“I have no active memory of this” by Mark Rutte or “Nobody told me it was against the rules” by Boris Johnson. Some see lies in them, others do not. Lying can be identified in a sophisticated way by a person’s body language, but Dutch researchers have found an easier way to detect lying.
Researcher Bruno Verschuere from the University of Amsterdam has discovered that there is a simpler method than looking at eye movements or nervous twitches. “I tried to master that complicated method, but it was complicated. Then I wondered if it must really be so complicated.
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With the help of the students, a test was run at LieLab looking for an easier way to detect lies. The students were divided into two groups, “Lying” and “Truth”. The fact group was allowed to do something on their own for half an hour during the test, while the other group was asked to “steal” and “copy” an exam.
Listen carefully to the story
After that, all the students had to report again, they were accused of stealing the exam and they had to make a statement. All this had to be done “as an innocent citizen.” The researchers didn’t know who was going to lie and who wasn’t,” explains Carlene Minders, host of Science Today. Then the researchers tried to find a difference in the students’ statements.
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Among other things, the details of the explanations given by the students were examined. How many places, time and people are mentioned? “A new group of people saw the statements with the aim of spotting falsehoods,” Verschuer says. As a result, the researchers discovered that no technique or training was needed to detect lies. “We said, ‘Just look at how detailed the story is.’ That’s how people found out about the lies.”
confirmed in other studies
This finding wasn’t just for the Dutch researchers. “This was repeated in nine studies,” Minders confirms. “This has always been confirmed in follow-up studies.” Explanation: “People who simply tell the truth can give a rich description because they actually experienced the events. Liars can make up details, but this increases the chance of getting caught.”
However, a serious legal investigation is not enough to catch a liar. There is no perfect lie detection even with a polygraph. And our approach is far from perfect,” says Verschuer, which also raises the question: What can you do with this? In everyday life, it is difficult to detect a lie, you need training or equipment for this. This is the only way that allows people in everyday life to detect a lie during a conversation.
An important tip here is to listen carefully and not talk too much to yourself. The more the other person talks, the more you will learn about the story and all the details that may be missing or obscure.
