NCJ Number
200901
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 72 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2003 Pages: 19-24
Date Published
June 2003
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article examines the use of nonverbal behaviors to detect dishonesty.
Abstract
The author cautions that detecting deception through the use of nonverbal cues remains a difficult task. In fact, prior research has indicated that traditional methods of detecting deception during police interviews were only correct in 50 percent of the cases. Interviewers can enhance their ability to detect deception by focusing on four areas of nonverbal behaviors: comfort/discomfort, emphasis, synchrony, and perception management. Comfort and discomfort are readily denoted by many nonverbal cues. When people are comfortable with their surroundings, they tend to mirror the verbal and nonverbal behaviors of the person with them. People who are uncomfortable tend to move around a lot and fidget. Emphasis is another domain the interviewer can tap into when trying to detect deception. Emphasis involves the way in which people move their bodies in tune with what they are saying; dishonest people have certain ways of emphasizing their speech, or even lack emphasis altogether. Synchrony involves the degree to which harmony exists between many factors, such as between the circumstances of the event and the story from the suspect. Finally, dishonest people will often engage in perception management in order to come across as honest to the interviewer. Perception management may include the use of phrases such as “I wouldn’t lie.” The author cautions that all people communicate differently, thus it is important to remain flexible and open-minded when interviewing suspects or witnesses.