at adapting language to suit their needs
237
. People
who are trying to be deceptive typically expend a lot of energy to construct a believable
and convincing narrative and make sure that every detail is plausible and logical
238
.
However, just like the unconscious leaking of microexpressions and inadvertent gestures,
verbal slips and mistakes can also betray a liar’s true intentions. Verbal indications of
deceit can be detected in statement structure, verbal leaks and story analysis
239
.
Statement structure
Parrot statements, dodgeball statements, guilt-trip statements, protest statements,
too little/too much statements, bolstering statements and distancing statements are typical
ways deceptive people evade questions or deflect suspicion
240
. There are, however,
various physiological and psychological factors like exhaustion, stress, hunger and
concern that can affect how people express themselves that should be taken into careful
consideration, as they can be mistaken and misinterpreted for deception
241
.
When a person makes a parrot statement -- when a question asked is repeated back
verbatim -- this could indicate that they stalling to buy themselves more time to come
236
Meyer
237
Meyer, 2010c
238
Meyer, 2010c
239
Meyer, 2010c
240
Meyer, 2010c
241
Meyer, 2010c
47
back with a plausible and logical reply
242
. It is, however, commonplace for someone to
repeat back a portion of a question -- this is typically a sign that they simply want to
confirm or clarify the original question posed. This is not an act of deceit
243
. Dodgeball
statements are expressed by liars as a way to find out more information before
volunteering a response, and occur when a person ignores or deflects a question by
asking a different one as a response
244
. A guilt-trip statement is expressed in an attempt to
put someone on the defensive, thus deflecting the focus off of themselves
245
. A protest
statement is a way for a liar to ensure that he or she is not capable of deceit and will often
use examples to prove their innocence
246
.
A too little/too much statement, as it sounds, involves using either too few words or
too many words to express a thought
247
. In the case of using too few words, the liar could
be lying by omission -- purposely leaving out detail and avoiding the area that he or she
would otherwise have to lie about. However, deceptive people are also often
unnecessarily wordy, a tactic often used to dance around a direct answer. During the
same World News interview, Governor Palin on numerous occasions was guilty of
deflecting
248
and over-explaining. Examples of too much statements can be seen in the
following dialogue with Gibson:
Charles Gibson (CG): “But Governor I’m asking, do we have the right, in your
242
Meyer, P. (n.d.1). 10 ways liars use words to obscure the truth. Retrieved from http://liespotting.com/liespotting-
basics/words/
243
Meyer, 2010c
244
Meyer, 2010c
245
Meyer, 2010c
246
Meyer, 2010c
247
Meyer, 2010c
248
Meyer, P. (2010i, September). Understanding cognitive load – four clues that Sarah Palin and Jan Brewer have a
few things in common. Retrieved from http://liespotting.com/2010/09/understanding-cognitive-load-%E2%80%93-
four-clues-that-sarah-palin-and-jan-brewer-have-a-few-things-in-common/
48
mind, to go across the border with or without the approval of the Pakistani
government?”
Sarah Palin (SP): “In order to stop Islamic extremists, those terrorists who would
seek to destroy America and our allies, we must do whatever it takes and we must
not blink Charlie in making those tough decisions of where we go and even who we
target.”
CG: “Then let me finish with this, I’m just I get lost in a blizzard of words there,
was that a yes that we think we have the right to go across the border with or
without the approval of the Pakistani government to go after terrorists who are in
the Wazir state area?”
SP: “I believe that America has to exercise all options in order to stop the terrorists
who are hell-bent on destroying America and our allies. We have got to have all
options out there on the table.”
249
In both instances, Gibson was looking to get a direct “yes” or “no” answer from her, yet
Palin deflected and gave him overly wordy and likely scripted responses instead.
A bolstering statement is another indication of deception and occurs when a liar
adds an emphatic phrase like “I swear to God,” “to tell you the truth,” “to be honest,” “as
far as I’m concerned,” or “as far as I recall” in an attempt to reinforce her/his
credibility
250
. Finally, a distancing statement is considered “the hallmark of deceptive
speech
251
.” Liars will use a distancing statement as a way to verbally remove themselves
from their lies, minimize the value of something or impersonalize another person
252
.
When Bill Clinton famously said, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss
Lewinsky” his strategic use of “that woman” was a clear example of a distancing
statement.
249
Meyer, 2010g
250
Meyer, n.d.1
251
Meyer, 2010c
252
Meyer, 2010c
49
Verbal leaks
A verbal leak is another type of deceptive indicator
253
and can happen when a liar is
too overwhelmed and therefore not able to maintain the deceptive details of an incident or
story. It can typically take the form of a slip of the tongue; a non-contracted denial -- the
use of more formal grammar, like saying “I was not there” rather than “I wasn’t there”; a
speech disfluency -- auditory interruptions like clearing the throat, a brief laugh or a sigh
could be indications that a person is trying to slow down their response to gain more time
to gather their thoughts and plan what they are going to say next; and, a pronoun
inaccuracy
254
-- similar to distancing statements, it’s an attempt for a liar to distance
themselves from the lie by using pronouns like “you” instead of taking ownership and
saying “I.”
Story analysis
Psychologists and psychotherapists have consistently relied on the power of
storytelling to assess how honest their patients are being with them because the way
people narrate events can be very telling signs of deceit
255
. Since emotions guide
memory, a true story drawn from real memory is not often told in chronological order, a
detail typically overlooked when people are being deceptive
256
. Specifically, the three
components that encompass a story -- the prologue, main event and epilogue -- are
253
Meyer, 2010c
254
Meyer, 2010c; Meyer, n.d.1
255
Meyer, 2010c
256
Tony Lesce. (1990) “SCAN: Deception Detection by Scientific Content Analysis, “ Law and Order 38(8). Retrieved
from http://www.lsiscan.com/id37.htm, and Johnson, M. & Raye, C. (1981). “Reality monitoring,” Psychological
Review 88(1), 67-85, and Johnson, M. & Raye, C. (1998). “False Memories and Confabulation,” Trends in Cognitive
Sciences 2, 137-145 as cited in Meyer, 2010c
50
recounted differently when being told truthfully and falsely
257
. Since a prologue sets the
scene for what happened, when being recounted by a person who is telling the truth, it
will typically be light in detail; however, in a lie, it will be more detailed since it contains
more truthful elements, thus making the liar more comfortable recounting it. This over-
sharing during the prologue is a way for the deceptive individual to add credibility to
their claims and validate their innocence. A story’s main event section will be the longest
part recounted when there is no lie, and the shortest part mentioned when there is a lie. A
liar typically will not recount a story’s epilogue 90 percent of the time, as this would
involve fabricating how the main event section made him or her feel
258
.
257
Meyer, n.d.1
258
Meyer, 2010c
51
Chapter Eight: Baseline Behavior
Although facial expressions, body language and statement analysis are important
factors individually, it is the cohesion of all three that are critically important. It’s
necessary to consider the person, the context in which he or she is speaking, their typical
mannerisms and behavior, and any deviations from the norm because deception detection
is not one-size-fits-all. Not one previously discussed physical or verbal cue is a foolproof
indication of deception in all people. Definitive patterns do exist and have been
established, but for the most part everybody lies differently
259
. This is why it’s crucial to
learn how to establish a person’s baseline behavior: that is, her/his normal ways of
behaving
260
.
Observing and understanding how an individual acts under normal circumstances
has been proven to significantly aid in spotting deception. In 2002, a study that examined
the behaviors of 16 suspects in police custody was conducted to gain insight on why
people lie on their own volition in high-stake situations
261
. Its discussion clearly
articulated that the “most reliable indicator of deception is likely to be a change from
normal behavior within a particular individual,” since there exists such drastic differences
in people’s attitudes and experiences, all of which directly affect the content and
consequences of their lies
262
. Clark Freshman, a professor at the University of California
Hastings College of the Law who has trained lawyers, judges and negotiators worldwide
259
Meyer, P. (2010, June). How to baseline someone’s behavior in 3 simple steps. Retrieved from
http://liespotting.com/2010/06/how-to-baseline-someones-behavior-in-3-simple-steps/
260
DePaulo, 1994
261
Mann, S., Vrij, A., & Bull, R. (2002). Suspects, lies and videotape: An analysis of authentic high-stake liars. Law
and Human Behavior 26(3), 365-376.
262
Mann, Vrij & Bull, 2002
52
in microexpression detection,
263
claims that a person’s voice, face, verbal style, verbal
content and body movements are the five areas to pay attention to when establishing a
baseline
264
. A person’s standing and seating posture, nervous tics, style of laugh, use of
hand gestures and how they express surprise and excitement are among the most specific
and important behavioral tendencies to mentally record
265
.
Once a baseline behavior has been established, applying the verbal and nonverbal
deception cues will ease the ability to evaluate how truthful and genuine a person is in an
incident or circumstance when in question
266
. An examination of former United States
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is a telling example. Clinton typically exhibits a lot of
head movements while conversing
267
, as confirmed when the researcher conducted a
meta-analysis of some of her broadcast interviews
268
. She is also very consistent in
shaking her head back and forth when honestly answering “no” to a question just as she is
consistent when she nods her head while honestly answering “yes” to a question
269
. In
263
Winning and More: Microexpressions, Lie Detection, and Negotiation. (n.d.). Clark Freshman. Retrieved from
http://www.clarkfreshman.com
264
[Scam School]. (2010, October 21). Detect lies like lie to me! [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIAPHZKCyuE
265
Brownstein, 2011
266
Meyer, 2010j
267
Meyer, P. (2010, June). Hillary Clinton’s diplomatically deceitful head nods. Retrieved from
http://liespotting.com/2010/06/hillary-clinton%E2%80%99s-diplomatically-deceitful-head-nods/
268
Interviews taken into consideration for this meta-analysis: [CBS News]. (2011, August 11). The CBS Evening News
with Scott Pelley – Secretary Clinton on U.S. Involvement in Syria [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFy2lsWGHvM; [CBS News]. (2010, May 9). Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
[Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/secretary-of-state-hillary-clinton/; [CBS News]. (2008,
February 8). Hillary Clinton’s Run For The White House. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-
clintons-run-for-the-white-house/; [CBS News]. (2013, January 28). Obama and Clinton: The 60 Minutes Interview.
Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-and-clinton-the-60-minutes-interview/; [ABC News]. (2013,
December 19). Barbara Walters Reveals Most Fascinating Person of 2013: Hillary Clinton. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpdTLF46BHM; [ABC News]. (2013, January 23). Hillary Clinton Talks 2016,
Stands by Benghazi Testimony. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pynAYKik4oA; [ABC News].
(2012, December 13). Hillary Clinton on Barbara Walters’ 10 Most Fascinating People of 2012. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmTkWrPZU84; [US Military Videos & Photos]. (2011, August 18). Interview
with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v9qahniLoA
269
Meyer, 2010k
53
four different interviews, however, she veers away from this baseline while answering
questions involving President Barack Obama. While running as one of the presidential
candidates in 2008, Clinton was interviewed by Katie Couric on CBS’ 60 Minutes to
discuss the tight race between her and Obama during the Democratic Primary campaign.
When asked if she likes Barack Obama she gave the following answer:
“Sure I do. You know, I liked him before we got into this election. I campaigned
for him. I met he and his children, in fact, I went to Chicago to campaign and raise
money for him and we had a picture taken at the event. This was in 2004 and I put
the picture in my office. It’s still there. I look at Barack and Michelle and their
daughters everyday when I’m in my office. I think he’s an extraordinary person and
we were friends before and we will be friends afterwards.”
270
Her head movements, however, were not consistent with what she was saying. Her
head was shaking back and forth as if she was disagreeing with herself
271
, especially
while saying “I liked him before we got into this election” and “I think he’s an
extraordinary person and we were friends before and we will be friends afterwards.” This
headshake was also displayed in an earlier interview with Couric in November 2007
when she was asked about Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of Obama. She replied, “I think
it’s great,” while, again, simultaneously shaking her head as if answering “no”
272
. She did
this again in a third interview on 60 Minutes, but as Secretary of State, when giving her
answer to a question about animosity between her and President Obama during the
Democratic Primary campaign
273
. It was also apparent in another CBS interview while
professing her readiness to support Obama if she were to lose the primary nomination
274
.
Improved ability to read nonverbal behavioral cues of deceit is just the first step.
270
CBS News, 2008
271
CBS News, 2008
272
Meyer, 2010k
273
Meyer, 2010k
274
Meyer, 2010k
54
What one does with the information is the important second step in the process of
interaction. Being overly sensitive or overly analytical of potential deception cues could
be detrimental
275
-- calling out others indiscriminately could be perceived as intrusive,
rude or overbearing whether in personal, social or professional environments -- which is
why dealing with emotion information of others is a very crucial part of the puzzle piece.
Being able to determine when to intervene and how to adapt one’s behavior and
communication style accordingly are tactical skills that absolutely must be developed and
considered carefully when reading the emotions and nonverbal behaviors of others
276
.
275
Blanck, P. D., Rosenthal, R., Snodgrass, S. E., DePaulo, B. M., & Zuckerman, M. (1981). Sex differences in
eavesdropping on nonverbal cues: Developmental changes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 41(2), 391–
396; Elfenbein, H. A., & Ambady, N. (2002). Predicting workplace outcomes from the ability to eavesdrop on feelings.
Journal of Applied Psychology 87(5), 963–971; Rosenthal, R., & DePaulo, B. M. (1979). Sex differences in
eavesdropping on nonverbal cues. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37(2), 273–285 as cited in Matsumoto
& Hwang Sung, 2011
276
Matsumoto & Hwang Sung, 2011
55
Chapter Nine: Contemporary Cases of Deception
Deception experts analyze hundreds and thousands of videos, interviews, press
conferences and other broadcast media to observe and detect evidence that suggest people
could be lying. Lance Armstrong, John Edwards, Anthony Weiner and Ryan Braun are
prime examples of public figures who have deceived the public. In all four of these case
studies, experts successfully identified signs of deception and published their findings
before these people later confessed to lying. In two other cases involving Herman Cain
and Chris Christie, experts suggest that they were deceptive, however confessions of guilt
have yet to surface.
Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong continuously and adamantly denied allegations about his use of
banned PEDs and threatened those who challenged his word for over a decade until he
finally confessed to doping in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey on January 14,
2013
277
. He got away with running what was considered to be “the most successful
doping program in sports history
278
” until the United States Anti-Doping Agency
(USADA) stripped him of the seven consecutive Tour de France titles he won from 1999
to 2005 and banned him from competitive cycling for life
279
.
His denials over the years were expressed through a variety of mediums --
277
MSN News. (2013, January 16). A timeline of doping denials by Lance Armstrong. MSN News. Retrieved from
http://news.msn.com/pop-culture/a-timeline-of-doping-denials-by-lance-armstrong
278
[xindralol’s channel]. (2013, January 15). Oprah About Armstrong Interview CBS This Morning [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5862Um6VWpw
279
Maese, R. (2012, August 24). USADA strips Lance Armstrong’s titles, bans him from cycling. The Washington
Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/usada-strips-lance-armstrongs-titles-bans-him-from-
cycling/2012/08/24/d6f7d382-ee04-11e1-afd6-f55f84bc0c41_story.html
56
speeches, Nike commercials and interviews to name a few. One of such interviews was
with Larry King on August 25, 2005
280
. This interview occurred in response to a report
published in French newspaper L’Équipe, which accused Armstrong of using
erythropoietin (EPO) when a stored urine sample he gave back in 1999 was tested in
2005 and produced positive results
281
. Testing for EPO wasn’t previously possible
282
. The
entire interview lasted the full one-hour Larry King Live segment
283
, but in an extracted
two-minute and seven-second clip, expert deception detector and CIA veteran Phil
Houston found over 25 deceptive indicators exhibited by Armstrong. Houston recounted
and analyzed these deceptive indicators and published them in a blog post in June 2011
284
-- 18 months before Armstrong’s confession during the Oprah Winfrey interview. He
expressed the high likelihood of there being even more deceptive indicators, both non-
verbal ones that were cut off by the camera and a mix of verbal and non-verbal ones
throughout the rest of the interview
285
.
Although Houston did not describe all 25 indicators in his blog post analysis, he
highlighted a few notable findings about Armstrong’s facial expressions, behavior and
answers. One of his major observations from the clip was the fact that Armstrong only
definitively denied taking PEDs once
286
. When King asked him if he could unequivocally
say he had never used an illegal substance before, Armstrong responded with:
280
MSN News, 2013
281
Abt, S. (2005, August 24). Armstrong Is Accused of Doping. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/sports/othersports/24cycling.html?_r=0
282
Abt, 2005
283
CNN.com (2005, August 25). Interview with Lance Armstrong [Transcript]. CNN Larry King Live. Retrieved from
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0508/25/lkl.01.html
284
Houston, P. (2011, June). [Liespotting Lance Armstrong part 2: Expert analysis]. Retrieved from
http://liespotting.com/2011/06/liespotting-lance-armstrong-part-2-expert-analysis/
285
Houston, 2011
286
Houston, 2011
57
“Listen, I've said it for seven years. I've said it for longer than seven years. I have
never doped. I can say it again. But I've said it for seven years. It doesn't help. But
the fact of the matter is I haven't. And if you consider my situation: A guy who
comes back from arguably, you know, a death sentence, why would I then enter
into a sport and dope myself up and risk my life again? That's crazy. I would never
do that. No. No way.”
287
According to Houston, when a truthful individual is wrongly accused, a natural
reaction is to issue a direct denial -- like “yes, I can unequivocally say I’ve never used
illegal substances” -- and convey the facts of the situation
288
, those that make up the main
event section of a story. However, if the allegations are true and the individual chooses to
be deceitful and deny them, he or she will focus his or her efforts on issuing comments
that convince others of something else
289
. In the above answer he gave, Armstrong
focused his efforts on convincing King of his innocence by bringing up his battle with
cancer. Houston wrote that this type of topic derailment can sound compelling to the
untrained ear
290
. King paraphrased Armstrong’s quote later in a February 2013 interview
with Lisa Ling and admitted that he had been convinced by him
291
. The issue was not that
he inadvertently brought up his battle with cancer, it was that his response did not answer
King’s question
292
.
Armstrong also showed heightened aggression in his responses
293
. Sportscaster Bob
Costas was present during the interview and in one such instance when he pointed out
that Armstrong’s 1999 samples had tested positive, Armstrong responded quite
287
CNN.com, 2005
288
Armstrong, L. (2005, May 20). Interview by L. King [Video file]. 2005: Lance Armstrong denies doping, Retrieved
from http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2011/05/20/vault.2005.lkl.armstrong.cnn.html
289
Armstrong, 2005
290
Armstrong, 2005
291
[Ora TV]. (2013, February 5). Journalist Lisa Ling on Oprah’s Lance Armstrong Interview | Larry King Now | Ora
TV [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxMIXHAtT8Q
292
Armstrong, 2005
293
Armstrong, 2005
58
defensively by calling the test into question and refuting the presence of scientific data
that proved its validity:
“The actual test for EPO…is actually being questioned on a pretty serious level
right now. Why do you think they're still working on it? Because it doesn't work
that well. So you throw that in. Then you throw in the fact that these samples were
stored for six or seven years. Where were they stored? What was the temperature, et
cetera, et cetera? There's not any scientific data that suggests that after five years,
samples look and act the same that they did before. It doesn't exist.”
294
It’s clear that he went on this type of defense to avoid being embarrassed by the reality
that those tests were, in fact, positive and conclusive. Houston also noted the presence of
some non-verbal deceptive indicators in Armstrong’s interview. Both in response to
King’s question about lawsuits and Costas’ question about the positive test results of his
1999 samples, Armstrong exhibited “duping delight” -- a term used by interrogators to
describe an inappropriate smile that briefly flashes across the face of a deceitful
individual
295
. It stems from an unconscious pleasure that he or she has gotten away with
something
296
. Houston also pointed out evidence of deceit based on Armstrong’s hand
positioning when being asked about the sample results. During the question on his test
samples, Armstrong was engaged in a significant amount of handwringing that Houston
attributed to high anxiety caused by the difficult questions
297
.
John Edwards
In October 2007, The National Enquirer reported that former North Carolina
Senator, vice-presidential candidate and then-presidential candidate John Edwards had an
294
CNN.com, 2005
295
Armstrong, 2005
296
Meyer, P. (2011, June 10). Seven Big Lies About Lying. Huffington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pamela-meyer/seven-big-lies-about-lyin_b_874899.html
297
Armstrong, 2005
59
alleged extramarital affair with a woman who was on his campaign staff
298
. The lady was
later identified as Rielle Hunter, a filmmaker who was hired to create webisodes that
portrayed the behind-the-scenes happenings while on his presidential campaign trail
299
.
Edwards and Hunter both denied the affair
300
. Two months later, the Enquirer published a
follow-up story that she was more than six months pregnant with his child, but after its
release, campaign staff member Andrew Young came forward to claim paternity
301
.
Months later in July 2008 after Edwards had withdrawn his candidacy during the
Democratic primaries, the Enquirer caught him sneaking out of the Beverly Hilton Hotel
in Los Angeles -- the same hotel that Hunter and her daughter were staying at, and
reported that large sums of money were being transferred to Hunter and Young, which
Edwards also denied
302
.
On ABC’s Nightline in an interview with Bob Woodruff, Edwards finally admitted
to the affair but denied that he fathered her child
303
. He did express interest in taking a
paternity test when Woodruff questioned him:
“I would welcome participating in a paternity test, I’d be happy to participate in
one, uh I know that it’s not possible that this child could be mine because of the
timing of events, so I know it’s not possible. Happy to take a paternity test and
would love to see it happen
304
.”
298
Egusquiza, R. (2007, October 10). Presidential Cheating Scandal! Alleged Affair Could Wreck John Edwards’
Campaign Big. National Enquirer. Retrieved from http://www.nationalenquirer.com/celebrity/presidential-cheating-
scandal-alleged-affair-could-wreck-john-edwards-campaign-bid
299
ABC News. (2008, August 8). Flashback: John Edwards Denies Affair [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/flashback-john-edwards-denies-affair-5545530
300
ABC News, 2013
301
ABC News, 2013
302
ABC News. (2008, August 8). 2008: John Edwards Admits Affair [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/edwards-admits-affai-5546257
303
[NiceCritic]. (2009, August 14). John Edwards originally denies fathering a child with Rielle Hunter [Video file].
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC4tHLqJtpA
304
NiceCritic, 2009
60
Meyer, however, analyzed the interview and found signs through his body language that
he could have been lying. While he was saying the above quote he shook his head
305
.
While expressing his willingness to take a paternity test, his body was contradicting his
words, as if to suggest he was disagreeing with what he was saying. His seated
composure gave the impression that he was not confident in his answers and could have
been defensive and nervous -- he was slightly hunched over and his feet were facing the
exit
306
.
Sure enough, on January 21, 2010, Edwards issued a statement admitting that he
had in fact fathered the child
307
.
Anthony Weiner
On May 27, 2011, a lewd picture was posted to Democratic U.S. Congressman
Anthony Weiner’s public Twitter account and directed at a 21-year-old woman in Seattle,
Washington. The photo was immediately taken down but the media caught wind of it.
Representatives from Weiner’s office insisted the photo was the work of a hacker and
announced that he had retained an attorney to advise him on possible civil or criminal
actions
308
. Weiner’s response to the photo went from “dismissive and joking” to
“frustrated and combative” when he was confronted by reporters four days later on
Capitol Hill with questions about his claim that the photo was the result of a hacker, why
305
"Pamela Meyer: How to spot a liar," 2011; Meyer, 2010g; Meyer, 2010f
306
Meyer, P. (2010, June). John Edwards says it’s ‘not possible” – his body language says otherwise. Retrieved from
http://liespotting.com/2010/06/john-edwards-says-it%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98not-possible%E2%80%9D-his-body-
language-says-otherwise/
307
CNN.com. (2010, January 21). John Edwards admits he fathered child with mistress. CNN Politics. Retrieved from
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/21/edwards.baby/
308
Kim, M. (2013, July 29). A Timeline of Weiner’s Sexting Scandal. NBC New York. Retrieved from
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Weiner-Timeline-Photo-Scandal-Women--123266188.html
61
he had not called upon law enforcement authorities to investigate the matter, and if the
photo was sent by him
309
. He repeatedly refused to answer questions, offered weak
denials, persistently cited the incident as a distraction and tried to instead talk about the
impending vote on raising the debt limit
310
.
In what quickly got dubbed the “Weiner Roast,” deception detection experts were
swift to analyze his behavior and statement structure during a confrontation at Capitol
Hill confrontation. Meyer was quick to note flashes of contempt and fear, and the
presence of lip puffing, lip biting, half shrugs and “duping delight”
311
.
Experts from QVerity, a provider of behavioral analysis and screening services for
private and public sector groups around the world
312
, also cited a plethora of deceptive
behaviors in an extensive commentary on his statement analysis. Their analysis began
with a particularly evocative point in regards to the likelihood of there being more to
Weiner’s story
313
. The high volume of attack behaviors he exhibited, coupled with his
inability to answer the questions -- all of which were very direct -- suggested that he
found himself in the very difficult situation of not being able to speak publicly on the
matter
314
. In other words, it seemed that Weiner preferred to appear obvious in his
deception than to provide any facts, information and direct answers to the reporters’
309
Wolf, Z. B. (2011, May 31). Rep. Anthony Weiner gets combative with reporters about lewd twitter photo. ABC
News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/05/rep-anthony-weiner-gets-combative-with-
reporters-about-lewd-twitter-photo/; Romary, P. (2011, June 2). [Hot dog! How deception detection experts caught
Rep. Weiner with his pants down]. Retrieved from http://truthinthelaw.blogspot.com/2011/06/hot-dog-how-deception-
detection-experts.html
310
Wolf, 2011
311
[Firstbhb Lahhbhst]. (2011, May 31). Rep Anthony Weiner gets combative with reporters about lewd twitter photo
the note [Video file]. Retrieved from http://liespotting.com/2011/06/deception-experts-take-on-rep-anthony-weiner/
312
Phil Houston: Chief Executive Officer. Retrieved from http://www.qverity.com/team/
313
Romary, 2011
314
Romary, 2011
62
questions. When taken into consideration the high value that politicians place on their
reputations, it is safe to assume that it would take something of “monumental
importance” to risk them
315
. As Weiner was unforthcoming with answers, he seemingly
allowed his reputation to slowly and publicly deteriorate. The presence of bolstering
statements like “all I can tell you” further substantiate his concealment of a deeper, and
potentially darker, reality that he didn’t want to talk about -- quite possibly, something
more lewd than a single photo to a female college student
316
. This overarching insight
helped explain QVerity’s text-by-text annotated analysis.
In the 21 instances that Weiner addressed the reporters, he failed to answer a
question 16 times; refused to answer a question three times; gave 12 non-answer
statements; verbally attacked a questioner on four occasions (“why don’t you let me do
the answers and you do the questions?”); tried once to build his credibility through
reputation (“I think I’ve been pretty responsive to you in the past”); asked an
inappropriate and disconnected question (“if I was giving a speech to 45,000 people and
someone in the back of the room threw a pie or yelled out an insult, would I spend the
next two hours responding to that?”); expressed an inappropriate level of concern once
(“by the way, in related news, I have…passed Michele Bachmann today in the number of
Twitter followers”); exhibited two instances of attacking behavior (“there are people who
are going to want to try to distract from the work that I have to do”); and, said six referral
statements (“You’ve got to refer to my statements”), five convincing statements (“I think
that what people really want to talk about are things like the debt limit vote tonight”),
315
Romary, 2011
316
Romary, 2011
63
four instances of inappropriate politeness (“If that’s unsatisfactory to you, I apologize”),
two unintended messages (“all I can tell you”) and two perception qualifiers (use of the
word “frankly”)
317
. Throughout the exchange reporters grew increasingly frustrated with
Weiner’s deceptive behaviors and were very blunt in their desire for more
straightforwardness: “did you send it or not?” “all you would have to do is say ‘no’,”
“can you just answer point blank,” “you’re not answering the questions,” “I’d love to get
an answer,” and “why not just answer the questions and then you’ll be done with it?”
318
QVerity experts concluded their analysis with a recommendation for the media to
investigate the story further
319
.
Exactly one week later, Weiner admitted that the tweeted photo was not the work of
a hacker but his own
320
. Over the next few days, more incriminating evidence from other
women who had engaged in online contact with him across the United States began to
surface, and he eventually resigned from Congress on June 21
321
. QVerity’s insight about
there being more to the story might have been correct because Weiner was involved in
another sexually-charged texting scandal the following year while he was running for
mayor of New York City
322
.
Herman Cain
In November 2011, a television station in Atlanta reported that a local
businesswoman by the name of Ginger White was going to come forward with claims
317
Romary, 2011
318
Romary, 2011
319
Romary, 2011
320
Kim, 2013
321
Kim, 2013
322
Kim, 2013
64
that she had engaged in a 13-year extramarital affair with then-Republican presidential
candidate Herman Cain. Shortly before, he had been accused of sexual harassment by a
number of women during his tenure as President and CEO of the National Restaurant
Association in the 1990s
323
. Although Cain denied all the allegations, his campaign began
to suffer when he started to drop in national polls behind fellow contenders Mitt Romney
and Newt Gingrich
324
.
Before White’s allegation was broadcast, Cain sat down for an interview with
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, during which he denied the accusations, said that he and White had
been friends and that there had been no sexual contact
325
. Experts from QVerity found a
high volume of significant deceptive indicators through an analysis of Cain’s statements
and behavior. From them, the analysts concluded it was highly likely that Cain had been
involved in a sexual relationship with White, that he had engaged in other relationships of
this nature in the past, and, if the first two observations were correct, that his campaign
team developed a combative strategy towards White and potential future accusers
326
.
Evidence that supported the analysts’ first conclusion stemmed from his opening
statements about White and statements about the first two accusations. Typically, when
people are falsely accused of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior, the first and most
323
Martin, J., Haberman, M., Palmer, A. & Vogel, K.P. (2013, October 31). Herman Cain accused by two women of
inappropriate behavior. Politico. Retrieved from
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/67194.html#ixzz36BvPfpLR
324
Thompson, K. & Somashekhar, S. (2011, November 28). Ginger White accuses Herman Cain of long affair. The
Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ginger-white-accuses-herman-cain-of-long-
affair/2011/11/28/gIQA6H6T6N_story.html
325
Thompson & Somashekhar, 2011
326
Romary, P. (2011, November 29). [When it comes to telling the truth, it appears Cain is still not able to]. Retrieved
from http://truthinthelaw.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-it-comes-to-telling-truth-it.html
65
important response that they naturally feel compelled to give is that they didn’t do it
327
.
However, Cain failed to do this in his opening statement
328
. When he did deny any
wrongdoing, Meyer pointed out that each denial was accompanied with a contradictory
head nod
329
. Another insight stemmed from a certain statement Cain made that sent a
message he didn’t realize he was sending, as analysts described it
330
. He made a comment
that the first two accusations were baseless, false and were not able to be proven. In this
comment, however, he didn’t directly deny that he had an affair -- he rather insinuated
that he did not believe the accusations could be proven
331
. The high frequency that this
happened during the interview led the QVerity analysts to believe that, unlike what he
was claiming, Cain did have a sexual relationship with White.
Evidence that supported the analysts’ second conclusion -- that he likely engaged in
other affairs and sexual relationships with more women -- stemmed from the following
five statements he made at different parts of the interview: “I expected this kind of stuff
when I made the decision to run for President of the United States of America,” “A
hundred thousand people could possibly come out,” “Do I know of any that might come
out? Not off the top of my head,” “But you have to look at my entire life and wonder, it’s
probably an infinite number of people who could come forward with a story,” and, “So I
can’t possibly say that somebody else might not come up with it"
332
. Based on these
statements, the likelihood that there were other women who Cain engaged in extramarital
327
Romary, 2011a
328
Romary, 2011a
329
Meyer, P. (2011a, November). Liespotting Herman Cain. Retrieved from http://liespotting.com/2011/11/liespotting-
herman-cain/
330
Romary, 2011a
331
Romary, 2011a
332
Romary, 2011a
66
activity with, along with the likelihood that Cain had knowledge that these women could
at any moment speak publicly on the matter is high
333
. Jon Stewart also commented on a
number of these statements in one of his episodes of The Daily Show
334
. He specifically
challenged Cain’s claim that he had a 13-year friendship with White by saying: “Thirteen
years, no sex. So either one of these two people is lying, or Herman Cain is the worst deal
closer in the history of extramarital affairs
335
.”
Finally, if the first two analyst insights were correct, then there is probable cause to
suggest that Cain and his campaign team recognize their validity and, knowing the type
of damage this could cause his campaign, have developed and enacted a strategy to
combat White and any potential future accusers
336
. The strategy, as Cain put it, was to
“handle it detail by detail, accusation by accusation
337
.” Rather than deny the possibility
of other accusations, he revealed an expectation that more allegations could surface. He
also did this in a different interview with Jimmy Kimmel
338
. He furthered this strategy in
two other statements:
“After I go to this fundraiser that I’m committed to go to with supporters, I’m going
to have me a nice steak dinner tonight. Because I’ve done nothing wrong, I’m going
to continue my routine as normal, as planned.”
339
And again when he said he didn’t “want to get into being pinned down on some things
until we see what the story’s going to be.”
340
Beyond QVerity’s analysis, Meyer also
noted the presence of two other deceptive cues. He intermittently displayed “duping
333
Romary, 2011a
334
Meyer, 2011a
335
(2011, November 30). Jon Stewart: Herman Cain Is Lying - or Terrible at Closing the Deal [Video file]. Retrieved
from http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/jon-stewart-herman-cain-lying-or-terrible-closing-deal-video-33171
336
Romary, 2011a
337
Romary, 2011a
338
Meyer, 2011a
339
Romary, 2011a
340
Romary, 2011a
67
delight” on a number of occasions while denying the affair allegations and he used
distancing language, like “the second woman
341
” when referring to one of the accusers,
and “we” and “you” when referring to himself
342
.
Ryan Braun
Ryan Braun, a right fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers and Most Valuable Player
award winner came under public scrutiny when a urine sample he gave back in October
2011 was leaked to ESPN’s Outside the Lines
343
. The sample tested positive for synthetic
testosterone and he faced a 50-game suspension
344
. Braun successfully appealed the drug
test in February 2012 and his suspension was overturned -- this was the first an MLB
player had successfully challenged a drug test result
345
. Some cited that he had won on a
technicality, as Braun had disputed the way his sample had been handled
346
.
After the successful appeal Braun held a press conference
347
, which Meyer
dissected and identified five statements that suggested he was lying about his use of
PEDs
348
. The first one was, “if I had done this intentionally or unintentionally, I’d be the
first one to step up and say ‘I did it
349
.’” Meyer pointed out that this was a very long and
341
[PalinGrifter2012]. (2011, November 28). Herman Cain denies 13-year-affair with ginger white on wolf blitzed -
can [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4IKcczLwuw
342
Meyer, 2011
343
Fainaru-Wada, M. & Quinn, T.J. (2011, December 12). Ryan Braun tests positive for PED. ESPN. Retrieved from
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7338271/ryan-braun-milwaukee-brewers-tests-positive-performance-enhancing-
drug
344
Fainaru-Wada & Quinn, 2011
345
Fainaru-Wada & Quinn, 2011
346
Kepner, T. (2012, February 23). Braun’s Name Is Cleared, but Questions Linger. The New York Times. Retrieved
from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/sports/baseball/ryan-brauns-name-is-cleared-but-questions-linger.html
347
[SportsGuy716]. (2012, February 25). Ryan Braun Talks About Winning Appeal [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPKurzzwGxg#t=180
348
Meyer, P. (2012, July 24). Liespotting Ryan Braun. Huffington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pamela-meyer/liespotting-ryan-braun_b_3642276.html
349
Meyer, 2012
68
complicated way to deny the accusation and that his use of conditionality (“If I had done
this intentionally or unintentionally”) was highly suspicious. He then said:
"By no means am I perfect, but if I've ever made any mistakes in my life I've taken
responsibility for my actions. I truly believe in my heart and I would bet my life
that this substance never entered my body at any point."
350
“By no means am I perfect” is an implicit admission of guilt
351
. “I truly believe in
my heart” and “I would bet my life” are bolstering statements -- attempts by Braun to
sound convincing and reinforce his credibility, but as Meyer pointed out, they
overemphasize his authenticity
352
. His description of the PED as “this substance” is a
distancing statement. Meyer also hypothesized that when he said the following two
statements, he was unconsciously eluding to the fact that there were missing details to the
story that he was reluctant to discuss:
"I've always had tremendous respect for the game of baseball, and part of the reason
I've kept quiet throughout the course of this ordeal, and part of the reason why I
won't be able to get into all of the details today, is to put the best interests of the
game ahead of the best interests of myself. And that hasn't been easy…There were
a lot of times when I wanted to come out and tell the entire story, to attack
everybody as I've been attacked, as my name has been dragged through the mud as
everything I've worked for my entire life was called into question.”
353
Later in February 2013, Yahoo! Sports reported that Braun’s name had appeared in
records from Biogenesis of America -- a clinic that allegedly provided PEDs to a number
of professional baseball players
354
. As a result of an MLB investigation, which found
overwhelming evidence of his involvement with the clinic, Braun was suspended for the
350
Meyer, 2012
351
Meyer, 2012
352
Meyer, 2012
353
Meyer, 2012
354
Brown, T. & Passan, J. (2013, February 5). Ryan Braun listed in records of alleged PED clinic; says he used
Anthony Bosch as consultant. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved from http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ryan-braun-s-name-listed-
in-biogenesis-clinic-records-235650670.html
69
remainder of the 2012-13 season and playoffs, which resulted in a personal loss of $3.25
million
355
. Later on August 22, he admitted to using a performance-enhancing cream and
lozenge to nurse an injury
356
.
Chris Christie
The George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal -- also known as the Fort Lee
lane closure scandal or Bridgegate -- was a conspired effort to manufacture traffic jams in
Fort Lee, New Jersey. The problems began on September 9, 2013 after two of the three
toll lanes at the Fort Lee entryway to the George Washington Bridge, which connects
Fort Lee with New York City, were closed prior to morning rush hour, resulting in
massive back-ups on local streets over the course of five days
357
. In the months
following, investigators uncovered damaging evidence of a potential political ruse
358
:
subpoenaed emails indicated that a senior aide and two top political appointees in
Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s administration
359
intentionally closed
the bridge lanes as political retaliation for Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich’s refusal to
endorse Governor Christie for re-election
360
. As a potential presidential candidate in
2016, this issue quickly grew to become a national scandal. On January 9, 2014,
Governor Christie held a press conference to address the matter and dispel any rumors of
355
ESPN MLB. ((2013, July 23). Ryan Braun suspended rest of year. ESPN MLB. Retrieved from
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9500252/ryan-braun-milwaukee-brewers-suspended-remainder-2013-season
356
Brown, T. (2013, August 22). Ryan Braun admits to lying, says he used PEDs during 2011 MVP season. Yahoo!
Sports. Retrieved from http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ryan-braun-admits-to-ped-use-during-2011-mvp-season-
003459837.html
357
Kleinfield, N. R. (2014, January 12). A bridge to scandal: Behind the fort lee ruse. The New York Times. Retrieved
from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/13/nyregion/a-bridge-to-scandal-behind-the-fort-lee-ruse.html?_r=0
358
Kleinfield, 2014
359
(2014, January 9). Full transcript: N.J. Gov. Christie’s Jan. 9 news conference on George Washington Bridge
scandal [transcript]. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/transcript-chris-
christies-news-conference-on-george-washington-bridge-scandal/2014/01/09/d0f4711c-7944-11e3-8963-
b4b654bcc9b2_story.html
360
(2014, January 9). Governor Chris Christie News Conference. C-SPAN. Retrieved from http://www.c-
span.org/video/?317101-1/gov-chris-christie-rnj-news-conference-lane-closures
70
his involvement
361
.
Two days after the press conference, Salon writer Amy Punt applied Meyer’s lie
detection techniques from Liespotting to the governor and revealed five signs of deceit
during the two-hour session
362
. First, Governor Christie revealed too much detail about
unimportant issues
363
:
“Well, let me tell you, everybody, I was blindsided yesterday morning. I was done
with my workout yesterday morning and got a call from my communications
director at about 8:50, 8:55, informing me of this story that had just broken on the
Bergen Record website. That was the first time I knew about this. That was the first
time I had seen any of the documents that were revealed yesterday
364
…by 9 o’clock
this morning, Bridget Kelly was fired. By 7 o’clock yesterday evening, Bill Stepien
[a strategist who managed two of Christie’s gubernatorial campaigns
365
] was asked
to leave my organization
366
.”
Details regarding what time certain events happened can be important, but in this case,
his fixation on these details and other ones like his workout detract from the real
questions that reporters wanted answered: did he question Kelly, and if not, why fire her
without getting more information about details of the incident, others involved and
motive behind her involvement
367
?
Secondly, Governor Christie evaded questions
368
:
361
Governor Chris Christie News Conference, 2014
362
Punt, A. (2014, January 11). 5 reasons Chris Christie might be lying. Salon. Retrieved from
http://www.salon.com/2014/01/11/5_reasons_chris_christie_might_be_lying/
363
Punt, 2014
364
Full transcript, 2014
365
Hamby, P. (2014, January 9). Gov. Christie: “I Was Blindsided.” Political Ticker. Retrieved from
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/01/09/with-scandal-christie-loses-his-top-enforcer/
366
Punt, A. (2014, January 13). Interview by L. O'Donnell [Video file]. Is Chris Christie lying?., Retrieved from
http://liespotting.com/2014/01/is-chris-christie-lying/
367
Punt, 2014a
368
Punt, 2014
71
“And what does it make me ask about me? It makes me ask about me what did I do
wrong to have these folks think it was OK [sic] to lie to me? And there's a lot of
soul-searching that goes around with this. You know, when you're a leader of an
organization -- and I've had this happen to me before, where I've had folks not tell
me the truth about something -- not since I've been governor but in previous
leadership positions -- you always wonder about what you could do differently.
And believe me…I haven't had a lot of sleep the last two nights, and I've been
doing a lot of soul-searching. I'm sick over this. I've worked for the last 12 years in
public life developing a reputation for honesty and directness and blunt talk, one
that I think is well-deserved. But, you know, when something like this happens, it's
appropriate for you to question yourself, and certainly I am. And I am soul-
searching on this.”
369
Not only did he use a lot of words to say very little, but no part of what he said answered
the original question posed; details of his sleep pattern and his soul searching are not
particularly relevant, yet they were mentioned a number of times
370
. Further, his injection
of details about his dedication to public service could have been an attempt to affirm and
convince others of his innocence, and his two-time repetition of the posed question could
have been his way of buying himself more time to form an untruthful answer.
Thirdly, he expressed a lack of genuine emotion
371
. Governor Christie is normally a
force of nature, self-confident, passionate about what he believes in, and very expressive
with his hands
372
. However, during this press conference his body was very still and
when he moved it appeared robotic, he kept his hands on the podium, and his face
demeanor lacked the customary warmth and charm he normally exhibits
373
. He also used
emotional language while not acting emotionally -- something further inconsistent with
his typical behavior:
369
Full transcript, 2014
370
Punt, 2014a
371
Punt, 2014
372
Punt, 2014
373
Punt, 2014
72
“I’m heartbroken about it and I’m incredibly disappointed. I don’t think I’ve gotten
to the angry stage yet, but I’m sure I’ll get there…I don’t know what the stages of
grief are in exact order, but I know anger gets there at some point, I’m sure I’ll have
that too
374
.”
Governor Christie also exhibited a few verbal leaks
375
:
“I am -- there’s this -- there’s this, you know, kind of reputation out there of me
being a micromanager. I’m not. I mean, I think if you talk to my staff, what they
would tell you is that I delegate enormous authority to my staff and enormous
authority to my Cabinet. And I tell them, come to me with the policy decisions that
need to be made, with some high-level personnel decisions that need to be made.
But I do not manage in that kind of micro way, first
376
.”
His leak of the word “first” at the end of his statement changed the meaning of everything
he previously said. In another instance, he said:
“I think what you [press corps] all have seen about me over the last four years in
my dealings with you is that I deal with you directly, and I say exactly what I think.
And I think over time I have developed the reputation for telling you all the truth,
as I see it -- there could be disagreements, but the truth as I see it.”
377
If he was, however, telling the truth, he would not need to qualify his answer; why say
“the truth as I see it” when he could have just said “the truth”? When people tell the truth,
they do not explicitly say they are
378
. Finally, Governor Christie contradicted himself and
changed his story on numerous occasions
379
:
“I brought my senior staff together, I think about four weeks ago tomorrow, and I
put to all of them one simple challenge. If there is any information that you know
about the decision to close these lanes in Fort Lee, you have one hour to tell either
my Chief of Staff Kevin O’Dowd or my Chief Counsel Charlie McKenna.”
380
However, during the question period he said:
374
Punt, 2014a
375
Punt, 2014
376
Full transcript, 2014
377
Full transcript, 2014
378
Punt, 2014
379
Punt, 2014
380
Punt, 2014a
73
“Four weeks ago when I had them all in that office and I said ‘if any of you
have any information about this that I don’t know, you need to tell me, Kevin or
Charlie now.”
381
381
Punt, 2014a
74
Chapter Ten: Global Applicability
As evidenced by the above case studies, being attuned to others is clearly
advantageous and a number of industries have picked up on this. The science and
psychology behind nonverbal behavior has already started to disseminate into a variety of
different fields -- including but not limited to domestic law, national security,
international relations, law enforcement, psychotherapy, health care and business
382
.
Something that all of these fields have in common is the prevalence and necessity of
face-to-face interpersonal interaction -- something that makes recognition training
incredibly important
383
. The ability to understand and be well-versed in nonverbal
communication can make people more informed and will lead them to make more
informed judgments -- something that is of particular paramount concern in the high-
stake and critical situations
384
that accompany these fields.
Domestic Law
Scholars have investigated the effect of nonverbal cues in testimony of witnesses
and judges over the past few decades and have found that the appearances of witnesses,
defendants and attorneys have a notable effect on judicial rulings
385
. Juries are especially
susceptible to looking for and reading nonverbal cues from these same courtroom
individuals, as they commonly look beyond verbal content for any available evidence to
382
Holmes, M. (2011). The force of face-to-face diplomacy in international politics. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved
from USC Libraries via Holmes, M. (2011) National security behavioral detection: A typography of strategies, costs,
and benefits. Journal of Transportation Security, 4(4), 361-374.
383
Matsumoto & Hwang Sung, 2011
384
Hurley, 2011
385
LeVan, E.A. (1984) Nonverbal communication in the courtroom: attorney beware. Law and Psychology Review
8(83), ix-278 via Hurley, 2011; Barge, J.K., Schlueter, D.W. & Pritchard, A. (1989) The effects of nonverbal
communication and gender on impression formation in opening statements. Southern Communication Journal 54(4),
330-349 via Holmes, 2011
75
make judgments and reach a verdict
386
. Evidence suggests that jurors place more
emphasis on nonverbal cues than verbal ones
387
. Therefore, the accuracy of their
interpretations of such nonverbal behavior could be absolutely crucial to the outcome of a
trial
388
. This could help explain why it is common practice for prosecutors and defense
attorneys to spend significant amounts of time, resources and energy coaching their
witnesses and preparing them to take the stand and testify
389
. Like jurors, they are fully
aware that witness testimony is never strictly verbal so this coaching is often a deliberate
objective to provide and promote testimony that will ultimately contribute to a favorable
verdict
390
.
The presence of nonverbal cues -- ones that indicate deception especially -- and
their applicability to delivered verdicts have not only been explicitly validated and upheld
by higher courts, but, in some jurisdictions, jurors are clearly asked and encouraged to
take them into consideration when deciphering the truth and deciding a verdict
391
. In the
1995 Utah Supreme court case of Gittens v. Lundberg, the court deferred to a jury’s
decision even though it was based on a judgment call regarding the credibility of a
witness:
As has often been said, the jury is in a favored position to form impressions as to
the trust to be reposed in witnesses. They have the advantage of fairly close
personal contact; the opportunity to observe appearance and general
demeanor;…that manner of expression, and apparent frankness and candor or want
of it in reacting to and answering questions on both direct and cross-examination in
determining whether, and to what extent, witnesses are to be believed (Gittens v.
386
Holmes, 2011
387
Barge, Schlueter & Pritchard, 1989 via Holmes, 2011
388
source 81
389
Neal, T.M.S. (2009). Expert witness preparation: what does the literature tell us. The Jury Expert 21, 44–
52 via Holmes, 2011
390
Gershmann, B.L. (2002). Witness Coaching by Prosecutors. Pace Law Faculty Publications, 126 via Holmes, 2011
391
Holmes, 2011- terms like “demeanor upon the witness stand” and “manner of testifying” are evidence of this
76
Lundberg, 284 P.2d)
392
Arguably, the most important factor at stake here is to ask how often jury
assessments made on the basis of nonverbal cues are correct
393
. This is difficult to assess,
however, since jury assessments are often never validated or invalidated once they are
delivered
394
. Nevertheless, courts and many involved in the judicial process take the
application of nonverbal behavior assessment and measurement towards detecting truth
and deception very seriously.
National Security
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) relies heavily on deception
detection techniques. Although its practices have been hotly debated
395
, senior officials
have recognized the importance of deception detection and made moves to combat its
detractors. Since 2007, the organization has invested over $1 billion on the Screening of
Passengers by Observation Techniques, a program used to identify people who may be a
risk to aviation and airport security
396
. Scholars of homeland security, however, have
begun to assess the relative costs and benefits with respect to specific national security
programs in an effort to inform the debate regarding whether particular programs are
worth the cost
397
.
392
Holmes, 2011
393
Holmes, 2011
394
Holmes, 2011
395
Higginbotham, A. (2013, January 17). Deception Is Futile When Big Brother’s Lie Detector Turns Its Eyes on You.
Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2013/01/ff-lie-detector/
396
Holmes, 2011
397
Stewart, M.G. & Mueller, J. (2008) A risk and cost-benefit assessment of United States aviation security
measures. Journal of Transportation Security 1(3), 143–159 via Holmes, 2011; Holmes, M. (2009) Just how much does
that cost, anyway? An analysis of the financial costs and benefits of the “no-fly” list. Homeland Security Affairs 5(1)
via Holmes 2011
77
International Relations
It has been speculated that over the last ten years, the United States Department of
State and researchers at the Department of Defense have been analyzing the behavior of
key global leaders. Approximately 40 reports have allegedly been compiled on different
leaders to “determine a better understanding of their decision making process”
398
. Since
2009, a Pentagon think tank called the Office of Net Assessments has devoted an annual
amount of $300,000 to research their body language and movement patterns, among them
Russian President Vladimir Putin
399
.
Facial Action Coding System
FACS has proven tremendously useful in helping people become highly sensitized
to detecting emotional intensity and distinguishing the subtlest of differences in facial
expressions
400
. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency use
it for security purposes, psychiatrists apply it to their patients
401
, researchers have used it
to study illnesses like schizophrenia and heart disease, clinicians use it to discriminate
between truthful and untruthful accounts of illness or injury in patients they are
treating
402
, and even computer animators at production companies like DreamWorks and
Pixar have used it for the development of characters in Shrek and Toy Story
respectively
403
. It was designed to be self-instructional, but now improvement and
398
Reuters. (2014, March 7). Putin’s Body Language Studied for Clues to Deception Making: Pentagon. The New York
Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/03/07/world/europe/07reuters-usa-defense-putin-
research.html?_r=0
399
Reuters, 2014
400
Meyer, 2010c
401
Hill, 2003
402
Ekman & O'Sullivan, 2006
403
Gladwell, 2005
78
retention has been found in people who learn the material in groups
404
. Mastering it can
take up to a few weeks
405
. Only 500 people around the world have been certified to use it
for research
406
. Although an extensive and sophisticated tool with a relatively long time
commitment required to navigate and learn it, in the grand scheme of things it is a small
amount of time to sacrifice given the positive outcomes that arise: a greater awareness of
and sensitivity to subtle facial behaviors that could help people not only spot deception
but make them better interpersonal communicators.
Proven Detection In Real Time
A study by Ekman, O’Sullivan and Frank (1999) discovered a number of key
findings when examining how accurately federal officers, sheriffs, law enforcement
personnel, judges, clinical psychologists and academic psychologists could identify
deceptive behavioral cues. All groups were asked to observe and judge videotapes of
people who were lying or telling the truth about their opinions
407
. The researchers found
that it is possible for people to make highly accurate judgments about lying and
truthfulness in real time and without any special aids like slowed motion and repeated
viewing; an expressed interest in deception detection will increase the likelihood of
developed and sustained skill; performance was better in judging lies than in judging
truths across all different groups; and, accuracy is possible for judging more than one
kind of lie
408
.
404
Facial Action Coding System. Retrieved from http://www.paulekman.com/facs/
405
Gladwell, 2005
406
Gladwell, 2005
407
Ekman, O'Sullivan & Frank, 1999
408
Ekman, O'Sullivan & Frank, 1999
79
The direct application and use of nonverbal behavioral cues to detect deception in
these industries exemplifies their importance. The further notion that many of them have
even taken steps to make it widespread practice among practitioners in the respective
fields is even more promising.
80
Chapter Eleven: There’s An App For That
Developments in facial reading, body language analysis and statement examination
have clearly come a long way. New software developments and enhancements of existing
ones with emotion-reading capabilities, particularly with regard to facial recognition, are
in the works. Two-dimensional images of a person’s face can now be converted to three-
dimensional models
409
, there are interactive advertisements that use facial scanning
technology to recognize people’s genders and display content accordingly
410
and there is
even a “pay-by-face” currency system that uses facial recognition technology as a method
of payment at retail stores
411
.
Facial recognition technology is rapidly developing and more people are starting to
take notice, so much, in fact, that now there is even an app for it. Emotient, a San Diego-
based startup, has applied existing research on microexpression detection to develop a
beta app for the Google Glass that will provide wearers with real-time information on the
sentiment or mixed sentiments of people and groups in their immediate surrounding
412
.
The prototype processes the seven universal expressions (happiness, sadness, surprise,
anger, fear, contempt and disgust), their range in intensity (drastic, subtle, micro), overall
sentiment (positive, negative, neutral), and blended composites of two or more
409
Carter, E. (2014, March 31). Animetrics Launches Commercial Version of Facial Recognition API.
ProgrammableWeb. Retrieved from http://blog.programmableweb.com/2014/03/31/animetrics-launches-commercial-
version-of-facial-recognition-api/
410
[Plan UK]. (2012, February 22). Choices for Girls - interactive bus shelter ad [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/embed/BHnpSGdIGAI
411
Isaacson, B. (2013, July 19). Facial Recognition Systems Turn Your Face Into Your Credit Card, PIN, Password.
Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/19/facial-recognition-credit-
card_n_3624752.html
412
Ellenbogen, E. (2014, March 10). Google Glass App Reads Human Emotions and Feelings. PSFK. Retrieved from
http://www.psfk.com/2014/03/google-glass-emotion-reading-app.html#!B1pXp; Tofel, K.C. (2014, March 6). With
$6M in funding, Emotient enables Google Glass to “see” emotions. Gigaom.com. Retrieved from
http://gigaom.com/2014/03/06/with-6m-in-funding-emotient-enables-google-glass-to-see-emotions/
81
emotions
413
. The startup partnered with Innerscope Research and tested the technology on
consumer responses to advertisements during the 2014 Super Bowl
414
:
Figure 3: “VW Wings” Commercial Response Figure 4: Dannon Oikos Commercial Response
In the above figures, an audience is watching the Volkswagen “Wings” commercial
415
(Figure 3) and the Dannon Oikos “The Spill” commercial
416
(Figure 4) while Emotient
assessed their expressed emotions throughout their different parts. The technology
recognized three different emotions, which have been highlighted accordingly on the
respective individuals’ faces: green for joy, purpose for surprise and yellow for fear. The
bottom half of both figures illustrate varying levels of joy expressed by the group at
specific parts during the commercials’ lengths, followed by an overall assessment of
brand appeal at the end.
413
Prigg, M. (2014, March 6). Shop assistants set to wear Google glass app that can monitor your emotions while you
shop - and tell advertisers what you REALLY think of their products. Daily Mail. Retrieved from
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2575170/Google-glass-read-emotions-send-advertisers.html
414
Emotient and Innerscope Research Share Key Emotional Response Findings From Super Bowl. Retrieved from
www.emotient.com/superbowl
415
[Wonderful Pistachios]. (2014, February 2). Wonderful Pistachios Stephen Colbert Super Bowl Commercial 2014,
Parts 1 and 2 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MErkYH-FNo
416
[Oikos Greek Yogurt]. (2014, January 25). Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt - The Spill [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrcaeAumAZo
82
The company envisions many industry applications for this technology, however,
the current focus and highest potential market are the retail and health care industries
417
.
It could help retailers understand customer reaction to products, service and marketing
tactics, as well as decipher emotional reasons behind conflicting buying intentions
418
. In
the health care sector, the technology could be used to help screen clinical patients for
depression -- a costly ailment for health care providers as it is linked to a slew of other
health problems
419
-- and could help people with autism, who have difficulty discerning
emotions, interact in more natural ways
420
. Emotient developers also see potential for the
app in the automotive industry and education. For example, engineers and designers
could use it to gauge which car features customers do and do not like, and educators
could use it to gauge student frustration and alter teaching and learning styles
accordingly
421
.
This is a perfect example of an advancement that will be incredibly helpful yet
equally terrifying. It is undeniable that the potential stripping of emotional privacy could
very well happen if this type of technology gets abused, yet at the same time it is loaded
with potential to improve efficiency and save resources across a number of different
fields and settings. Its development speaks to the growing realization of how more
recognized and mainstream deception detection is hopefully becoming. So what, then,
about PR?
417
Truong, A. (n.d.) This Google Glass App Will Detect Your Emotions, Then Relay Them Back To Retailers. Fast
Company. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/3027342/fast-feed/this-google-glass-app-will-detect-your-
emotions-then-relay-them-back-to-retailers
418
Prigg, 2014
419
Truong, n.d.
420
Temple, J. (2013, August 26). Google Glass app being designed to read emotions. SFGate. Retrieved from
http://www.sfgate.com/technology/dotcommentary/article/Google-Glass-app-being-designed-to-read-emotions-
4758728.php#photo-5085848
421
Gigaom.com, 2014
83
Chapter Twelve: Deception Detection for PR
Deception detection will improve the realm of PR; it is just a matter of when the
industry starts to take notice and seriously implement it. The research is out there, the
findings are concrete, more people have started to talk about it, and the technology and
methods are improving. PR practitioners are in a position to not only benefit from
learning about deception detection, but to use it to their advantage in an overwhelmingly
positive way.
An Opportunity For Success
There is, however, one incredibly important notion to understand about deception
detection techniques before practitioners start using it and before organizations start
formally introducing it into their practices: recognizing deception is an opportunity for
increased success.
It is not a new concept that PR practitioners are equipped with a plethora of skills
that make them successful in the field and their respective specialties. If they are doing
their jobs effectively, they should be aware of current trends and issues, have good
communication skills, have excellent writing skills, have an ability to multitask and
manage time efficiently, work well under pressure and be flexible. An increased and
sophisticated ability to be cognizant of others’ emotions and be on alert for deception is
just another important tool that practitioners can add to their arsenal and leverage on a
daily basis.
84
Once skills in facial recognition, body language reading and statement analysis
have been learned and harnessed, it could be very easy for someone who spots deception
to get excited, jump up and down, point fingers and yell “ah-ha! I just caught you in a
lie!” That is not, however, at all what this is about. That type of reaction, if anything,
could prove to be incredibly damaging. False accusations of deception and quick leaps to
conclusions have harmful, destructive, negative, detrimental and injurious consequences
written all over it. It is not about directly acting on spotted signs of deception, but rather
strategically reacting to them. It is about leveraging that ability to accurately spot
deception as an advantage, taking the right steps to confirm the presence of deception and
plan accordingly. It is not about getting defensive and being accusatory.
Better Communication, Better Reputation and More Trust
The proper harnessing of deception detection can go a long way in PR. Practitioners
will quite literally be able to see into the minds of key stakeholders they deal with on a
daily basis -- like their clients, journalists, consumers, investors, shareholders and fellow
employees -- and it can help them in their communications in a wide range of scenarios.
While meeting with a client to gauge success of the PR effort over the previous quarter,
while pitching to journalists, while managing a crisis, while gauging consumer opinion
about a client’s brand identity and corporate reputation, and while gauging potential
investor concerns. What if a client was withholding details about an upcoming campaign?
What if a journalist expressed a false sense of interest in a story? What if while reviewing
a statement with a CEO before a press conference he makes gestures that suggest he or
she is nervous?
85
Assessing baseline behavior and being cognizant of deception detection techniques
can help practitioners in all of these instances and more by improving communications,
lessening the waste of unnecessary amounts of time and resources, building trust with
stakeholders, building a better reputation and generating profitable business. PR is a
people business, so it should be one that is attuned to how important this area is. The
industry is not yet doing enough to harness this pool of tremendous opportunity, and a lot
is at stake. Practitioners should train themselves to become deception detection experts,
especially in the wake of technological advancements eroding the once commonplace
practice of face-to-face interaction.
Deception Audit
In her book Liespotting, Meyer introduced the idea of a deception audit as a
method that organizations can implement to detect and rid themselves of areas where
deception can foster. It can be large-scale -- an in-depth investigation of an organizations’
susceptibility to fraud and deception in the areas of policy, infrastructure and people -- or
small-scale -- a way to detect vulnerabilities within a department or project
422
. Deception
auditors can provide these organizations with concrete recommendations to ensure
deception is completely thwarted and room for a trust-based infrastructure is made:
“You’ll be prepared to begin the process of building an organization staffed by
individuals who share your commitment to honesty and integrity. Your
infrastructure will encourage mutual respect, trust, teamwork, and problem
solving. You’ll have a keen sense of how information is protected and flows.
You’ll be confident that the messages you disseminate regarding company
priorities and goals are clear and consistent. Teams will be empowered to
422
Meyer, 2010c
86
confront dishonesty when they see it. Your employees will instinctively avoid
doing business with others whose cultures and values don’t mesh with yours.”
423
This is an important concept that the PR world should note. The possible idea that
the ambitions and motives of something like a deception audit are impossible to achieve
is ludicrous. A deception audit is a clearly sound business practice and evidence
demonstrates that companies that actively foster the ideals of this audit outperform those
that don’t
424
. According to a report published by the authors of Fortune Magazine’s “Best
Companies to Work For”, work environments with high trust, cooperation and
commitment levels outperform their competitors with stronger long-term financial
performance, lower turnover, more job applications and an integrated workforce that
creates and contributes to a culture of benefit to all
425
.
Concluding Thoughts
Deception detection is just a piece of the puzzle. It is not the only cure for a
healthier PR culture, but it is a guaranteed method for practitioners to protect themselves
and simultaneously promote better communication with their stakeholders. The
implementation and integration of this enhanced work environment has to, however, be
more than just a message trickled down from a company’s executive to the bottom line or
more than words in an employee handbook. The effort dedicated to creating and
encouraging a work culture of honesty and integrity, with limited to no opportunity for
deception, is a small one to make for noticeably vast improvements in efficiency,
productivity and morale. Deception detection demands that the PR world momentarily
423
Meyer, 2010c
424
Meyer, 2010c
425
Meyer, 2010c
87
push pause. It demands that practitioners look up from their devices and divert more
attention back to listening, reading and connecting with people. There is a lot to see and a
lot to learn, and the outcome is worth it.
88
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Abstract (if available)
Abstract
Deception is a parasite that is permeating through American society. Consciously or not, and at some point or another, everybody has been a victim or perpetrator of deception. From exaggerating on a resume in the hopes of getting a job offer, to taking credit for work performed by a coworker, making a promise to someone with the intention of breaking it, and misrepresenting a client to achieve a deliverable, today’s cultural environment is a breeding ground of deception. This paper, therefore, examines this deception epidemic that is plaguing the United States. It chronicles its severely widespread nature in daily life, demonstrates how it has seeded itself in history and explains its ongoing propensity through an extensive examination into human behavior. A sophisticated body of research that has come about over the years offers evidence that an increased perception and heightened awareness of others’ behaviors, like facial expressions, body language and statement analysis can be a window into their true emotions. The relatively recent cultural shift towards a more visual world as attributed to the influx of images, photographs and videos suggests that people have an increased visual acuity that can be channeled into helping them be more cognizant of others. Six mini‐cases featuring the public deception of two professional athletes and four politicians in televised interviews and press conferences are analyzed. The principal conclusion is that public relations (PR) practitioners will be better communicators, build more trust with their stakeholders and build better reputations for themselves with an increased cognizance and use of deception detection techniques.
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Alboini, Lauren
(author)
Core Title
The American deception epidemic: why public relations practitioners should take notice
School
Annenberg School for Communication
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
Strategic Public Relations
Publication Date
08/04/2014
Defense Date
07/01/2014
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
body language,Deception,deception detection,deception epidemic,facial expression,nonverbal behavior,OAI-PMH Harvest,Public Relations,statement analysis,visual literacy
Format
application/pdf
(imt)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Floto, Jennifer D. (
committee chair
), Kotler, Jonathan (
committee member
), Lynch, Brenda (
committee member
)
Creator Email
lauren.alboini@gmail.com
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https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-451631
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UC11286595
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etd-AlboiniLau-2758.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-451631 (legacy record id)
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etd-AlboiniLau-2758-0.pdf
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Alboini, Lauren
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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...
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Tags
deception detection
deception epidemic
facial expression
nonverbal behavior
statement analysis
visual literacy