In a past blog, A Look at the Truth, Humintell reported on distinguishing features of truth tellers & liars.  Following are remarks from the original blog as well as videos that illustrate the importance of microexpressions and nonverbal behavior.

Dr. Matsumoto has stated that it is equally important  to determine truthfulness when trying to detect deceit.  Based on scientific research done in the field of detecting deception, we know that there are both accurate and inaccurate cues to focus on when trying to decipher a lie from the truth.

 Cues to deception occur through many channels including facial expressions of emotion, microexpressions, gestures, verbal style and verbal content as well as other cues. 

Remember that there is NO Pinnochio effect– that is, there is not 1 reliable clue to deception, which alone can determine whether or not someone is lying.  Things such as fidgeting, eye gaze, lack of eye contact, scratching of the nose and excessive blinking by themselves are not 100% foolproof ways to detect deception. See common misconceptions about microexpressions. 

Humintell emphasizes looking for inconsistencies between verbal and nonverbal statements, which we call hot spots. For example, if you see someone say the words “I love you” and then you see a microexpression of disgust on their face, this is a hot spot.  However, 1 or 2 hot spots doesn’t necessarily mean deceit especially if they are expressed when discussing different topics.

The video below is of a woman named Erin Runnion. Her daughter Samantha was kidnapped outside their home. The raw emotions are powerful!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Compare Runnion’s emotions, behavior and facial expressions to that of Diane Downs, a mother whose children were shot, two survied and one died:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Although Downs never admitted to committing the act herself, she was convicted of murder & attempted murder by the testimony of her daughter whom she shot in the face.

Truth and Deception can be very similar and it often takes a trained eye and several years of practice to see the clues of when someone is being truthful as well as deceptive.

Watch the videos below and share what  you see with others, so that they can See What They’ve Been Missing!!

Some of you might be familiar with the cases below and some of you might not.  Knowing the truth behind each of these videos will not impede your ability to practice and hone your truth detection skills.

A week ago we asked readers to look at the two videos and weigh in with their thoughts as to who was telling the truth, who was lying and why.

Many people shared meaningful thoughts and opinions and almost everyone agreed that the first video of a woman pleading for her daughter’s return seem to be fabricated, while the second video seemed much more genuine.

In fact, the first video was of a Canadian women named Penny Boudreau who later admitted to strangling her own daughter and was sentenced to life in prison. Her daughter, who was only 12 years old, was a victim at her own mother’s hands. The video you saw below was taken before Penny had admitted to the murder.

What is particularly interesting is that throughout the interview, you see an expression more resembling fear than of sadness. Penny’s brows are not pulled up and together, but are raised creating horizontal lines across the forehead:

Compare Boudreau’s expression of emotion to that of the father of a missing boy in the video below. You can see genuine sadness throughout the press conference, as his brows are up and together:

In addition, in the Boudreau video, you see her fidgeting a lot and her eyes darting back and forth. She often puts her hands on her face and rubs her face, while the man in the second video doesn’t do that at all. Remember, that fidgeting and eye gaze on it’s own cannot be a reliable sign of lying unless compared to a baseline.

Perhaps Boudreau acts like this normally, but she seemed very tense and obviously fearful of something, perhaps of getting caught. Our hearts go out to the father in the second video. His emotions are raw, almost uncontrollable at times and palpable. You truly feel his pain when watching his speak about his missing son.

Missed watching the original videos? Take a look at the original post here