How Our Bodies Betray Us in a Lie
Elangovan, February 7, 2019
Lying is extremely difficult. Regardless of how good you think you are at the practice, and some people are indeed very good at it, you will ultimately be betrayed by the one thing that is absolutely out of your control: your own body!
In an interrogation situation, where a suspect often appears as cool as a cucumber, there are little reveals, leaks and tells that give them up. Only a trained professional will be able to spot these, though, and here is why.
There are a myriad accepted nuances that we associate with lies. These are anything from nervousness to fidgeting, rambling to avoiding eye contact. But, on their own, these are not definitive indicators that one is telling you a lie.
Under intense questioning, some people naturally become nervous. Some people ramble on and on, taking conversations on so many tangents that it is difficult for the listener to keep up. Others, still, fidget due to innate insecurities or involuntary quirks. And some people just find it difficult to make eye contact, probably perceiving others as threatening or above them.
All these people are not necessarily liars, then!
The human body does, however, betray one when one lies. It gives you up on the altar of truth as readily as Abraham was willing to offer up Isaac. And just how this happens is discussed below.
Darwin Said It
That the human body betrays its host, if you will, is not a new idea. It is as old as Darwin, even older. In his book, The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals, Darwin suggested that ‘when a man is either moderately angry or enraged even, he may command certain movements of the body… but facial muscles least obedient to the will betray…emotion.’
The above statement is purely a paraphrase, but the point is clear. Lying, under any circumstance, regardless of affinity, is very hard. And we’re not even here referring to the fact that you have to remember the lie. We are referring to the multiple physiological responses to the lie that you have got to control.
So, in the absence of the “Pinocchio Effect,” if you will, a single cue that betrays the liar, surely then it becomes impossible to spot when someone is deceiving you?
Not so.
The stereotypical reveals mentioned above are not true indicators of dishonesty. Instead, according to psychologist Charles Bond, it is the ‘cooperation of multiple channels of communication, or the lack of said cooperation, that gives one away!’
In short, it is how well your speech and vocal qualities, your posture and movement, and yes, your facial expressions align that is the best indicator of whether or not you are being truthful!
Lying creates a conflict in the liar that is difficult for most people to manage. And this is what usually gives one away.
The Truth about Lies
When you lie, you are immediately presented with multiple narratives that all require your attention. You are juggling what you know as truth and what you wish to be so. You are juggling what it is you are presenting to be the truth with emotions such as guilt, fear, anger and hope, all the while trying to maintain credibility.
You find physiological and psychological conflicts, conscious and sub or unconscious, and managing all of this conflict becomes, well, impossible.
Still, though, many people lie, usually in the heat of the moment, usually after careful planning and many rehearsals. The body finds it hard to keep up with or agree with the lies being told, though, and so your body betrays you.
Here’s how.
The Ultimate Betrayal
In a truthful person, the alignment of the channels of communication will be good. Poor alignment is a definite indicator that something is amiss.
What do we mean?
Think of how, when you are relaxed, your voice and posture work together, and it can appear that you are almost dancing even. Recall the last time you listened to a really good storyteller, or a comedian, or a politician give a genuine speech. You will have noticed how they raised their hands at the right time, made gestures that aligned perfectly with what was coming out of their mouths, all the while raising and lowering their voices to keep you engaged.
This harmony is absent in liars. They seem to be out of sync, their voices poorly matching their posture and overall demeanor.
Facial expressions are another reveal to look out for. Not just the way the person twitches, or raises an eyebrow, or purses their lips together. But whether or not the expressions on the face match the utterances coming out of the mouth. In liars, there is a discord between the two, and unfortunately this disharmony is often difficult to spot if you are not looking for it.
Lying is, in a nutshell, very hard work. Why people insist on doing it, to Law Enforcement especially, is difficult to understand. Or maybe it isn’t, depending on your relationship with the law.
Fortunately, thanks to the extensive research that has gone into the subject, it is becoming easier and easier to spot a lie, especially in the interrogation room.
A Final Word
Paul Ekman, in his book Telling Lies, suggests that it is possible, through training, to spot a liar by their nonverbal behavior and facial expressions. We see from the above, that this is true. He further suggests that we actively seek out incongruences between words and action. Again, from the above, we know this to be true.
What is abundantly clear, therefore, is that there seems to be cohesion between industry experts on the matter, which is a very good thing.
The fundamental truth of the matter is that the body cannot lie, no matter how much the words do. Action and not words reveal truth. This is just the way it is.
In the words of phenomenal American Dancer, Martha Graham, “the body says what words cannot… the body cannot lie!”
References
Charles Darwin, The Expression Of Emotion In Man and Animals, 1872 (New York)
Robin Marantz Henig, New York Times (5 February, 2006)
Paul Ekman, Telling Lies, Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics and Marriage (26 January 2009)