Do you know when someone is lying to you?

Anna Rowley — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:34:53 +0000

It's one of those statistics that makes you stop and think. Do we really lie 3 times within 10 minutes of meeting someone new? Research by Robert Feldman et al suggests we do. In Feldman’s study he found that 60% of his sample told an average of 3 lies in the first 10 minutes of meeting someone new. But what do we lie about? The researchers categorized lies into five areas: feelings, achievements, plans, explanations and facts. The most popular category was feelings, which included lies about emotions, opinions and evaluations. The researchers concluded that lies about feelings were more likely to occur when women wanted to appear competent and men wanted to appear likable. So how do we tell if someone is lying to us?

The latest ‘psychology to TV’ tie-in is ‘Lie to Me’ starring Tim Roth as the self-described ‘human lie detector’. The show is based on the work of noted psychologist Paul Ekman who has researched and written extensively about the relationship between facial expression, lying and emotion. Amongst other things Ekman specializes in helping people ‘read’ micro-expressions – facial expressions that last no more than 1/25 of a second and which tell the observer what a person is really trying to hide. I have used Ekman’s Micro Expression Training Tool (METT) both personally and with clients. It’s a CD based training that really helps focus attention on these small facial expressions.

To hear Ekman talk about his work check out this video.

And Ekman talking about the show http://www.fox.com/fod/play.php?sh=lietome&ep=1233609522416

Rowley Associates » Paul Ekman

Do you know when someone is lying to you?