Heuristic versus Systematic Processing of Information in Detecting Deception: Questioning the Truth Bias

Abstract

Research on nonverbal detection of deception has normally been conducted by asking observers to judge the veracity of a number of videotaped communications. These video clips have typically been very short. Observers have a tendency to judge most of these statements as truthful. An experiment was conducted in which 52 participants (44 women, 8 men; M age = 22.2 yr., SD = 2.2) who were taking a psychology and law course were requested to make judgments of credibility at different points of the senders' statements. A strong truth bias was apparent when judgments were made at the beginning of the statements, suggesting that when exposed to brief communications, the observers make heuristic judgments. Over time, a decrease in the truth bias and an increase in overall accuracy were found, suggesting that later judgments were increasingly based on systematic information processing. These results suggest that the truth bias that has been found in previous deception research may be a result of having used very brief and uninformative behavioral samples as stimuli.

The case of Pinocchio: teachers’ ability to detect deception

“…Signal detection theory has been successfully applied to the detection of deception by various authors (e.g., Masip et al 2009;Meissner and Kassin 2002;Sporer 2004). Table 2 displays the four possible outcomes of a detection of deception experiment in terms of signal detection theory.…”

Regression toward the Mean or Heuristic Processing in Detecting Deception?: Reply to Elaad (2010)

“…If the behavioral samples are very small, then the observers can only make heuristic judgments, and this might yield a bias toward judgments of truthfulness (see Masip, et al, 2009, for the underlying rationale). Masip, et al (2009) collected 12 videotapes in which senders answered three questions about a witnessed event.…”

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Masip, et al (2009) conducted a study in which observers had to make truth-lie judgments at the beginning, middle, or end of a series of videotaped statements. They found a decline in truth judgments over time and explained this finding in terms of information processing mode.

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Truth Bias and Regression toward the Mean Phenomenon in Detecting Deception

“…The improvement was explained by systematic information processing. The present paper suggests an alternative explanation, which rests on the phenomenon of regression toward the mean.Recently, Masip, Garrido, and Herrero (2009) argued that the truth bias (the tendency of judges to judge statements truthfully) can be explained by the point in time at which the judgment is made. Participants were asked to make three independent credibility judgments per sender at three time points (Moments 1-3).…”

“…Recently, Masip, Garrido, and Herrero (2009) argued that the truth bias (the tendency of judges to judge statements truthfully) can be explained by the point in time at which the judgment is made. Participants were asked to make three independent credibility judgments per sender at three time points (Moments 1-3).…”