A question everyone in today’s society thinks about is; how to spot a liar. As a part of a recent class on interviewing, taken at Lethbridge College, we were given that exact task. First we watched the video “How to Spot a Liar”. Presented by Pamela Meyer. This video gave us a foundation as to the techniques to use in spotting an individual who is being deceitful. The next step was to watch two interviews, which dealt with an individual from both genders regarding the circumstances of separate sexual assault accusations. With the knowledge and techniques we have acquired by doing so, this has given us the ability to analyze, interpret, and critique individuals based on their verbal and non-verbal communication.
Video 1
The first video depicted
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an interview of Ms. Marry Stanton, the family babysitter of the Johnson family. The interview was due to an alleged sexual assault of five year old Brad Johnson, the boy Ms. Stanton was babysitting. The accusation arose when after being interviewed by a CPS investigator, Brad described Ms. Stanton, unzipping his pants and touching his bare penis for 15 to 30 seconds [How to spot a liar interview, n.d.]. From what we analyzed during the interview, Ms. Stanton had an apparent calm, cool and collected demeanor. She provided immediate responses to pointed questions, quick to say no, and deny any contact with Brad other than during a bathroom session. When asked about the outcome of the investigation, she stated “That I am innocent. That the allegations are not true.” [How to spot a liar interview, n.d.]. She went on to deny fondling Brad in any capacity other than for the purposes of helping him use the bathroom. In our minds this was a key factor in interpreting her verbal communication, which helped us to the conclusion of Ms. Stanton being truthful throughout the interview. She was asked if she would be truthful about whether or not she did have any sexual contact with Brad. Her response was “Yeah. (Paused then changed her mind and said) No I probably wouldn’t because I would get into trouble’’. [How to spot a liar interview, n.d.]. This is another example of how she exemplifies honesty during the interview. She first came out with a lie, thought about her response, and told the interviewer what we interpreted as the truth. Essentially she showed us her true colours, which in correlation to the Pamela Meyer presentation, depicts an individual who is being honest. [How to Spot a Liar, 2011]. In terms of analyzing Ms. Stanton’s non-verbal communication during the interview we witnessed many visual representations of an honest individual. Eye contact is something we picked up on, she made eye contact with the interviewer for the majority of the interview; occasionally glancing up and to her left. This to us showed she wasn’t trying to force a look of honesty. Ms. Stanton sat in an upright position with her body open to the interviewer. She crossed one leg over the other and used a variety of hand gestures while responding to questions. This to us depicted an individual who was open to talk about the topic at hand; showing emotion with the use of hand gestures shows us the individual is confident about her answers and really has nothing to hide. Based on the evidence we have provided through analyzing, interpreting, and critiquing Ms. Stanton’s verbal, and non-verbal behaviour we have come to the conclusion, she is telling the truth in the interview. Video 2 The second video was an interview between an investigator and Mr.
James (Jim) T. Randolph. Mr. Randolph is an uncle to eleven year-old Terry Thompson. The allegations arose after Terry attended a summer camp, and disclosed information about being sexually molested by her uncle. [How to spot a liar interview, n.d.]. In terms of Mr. Randolph’s verbal communication, he was very deflective to all questions; he gave short, awkward responses, paused for a moment before giving any answers, and his tone was very monotone. The tone of his voice, and how he responded to questions, instantly displayed red flags. Someone who is being deceitful typically displays all of these communicative behaviours when telling a lie because they cluster them together. It becomes much harder to keep a story straight when it is a lie so, an individual becomes deflective, and reluctant to expand of his or her responses. [How to Spot a Liar, 2011]. “Lying is an attempt to connect our wishes and fantasies to who we wish we were, with what we are really like”. [How to Spot a Liar, 2011]. By analyzing Mr. Randolph’s verbal communication, we found this quote to be prominent throughout the interview. We believe the manner in which he demonstrated verbal communication during the interview, depicted he was trying to convince himself, his responses were the truth, when in reality this evidence shows …show more content…
otherwise. Analyzing Mr. Randolph’s non-verbal communication, gave us many indicators, which lead to our belief of the interviewee being deceitful. For starters Mr. Randolph had a very poor demeanour from the time the interview commenced. He had little to no eye contact with the interviewer, he was slouched over, holding his head up at times, and he was always fidgeting with his hands by scratching or tapping his body. For us these were indicators of a very deceitful person, as it showed he was very uncomfortable with the situation and tried to distance himself from it. He seemed almost closed off to any question the interviewer directed to him. “If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips”. [How to Spot a Liar, 2011]. This quote from Pamela Meyer stood out and relates to the interview for that reason. Mr. Randolph was very quiet during the interview so in our opinion his non-verbal communication was what gave us the bases for our conclusion. After analyzing, interpreting and critiquing all of the various non- verbal behaviours of Mr. Randolph, we deem him to be lying, someone who is telling the truth would be more open to questions, and try to defend themselves of any wrong doing; Mr. Randolph did none of this. With the knowledge and techniques we have acquired by participating in a recent interviewing class at Lethbridge College, we have gained the ability to analyze, interpret, and critique individuals based on their verbal and non-verbal communication.
We watched two interviews, which dealt with an individual from both genders regarding the circumstances of separate sexual assault accusations. We also watched the video “How to Spot a Liar”. Presented by Pamela Meyer. This video gave us a foundation as to the techniques to use in spotting an individual who is being deceitful. With this foundation, we deem Ms. Stanton to be Truthful in her interview; However, Mr. Randolph we determined to be
deceitful.
“A good liar uses the truth.” This is a technique used by notorious imposters Frederic Bourdin, and Frank Abagnale. Although Bourdin posed as a child for a second chance at adolescence, Abagnale posed as an adult to gain financial means and respect. Bourdin and Abagnale’s success in deception can be primarily attributed to their careful observation of their surroundings, as well as their ability to detect the emotions of those around them.
Richard Gunderman asks the question, "Isn 't there something inherently wrong with lying, and “in his article” Is Lying Bad for Us?" Similarly, Stephanie Ericsson states, "Sure I lie, but it doesn 't hurt anything. Or does it?" in her essay, "The Ways We Lie.” Both Gunderman and Ericsson hold strong opinions in regards to lying and they appeal to their audience by incorporating personal experiences as well as references to answer the questions that so many long to confirm.
Traditionally, it is agreed that any and every form of telling the truth is always the best thing to do. In the essays of Stephen L Carter and Stephanie Ericsson, this ideal is not exactly true. It is expressed in "The Insufficiency of Honesty" as well as "The Ways We Lie" that honesty is hard to come by and that there is more to it than believed. The authors convey their views by first defining what the concept is, picking it apart, and then use common occurrences for examples of the points they had made.
Viorst opens her article by explaining social lies. She describes these as lies to avoid hurt, such as lying to a cousin by pretending to enjoy dinner. Judith believes they are necessary and acceptable; without them, relationships would be icky and short. By being honest and not telling white lies a person can come off harsh. Furthermore, Viorst thinks that not telling social lies is arrogant.
Although it is considered wrong to tell lies, it seems that literature has offered us situations where telling lies isn’t necessarily bad. Of course, lying often has a tragic outcome, but not always for the person or people who told the lie or lies. Oftentimes, these unfortunate outcomes are directed at the person about whom the lie was told. Furthermore, these stories have explained that dishonesty can result in success for both the liar and the target. Maybe we have been teaching the wrong values to our children.
As John Ruskin once said, “The essence of lying is in deception, not in words.” This essence is debated in “The Ways We Lie”, written by Stephanie Ericsson, and “Doubts about Doublespeak”, written by William Lutz. In “The Ways We Lie”, Ericsson talks about the different ways people lie on a day to day basis. By comparison, in “Doubts about Doublespeak”, Lutz discusses the different forms of doublespeak that many individuals frequently use. Lutz considers doublespeak as a language that distorts the meaning of words in order to deceive another person, and only “pretends to communicate” (83). Although both authors agree that lying is about the use of deceptive language, Ericsson describes this use of language as occasionally being necessary,
One of the last types of ways investigators are coached to detect deception is in the behavioral attitudes of a person being interviewed such as being unconcerned or over anxious (Kassin, 2005). The success rate of looking for these cues are very successful in telling if an individual is being deceitful and has surpassed any laboratory tests conducted on the subject. The laboratory test however did reveal some interesting facts. The research showed that people who had training and experience did not score better than the control group who received no training. In fact all individuals scored at the chance level with the people who had training scored just above chance or at the chance level. To check if special training in the detection of deception was more accurate a study ...
Brott, A. (2010). A System Out of Control: The Epidemic of False Allegations of Child Abuse. Retrieved from http://www.fathersmanifesto.net/armin.htm
When initially asked about the morality of lying, it is easy for one to condemn it for being wrong or even corrupt. However, those asked are generally guilty of the crime on a daily basis. Lying is, unfortunately, a normal aspect of everyday life. In the essay “The Ways We Lie,” author Stephanie Ericsson makes note of the most common types of lies along with their consequences. By ordering the categories from least to most severe, she expresses the idea that lies enshroud our daily lives to the extent that we can no longer between fact and fiction. To fully bring this argument into perspective, Ericsson utilizes metaphor, rhetorical questions, and allusion.
Through out history people have been influenced by what they want to hear and the way a current trend is happening. The evolution of mankind has drifted towards a different society than what we where born to sustain. We are emotionally driven human beings that want to feel accepted by the rules of society. Sometimes an individual can confuse actions or emotions towards trying to fulfill the standards society has imposed. I have analyzed two articles that incorporate how a society reacts towards integrity as well as honesty and the belief that an individual in order to be a part of society one must comply with the standards that are set. As I began to interpret what Stephen L. Carter explained in “The Insufficiency of Honesty” I examined they
Do men and women effectively communicate in the same way, or is it just a conversation of misunderstanding? There is constantly a new interest in whether men and women converse successfully. Professor and journalist, Deborah Tannen writes, “Sex, Lies, and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?” Tannen compares and contrasts all conversational styles, and explains how the expectation of dialogue affects how men and women converse. Tannen focuses on the subject of marriage and the imbalance of interest between male and female couples. The contrasting perspective however comes from, Deborah Cameron, author of, “What Language Barrier”. Cameron conveys that the stereotypes left upon male and female communication
Many people think that children do not lie. It is not that they lie, they just cannot remember what happened a year or two ago when they were much younger, perhaps only a year or two old. The truth is children do lie. “One study shows that twenty three percent of abuse allegations are false and there was insufficient information to determine the truth in another twenty four percent” (Slicker W.D., 1999, Child testimony ¶ 16). Fear is also a factor in children lying or not providing adequate information. Lepore (1991) says that studies show in most abuse cases the suspect will usually bribe the child or threaten them into secrecy. This causes the child to become afraid to tell the truth, and they will begin to deny what has happened or even worse not report the abuse at all. The way an interviewer phrases a question will influence a child.
In society, some people are looked at as liars or “bullshitters,” as stated in the article, “Is Lying Bad for Us?” Honesty is not always the best policy, and in certain situations, liars are best not to tell the truth when protecting the innocent, or protecting oneself. Because of this, lying should be looked at as a standard in society and something that people recognize in every day life.
We all lie in one way or another. Whether it is a simple white lie about how someone really looks or blaming someone else for something we really did, we all have lied. In Stephanie Ericsson’s essay, “The Ways We Lie”, she explains the ways people lie in order to get what they want, to stay out of trouble, or just to hide from the cold hard truth. Ericsson explains how is it nearly impossible to go without telling a lie and how lies affect others. After evaluating Ericsson’s essay on the many ways we lie, I can say I am most guilty of the telling whites and lying by omission.
In the past there was a vast gray area between the time and the substance of an alleged childhood sexual abuse and the subsequent recollection of that abuse. With the intense focus by psychiatric community and the criminal justice system to ascertain the truth, the grey lines are becoming more black and white. With the reliance more on scientific methodology and better methods of achieving memory recall there is less reason for jurors to question whether abuse occurred or not.