How to Actually Catch a Liar, According to the New Science of Lie Detection

We naturally detect lies all the time. It could be a dip in our partner’s voice alerting us to the fact that they’re concealing their emotions; a child’s eyes drifting back to the drawer containing a present they weren’t supposed to open; or an implausible story told by a colleague trying to explain why the company’s petty cash has gone missing.

Yet we also often fail to detect lies. Why? Researchers have been trying to answer this question for over a century and the liars are still slipping through our fingers. But the latest research may help shine a light on where we’ve been going wrong.

A notable recent study was conducted by Associate Prof Timothy Luke and colleagues at the University of Gothenburg. They looked at research published over the past five years by 50 international experts on lie detection to analyse how they go about telling when someone is lying.

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Read the whole story (subscription may be required): BBC Science Focus