Unraveling the Misconception About Deception and Nervous Behavior

Abstract

In this article, we attempt to unravel the misconception about deception and nervous behavior. First we will cite research demonstrating that observers believe lie tellers display more nervous behaviors than truth tellers; that observers pay attention to nervous behaviors when they attempt to detect deception; and that lie tellers actually feel more nervous than truth tellers. This is all in alignment with a lie detection approach based on spotting nervous behaviors. We then will argue that the next, vital, step is missing: Research has found that lie tellers generally do not display more than truth tellers the nervous behaviors laypersons and professionals appear to focus on. If observers pay attention to nervous behaviors but lie tellers do not come across as being nervous, lie detection performance is expected to be poor. Research has supported this claim. We finally discuss ideas for research into lie detection based on non-verbal behaviors.

Catching a liar through facial expression of fear

“…Looking for the nonverbal “hot spots” of individuals is very suitable for the scenario in which rapid evaluation is required. Some other approaches of deception detection, for example, brain activities, cannot provide real-time results (Vrij & Fisher, 2020). The results suggested that the “hot spots” - emotional expressions of fear - could distinguish between truthful and deceptive messages with a reasonable level of accuracy.…”

“…Looking for the nonverbal "hot spots" of individuals is very suitable for the scenario in which rapid evaluation is required. Some other approaches of deception detection, for example, brain activities, cannot provide real-time results (Vrij & Fisher, 2020).…”

Nonverbal Behaviors “Speak” Relational Messages of Dominance, Trust, and Composure

“…Given the need to suppress information during deception, deception researchers have investigated behavioral cues associated with reticent communication. People often assume that nervousness is a sign of deceptiveness even if objectively, that is untrue ( Vrij and Fisher, 2020 ). Although the proposition that deception can be revealed through shifty eyes has all but been disproven, cues associated with deception do overlap with ones associated with anxiety and nervousness.…”

“…Although this research does not necessarily align rigidity with nervousness, nervous behaviors are associated with rigidity, including kinesic cues ( Gregersen, 2005 ) and vocal tension ( Laukka et al, 2008 ). This is partly because deception is thought to increase cognitive load, and higher cognitive load reduces overall activation ( Vrij and Fisher, 2020 ). However, previous studies showed mixed results in the associations between vocal variations and nervousness.…”

“…Furthermore, we expect trust to correlate with dominance positively, because dominant individuals tend to convey confidence and appear competent ( Anderson and Kilduff, 2009 ), and competence instills trust. Additionally, trust is expected to be associated with less nervousness, because individuals may employ nervousness as a heuristic when judging veracity, although nervousness may not imply lying ( Feeley and deTurck, 1995 ; Vrij and Fisher, 2020 ). Consequently, we can hypothesize:…”