Detecting Lies and Deceit

Why do people lie, and how can lies be detected? There is now a substantial psychological literature relating to these fundamental questions, and this book reviews the relevant knowledge in detail, before focusing on guidelines for best practice in detecting deception. Psychological research is now available on individual differences in lying behaviour (gender differences, age differences and personality). There is also interesting research evidence of the ways in which deception is reflected both in real objective non-verbal behaviour and also in the perceived non-verbal cues which can help or mislead the observer in detecting deception. Although the book does include a major survey of the physiological aspects of deception and the polygraph as a method of detection, it also includes a thorough review of current knowledge of content analysis and validity assessment of speech and written statements. The book ends by discussing how professionals can improve lie detection by focusing on key aspects of the behaviour of the liar and by awareness and control of their own behaviour. It covers all three aspects of deception-non-verbal cues, speech and written statement analysis, and physi