The verbal and physical signs of lying are harder to detect than people believe, a study suggests.
Tests reveal that people are skilled at identifying commonly displayed cues - such as hesitations and hand gestures - but these signs are produced more often when someone is telling the truth.
Liars are also skilled at supressing these signals to avoid detection, researchers found.
Interactive Game
Psychologists used an interactive game to assess the types of speech and gestures speakers produce when lying, and which clues listeners interpret as evidence that a statement is false.
Researcher Jia Loy, from the University of Edinburgh, created a computerised two-player game in which 24 pairs of players hunted for treasure. Players were free to lie at will.
Read more at University of Edinburgh
Photo credit: tswedensky via Pixabay