TumblrWe’ve all heard the telltale signs of lying before. Lack of eye contact, a shifty gaze, being hesitant in their answers. But this new research flips our perception of lying completely on its head.
Done are the days of dodgy lie detectors, as an American team have uncovered the secrets of lying based on analysis of people who were deceptive in court.
GiphyThe team used a powerful computer program to study hours of courtroom footage from 130 different trials where the final verdict made it crystal clear whether people were being honest or spouting off a load of bullshit.
Apparently our chances of exposing a liar are ‘just better than a coin-flip’ and these researchers claim their next generation lie detector has a 75 per cent success rate.
According to The Telegraph, previous studies claimed that giving a hesitant answer and avoiding eye contact are foolproof signs of lying. However, this new study by the University of Michigan found this isn’t true.
The research found that liars often do maintain eye contact throughout and they also identified the most common facial expressions used by those who are telling the truth, as well as the ‘scowls and grimaces’ which expose a liar.
Professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Michigan, Rada Mihalcea, claimed that people are ‘poor lie detectors’.
She said:
This isn’t the kind of task we’re naturally good at. There are clues that humans give naturally when they are being deceptive, but we’re not paying close enough attention to pick them up. We’re not counting how many times a person says ‘I’ or looks up. We’re focusing on a higher level of communication.
Splash NewsThis incredible new bit of kit is a lot more accurate than traditional polygraph machines, and could even one day be used by juries, security agents and mental health professionals, the team claimed.
Using thermal imaging, the team read the subjects’ heart-rate, breathing patterns and body temperatures, as well as analysing their words and body language.
The tests revealed the tell-tale signs of someone lying is that they often look the questioner in the eye, they’re more likely to scowl or grimace, and they may also trip over their words.
We only have question: Why you lying for?
