4 Detecting deception
An area that has attracted a lot of research interest within psychology is whether or not it is possible to tell when someone is telling the truth or lying.
This psychological research area has obvious application to the criminal justice system because if we were able to accurately tell if someone is lying, or telling the truth, it would be very helpful and save a great deal of time and money!
In this section you will have a go at detecting deception using a lie-detection scenario which has frequently been used, over the years, in psychological research.
Activity 6
Through the link below you will explore an interactive in which you will use your skills of observation to assess whether or not someone is lying or telling the truth about the theft of £10. Each of the people you see interviewed were left alone in a room with a bag with £10 inside and each had the opportunity to steal the money. Each person will deny taking the money, but some of them actually have the money in their pocket as they are making that denial – so they are lying.
Complete the interactive to see if you can identify the liars and truth tellers: Detecting deception [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] (open the link in a new tab or window so you can easily navigate your way back to the course).
When you have finished the task, return here and look at the questions below.
- Was your estimate of how easy it is to spot when someone’s lying to you accurate?
- Did you find the task easy or difficult?
- What cues did you use?