how to tell if someone is lying

[blaze666]

not related to poker, how can you tell if someone is lying when you ask them a direct question? what are the main things i should look out for?

[Bluffoon]

This is just like tells. You have to observe the individual. Some people hesitate, some blink, some look away, some stare at you, some repeat your question before they lie. Everyone is different but once you have their tell you have em cold.

Also when someone is lying they tend to be vague and try to change the subject. If you suspect someone is lying to you question them on details and whatch them squirm. It's fun.

[vexvelour]

I just bought a book about body language. Off the top of my head I can think of the eye contact thing: if they never quite look at you in the eye when they talk OR they stare dead into your eyes kinda strange-like, they're lying.

Book says:

Facial Flushing
Sweaty plams
angling away from the accuser
arm or leg cross
very fast or very slow head movements
self-touching
inability to stand still
throat clearing, stammering

[Bodhi]

Yes, tells are good for picking out liars, but they'll never help you with a good bullshitter because he's not even concerned with whether he's speaking truth or falsity.

[poker-penguin]

My mouth is moving.

One trick I have is that if you ask a question that requires a visual memory, the eyes go up and to the left for truth (because they are retrieving the memory) and don't for lies.

Studies have shown that most people cannot tell when someone is lying to them - even someone who they know very well.

There are several theories related to eye movements - that you move your eyes to the right when accessing memory, and to the left when accessing creative thought (aka, lying) - however, these are not really accurate as studies have shown that many people use their creative side to determine how best to tell a story - even one that is true.

For the most part, you just have to watch their body language and their reactions and see if they are consistent with what you know of them.

One big cue that someone MAY be lying is that they get angry at your questioning them.

from Scott Adams' (author of Dilbert) The Joy of Work:

"All you is unexpectedly ask the most direct question you can, then listen for which of the two possible approaches the person uses to respond. For example, you might say, "Did you kill your neighbor?"
Innocent people answer that sort of question by saying, "No, I didn't!" or "Are you &%#$ crazy?"
Guilty people say, "Whatever gave you that idea?" or "There's no evidence of that!" or "Did someone say I did?"
The main difference is that the guilty people are attacking the evidence, not denying the event.

[bdypdx]

Try this,

http://www.blifaloo.com/info/lies.php

[RocketManJames]

[ QUOTE ]
One trick I have is that if you ask a question that requires a visual memory, the eyes go up and to the left for truth (because they are retrieving the memory) and don't for lies.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is this trick real? I heard it only from a line in the movie, The Negotiator. But, maybe there's some truth in it.

-RMJ

[A_C_Slater]

[ QUOTE ]
I just bought a book about body language. Off the top of my head I can think of the eye contact thing: if they never quite look at you in the eye when they talk OR they stare dead into your eyes kinda strange-like, they're lying.

Book says:



angling away from the accuser
arm or leg cross

self-touching
inability to stand still


[/ QUOTE ]


I can do all these things when having to deal with someone I loathe, even though I'm telling them the truth.

[Roy Munson]

Usually, if someone is purposely not telling the truth, then they are lying.

I find a good tell is touching the face, but that is also a tell for irritation.

Also, listen to qualifiers in their language. Like saying basically. Did you kill that guy? Well basically, no.

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

Very extensive research has been done on exactly this. People who have been well-trained in detecting lies through body language, inflection, etc., perform no better than naive control subjects. Training allows them to have much greater confidence in the accuracy of their responses, but they are still right only a bit better than 50% of the time.

[GoCubsGo]

Interesting, because I just watched a video on this today in psychology. These professors said pay attention to the voice. 2nd most important is the eyes. People can easily control their facial expressions, but their voice may sound forced. They did a study and people guessed the liars much more accurately when listening to a tape recording than when actually watching them talk.

[OrianasDaad]

If you aren't already a good liar, then figuring out when someone else is lying in response to a direct question is very difficult.

I'm going to keep it brief, to avoid confusion and potential damage.

The best way to know if someone is lying is to know the answer to the question before you ask it. You will never go wrong with this advice.

[britspin]

http://www.scififx.com/graphics/darkangel/jessica%20alba-dark%20angel-maxim%20pict1.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, Jessica Alba. She's not attractive at all. She mings.

That's funny, I feel all flushed.

[Jeebus]

i see someone else has read "on bullshit'

[Georgia Avenue]

Kick them in the nuts...(somebody had to say it!)

[tek]

[ QUOTE ]
If you aren't already a good liar, then figuring out when someone else is lying in response to a direct question is very difficult.

The best way to know if someone is lying is to know the answer to the question before you ask it. You will never go wrong with this advice.

[/ QUOTE ]

ding ding

The reason this is true is that those who can lie well have anticipated questions in advance and formulated answers.

[shermn27]

These kinds of posts make me laugh at pop psychology. Here they are in rank order.

#1 - Change in voice
#2 - Change in body/postural movement
#3 - Facial Movement
#4 - What they actually say

The common misconception are the eyes. It's bullshit. They are so unreliable. As a matter of fact, so are the other one's but change in voice and bodily movements are much more reliable than the face. Countless studies have shown that people have less control of their bodily movements (such as legs & posture) than other parts of their body. If you are going to use something use those. The 4th most reliable tell is my favorite though. If the person say's something that can't possibly make logical sense, it's a lie. Other than that, it's hard to tell by what they say.

Oh yeah, Milo is right on about lie detecting people. FBI "lie detection" agents have shown to be slightly better at detecting than regular police officers/detectives, federal judges, and lay persons. But the of the other three, there have been no differences shown between the other three groups however.

STOP READING THOSE STUPID BOOKS ON THE PSYCHOLOGY SHELF AT THE BARNES AND NOBLE! THEY ARE JUNK! Unless of course they are by Dr. Al, he's da man. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[vexvelour]

[ QUOTE ]
STOP READING THOSE STUPID BOOKS ON THE PSYCHOLOGY SHELF AT THE BARNES AND NOBLE! THEY ARE JUNK! Unless of course they are by Dr. Al, he's da man.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey how about you don't tell me what to read, hmm?

Secondly, they may not help in poker but when you're in a psychology class, they can help a little. Dumbass.

[shermn27]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
STOP READING THOSE STUPID BOOKS ON THE PSYCHOLOGY SHELF AT THE BARNES AND NOBLE! THEY ARE JUNK! Unless of course they are by Dr. Al, he's da man.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey how about you don't tell me what to read, hmm?

Secondly, they may not help in poker but when you're in a psychology class, they can help a little. Dumbass.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ha. Clearly you are confused by what is pop psychology. I consider books in the psychology section at Barnes & Noble to be pop psychology b/c they are more often than not books written by non-academics who do not do real laboratory research or by academic dropouts trying to make a quick buck. Any real psychologist in the academic community will tell you pop psychology books are junk.

Sure they might make you feel better and learn how to like yourself, but you could write those books yourself. If you want a book that helps with your psychology class - try a textbook written by an academic researcher; they actually contain valid information.

But seriously, I don't mind if you read pop psych., just telling you it's junk.

[vexvelour]

Well to get down to it, is there a problem with my "pop psych" information? I find it to be true and to the point. Doesn't really matter what text it came from...

[jkkkk]

[ QUOTE ]
These kinds of posts make me laugh at pop psychology. Here they are in rank order.

#1 - Change in voice
#2 - Change in body/postural movement
#3 - Facial Movement
#4 - What they actually say

The common misconception are the eyes. It's bullshit. They are so unreliable. As a matter of fact, so are the other one's but change in voice and bodily movements are much more reliable than the face. Countless studies have shown that people have less control of their bodily movements (such as legs & posture) than other parts of their body. If you are going to use something use those. The 4th most reliable tell is my favorite though. If the person say's something that can't possibly make logical sense, it's a lie. Other than that, it's hard to tell by what they say.

Oh yeah, Milo is right on about lie detecting people. FBI "lie detection" agents have shown to be slightly better at detecting than regular police officers/detectives, federal judges, and lay persons. But the of the other three, there have been no differences shown between the other three groups however.

STOP READING THOSE STUPID BOOKS ON THE PSYCHOLOGY SHELF AT THE BARNES AND NOBLE! THEY ARE JUNK! Unless of course they are by Dr. Al, he's da man. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with everything you say apart from the eyes, I think being able to tell if someone is lying is completely based on the individual and situation, everyone is different. The reason I disagree with your statement about the eyes is because they can be used as an indicator, not a sole indicator, but a clue nonetheless.

Basic visual cues can give a lot of information away, now I don't think that is to say that if you've mapped someones pattern for top left = VR (visual remembered) and top right is VC (visual constructed) that every time they look to their top right they are lying. Some people like to use their imagination to facilitate remembering a particular image.

I don't think anyone can generally detect lies off of someone they have just met with great accuracy unless they are very skilled, you have to map their patterns and pay attention to their most likely motives for each answer they give based on the situation they find themselves in.