The Body Language of Honesty
I was tempted to call this blog, “All men Are Liars!” because that’s the finding of a recent poll. Or, at least, men are bigger liars when compared to women. One of the reasons for this is that men are less easily made feel guilty than women. Men can justify their lies better. How? We’re not told. Probably due to a lesser empathy quotient.
Readers of this blog will know my interest in lies and how they relate to body language in particular. I’ve even delivered a workshop called Lies and Damned Lies: How to Become a Human Lie Detector. I want to use this blog to flag up some general development and stories in this area.
“Researchers are testing how people judge honest behaviour because they are worried jurors could reach a verdict based on the way a defendant looks.” In connection to this story, check out a link to The Honesty Lab, “the first ever international study to explore public concepts of honesty”.
Just to counterbalance the gender bias in the first story, read here how one in four British woman admit they would lie when it comes to trying to conceive without their partners consent.
Doctors are among the professionals that expect to hear lies from the public. One doctor speculates that this is “because the NHS is free at the point of delivery [so] its worth is not fully appreciated”. Interesting…
Priests, politicians and psychologists from Northern Ireland all discuss the pros, but mostly the cons, of lies in society. It seems there are few of us in this country who tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
From a scientific rather than a social perspective, brains scans seem to provide a way forward in lie detection. “Brain scans could be useful as lie detectors to show if a witness lies when identifying a suspect in a crime investigation, US researchers believe.” Perhaps they are even reliable enough to detect criminals and those who lie under oath.
And what about politicians: can they be honest? Can they give a straight answer to any question? And could we take it if they did? I’d be lying if I said I thought we could…
P.S. Related “curve ball” story: Toddlers who lie ‘will do better’ in later life!
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