Human Behavior and Deception Detection

Abstract

Human intelligence is the key to stopping terrorism, and therefore it is essential to know when the information obtained is false. This article briefly outlines the research on behavioral clues to deception, as well as research on people's abilities to spot deception once it has happened. We find that there is no clue or clue pattern that is specific to deception, although there are clues specific to emotion and cognition. In general, behavioral clues are only limited in their abilities to identify deception and that there are still behavioral measurement issues that may plague research on deception. Moreover, a closer examination of the laboratory research suggests that many research studies are not relevant to security contexts, thus the research literature may underestimate the usefulness of behavioral information—particularly for the utility of identifying emotional and cognitive states. We also find that most people, unaided by technology, cannot detect lies from behavioral information, but that some groups do show significantly higher levels of accuracy—although more research is needed to understand why. We conclude that a more directed interaction with scientists and practitioners—in both lab work and in the real world, in creating real‐world databases, identifying base rates for malfeasant behavior in security settings, optimizing training, and identifying preexisting excellence within security organizations can more rapidly capitalize on the usefulness of behavioral information in security settings.

Detecting Hoaxes, Frauds, and Deception in Writing Style Online

“…According to Undeutsch Hypothesis [26] "Statements that are the product of experience will contain characteristics that are generally absent from statements that are the product of imagination." Deception requires additional cognitive effort to hide information, which often introduces subtle changes in human behavior [6]. These behavioral changes affect verbal and written communication.…”

Lessons From Pinocchio: Cues to Deception May Be Highly Exaggerated

“…In an effort to temper our hopes of catching lies with unerring accuracy, deception researchers often say there is no “Pinocchio’s nose” (e.g., Frank, Menasco, & O’Sullivan, 2008; Hartwig & Bond, 2011; Vrij, 2004, 2006). That is, there is no behavior that perfectly discriminates between truthful and deceptive messages.…”

Statement Analysis of Deception Detection

“…The person may be under stress or tension and tried to convey what he lied in his story. "A lie…involves additional mental efforts…this extra efforts tends to manifest itself with …more repeated words and phrases, and so forth" [9]. Deception can be possible.…”