The Humintell Blog, Author at Social Engineering Blogs

The Humintell Blog February 24, 2020

Body Language: Validated and Non-Validated Indicators

Hey everybody, it’s David Matsumoto from Humintell. I wanted to thank everybody for the tremendous response that we have received about our last 2 videos.

One was on the introduction to what is body language and the other one was about whether you can tell the difference between fake and genuine emotions.

One of the things that I had talk about in the body language video was the difference between validated and non-validated indicators. Some of you had asked for us to go and discuss that a little more, so I thought I’d do that today.

What are Validated Indicators?

Validated indicators are those indicators that have been tested in research and found to reliably differentiate truth tellers from liars across studies, investigators and laboratories. And, they have also been vetted in the field.

What are Non-Validated Indicators?

Non-validated indicators are those indicators or behaviors that have been tested in laboratory studies but have not been found to reliably differentiate truth tellers from liars.

We also think about what are called unvalidated indicators. These are behaviors that have not even been tested yet. In our research and in our training work, we always focus on validated indicators. Again, validated in the science and vetted in the field. We believe these are the most important ones interviewers and investigators and anyone who’s reading people should be focused on.

Fake vs Genuine Emotions

So now let’s move our attention to the other video, the fake vs genuine emotions. I saw everybody’s great responses and for the most part, everybody was correct in differentiating which video or which person was telling the truth and which one was lying.

But it’s really interesting to take a look at what behaviors people’s were focusing on to make that kind of determination. We actually tallied the various behaviors that people had mentioned and one of the most frequent behaviors that people had mentioned were the “shifty eyes” or what we call gaze aversion– where a person does not look one straight in the eye when answering the question.

Gaze Aversion: Validated or Non-Validated Indicator?

Actually, gaze aversion is a behavior that has been tested many times in laboratory studies to determine whether it reliably differentiates truth tellers and liars. As of a few years ago, of the 25 studies that I knew at that time that tested that hypothesis, 24 of those studies did not find evidence to support that hypothesis. And we in our research have never found that also.

So to tell you the truth, gaze aversion as an indicator of lying is more of a myth that a reality. In fact, there have been studies by other people that have shown that that myth is believed by many people around the world. So it kind of makes sense that people think that that’s true but in reality that’s not a validated indicator nor has it been vetted in the field.

If you take a look at those two videos, one has more of the shifty eyes, in addition to the other indicators, while the other one did not, but in reality there are many people who also tell the truth and not necessarily look other people in the eye or have shifty eyes when they’re doing so.

So when you look across people at that one particular indicator or behavior, you find that really that indicator does not really differentiate truth tellers from liars. Now, it does indicate a certain type of mental state and we leave that kind of information for our training, but it’s not indicative of truth telling and lying. It’s not a reliable or validated indicator of truth telling vs lying.

What makes Humintell unique

One of the things that we do here at Humintell that we’re very proud of is that we focus solely on the validated indicators. Again, validated in science, vetted in the field because we believe these are the most important ones to train others in. That’s why we do the research and we know the research not only on our findings, but we also know the findings of all the other researchers in the field. We have a really good idea of what’s been validated in science then when we train people, we get the feedback of what’s been vetted in the field.

What do you think about these examples?

We’re going to introduce you to some other videos of people who are actually telling the truth but also not looking one in the eye or shifting away in their gaze. Just take a look how that happens there as well. Remember most of these people you’re about to see are telling the truth.

Example 1

Example 2

Now we have a question for you after you take a look at the videos above. Chime in and let us know what other behaviors do you think have been validated or not in science and in the field. Maybe we can talk a little more about validated vs non-validated or unvalidated indicators with regard to truth telling and lying

The Humintell Blog February 18, 2020

Were You a Fan of Lie to Me?

What is Lie to Me?

Lie to Me was a popular American drama series that aired on the Fox TV Network. The show was cancelled almost 10 years ago (!!) in January of 2011 after running for 3 seasons. But despite the fact that almost a decade has passed after its last show aired on network TV, fans have not forgotten Cal Lightman (played by Tim Rooth) and The Lightman Group.

For those not familiar, the Lie to Me was loosely based on Dr. Paul Ekman’s work in the field of microexpressions. However, like any TV show, it must be remembered that Lie to Me was a television drama series where plot lines were fabricated, characters were fictional and the truth was often exaggerated. After all, it is entertainment.

In fact, Humintell previously blogged about the accuracy of the science depicted in the show. While much of the show is “rooted in actual science” much of it is exaggerated and the information should be taken with a grain of salt.

Who is Cal Lightman?

The Lightman Group is headed by Dr. Cal Lightman, a “human lie detector” who spent years working for the FBI before he formed his own company. He and his team are hired to assist in cases where they question people’s honesty. In the show we see Dr. Lightman talk to someone in regular conversation and within a few seconds, be able to tell if they are lying or not.

A misconception one might have from the show is that a company like The Lightman Group actually exists, when in fact, the company that is portrayed on the show does not exist in real life.

While it is true that psychologists can assist corporations and law enforcement groups to determine if someone is being honest, this takes countless hours of research and analysis of video footage.

This is contrary to the false depiction that a psychologist who studies facial expression and nonverbal behavior can know if someone is lying to them from 2 minutes of conversation. The work these psychologists engage in is often tedious; it involves facial coding, establishing a baseline for the person being observed and comparing their nonverbal and verbal actions.

Do Truth Wizards Exist?

Although a company like the Lightman Group does not exist in real life, people like Ria Torres do. Torres, who is a “natural” at detecting deception, is based off of the late Maureen O’Sullivan’s study called the Wizards Project.

Of the 13,000 people that were tested in their deception detection techniques, only 31 were wizards, who were able to tell “whether the person is lying, whether the lie is about an opinion, how someone is feeling or about a theft”.

Want to know what Dr. O’Sullivan’s opinion was about Lie to Me? View our past blog here.

What is the Societal Impact of the Show?

Researchers at Michigan State University led by professor of communication, Timothy Levine, put Lie to Me viewer’s deception skills to the test in a new study entitled “The impact of Lie to Me on viewers’ actual ability to detect deception”.

The study which was published in the Journal of Communication Research, finds watching Lie to Me “increases suspicion of others but that is reduces one’s ability to detect deception”, according to an article written by Tom Jacobs of Miller-McCune.

The study suggests what we have been suggesting all along: that viewers of Lie to Me shouldn’t accept all information that is presented on the show as accurate or think they know more about lie detection without getting formal training.

Where can I watch Lie to Me?

Although the show has been cancelled, episodes are still available to stream via Hulu.

Did you watch Lie to Me? What was your favorite episode or character?

The Humintell Blog January 29, 2020

What is Body Language?

So you want to know about body language?

**Body language is also known by another term called Nonverbal Behavior.**

Nonverbal behavior is a complex signal system of the body to communicate our mental states, thoughts and feelings.

I say it’s one of the most complex signal systems of the body because it includes different channels like facial expressions, tone of voice, my hands, gestures, body posture, the way we walk- even how much space we take when we talk with each other, and whether or not we touch each other.

Each of those channels can communicate different messages. They communicate specific or generic emotions. They communicate cognitive processes or specific cognitions; some kind of physiological states and some other things.

When you put all those channels together with all those signals it’s really easy to see why nonverbal behavior or body language is one of the most, or the most, complex signal system in the body. When we’re trying to observe body language, it’s just so overwhelming because there’s so many channels and messages.

So what channel should you focus on?

Research has shown that of all of the channels and all of the messages coming at us, one of the most important is facial expressions of emotion. That’s why we focus on facial expressions of emotion.

That doesn’t mean that everything else is not important because we also focus on the other things, like gesture and voices and everything else. But facial expressions of emotion are the most important channel that we have.

What’s unique about Humintell?

One thing that’s unique about our work and our approach to body language is that we focus on what we call validated indicators.

These are behaviors that have been validated by research and science over the last thirty to fifty years and that have been vetted in the field by the thousands of people that we have been fortunate enough to train and use our system in their daily lives.

Want to learn more?

Take a look at these past blogs on body language

Better Reading Body Language

Benefits of Learning to Read Body Language and Facial Expressions of Emotion

9 Ways Your Body Language Can Help You Land a Job

6 Steps to Effective Interview Body Language