Chapter 7 - Theories in Deception and Lie Detection

Abstract

There are four general approaches to detecting lies: investigators could measure someone’s physiological responses, observe his/her behavior, analyze his/her speech, or measure his/her brain activity. The four ways to detect deceit have different theoretical underpinnings as to why differences between truth-tellers and liars may occur. The dominant theoretical rationales in each approach – anxiety and orienting response for physiological lie detection, anxiety, guilt and cognitive load for behavior, cognitive load, trying to make a convincing impression, or memory for verbal behavior, and response inhibition or memory retrieval conflict monitoring for brain activity – are discussed. Also discussed is a brief history of lie detection and accuracy rates of various lie detection tools that are used when analyzing physiological responses, behavior, speech, or brain activity (Control/Comparison Question Test, Concealed Information Test, facial emotional expressions, Behavior Analysis Interview, Statement Validity Assessment, Reality Monitoring, and Scientific Content Analysis).