Lying: How Your Face Gives You Away

Reuters | April 25, 2008 09:47 AM

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Liars might think they are good at covering up their deceit but a new Canadian study shows there's one thing they can't control that will give them away -- flashes of emotion in their faces.

Researchers at Dalhousie University's Forensic Psychology Lab in Halifax conducted the first detailed study on the secrets revealed when people put on a false face or inhibit various emotions, and found their faces told the truth.

But instead of clues like shifty eyes or sweaty brows, their expression would crack briefly, allowing displays of true emotions such as happiness, sadness, disgust and fear to come through.

"Unlike body language, you can't monitor or completely control what's going on your face," Stephen Porter, who worked on the research, said in a statement.

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- MGhamma See Profile I'm a Fan of MGhamma

Assuming that the average person can read the emotional cues that show that someone is lying. Judging by what's going on in the world these days, we're not too good at it.

Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 02:08 AM on 04/28/2008

- wm1066 See Profile I'm a Fan of wm1066

Another good indicator is watching to see if the skin on the face flushes and gets red after a comment.
Of course this is harder to tell on darker skin than lighter skin, and you have to be close up to see the reaction.

Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:48 PM on 04/26/2008

- desthmoneses See Profile I'm a Fan of desthmoneses

This article isn't entirely true, not everyone has the same emotional reactions to the same things, some one could say be happy when they remember commiting a crime and some may feel guilt when they have done nothing wrong.

Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 02:19 AM on 04/26/2008

- OneWoman See Profile I'm a Fan of OneWoman

I agree with you. What the researchers actually measured were their own perceptions or interpretations of the people's faces--not necessarily what those individuals were in fact feeling. Also, they assumed a normative response to the pictures they presented and apparently used this as their baseline. For example, they assumed people would experience and then display what they consider to be a look of disgust after viewing the picture of a severed hand. This is not a given: a psychopath might experience arousal; a sociopath or someone with antisocial personality disorder would likely be indifferent; and a person with Asperger's Syndrome might indicate their disgust by smiling or laughing, something they are known to do. As a clinician and researcher, I dont give this study much weight.

Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:34 AM on 04/28/2008

- NoSillyName See Profile I'm a Fan of NoSillyName

That picture shows a classic case of "Pinocchio Nose Syndrome, a term coined by my brother, Mark, during the Carter/Reagan debates.

Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 05:26 PM on 04/25/2008