Lie to Me

Has anyone seen the recently cancelled show Lie to Me? No? Well, you are certainly missing out. Essentially, the premise is that Dr. Cal Lightman is a detection expert who can spot lies in micro expressions, facial expressions, and use of language to determine the relationship between the person and whom he's referring to. At first, I thought it was going to be a show that offered little scientific evidence to back it up, but surprisingly, the science is 90% accurate. From a psychologist's point of view, this was grossly fascinating, because before seeing this show, I never realized that detecting liars was a science. But it is! And now I can truly say that it is truly educational. Don't believe me? I've made some notes. Now, before reading them, you should know that there are certain mannerisms that can be characterized as "lying" (like playing with your ear or scratching your nose) since some people can do that on a regular basis and is not a good platform to accuse someone of lying if it's in their personality to perform such acts. That is why I advise that you separate mannerisms with a deception leakage. Keep in mind, also, that these are my notes and that they're roughly done, but seriously, if you think about it and think about the people you know, you can utilize it to see if your friends are lying to you. (These notes came in handy more than once.)

·       Lip curl, forced eye contact is an indication of lying

·       Pupils dilating signifies arousal

·       Holding breath can mean tension or being upset, or trying to hide something

·       The average person tells 3 lies per 10 minute conversation

·       One shouldered shrug means you have no confidence in what you just said = lying

·       If someone acts surprised and it lasts for a second, it’s genuine; if it’s more than one second, it’s lying

·       When asked a question and shifts eyes to the left, it indicates that one is recalling a memory

·       When a person is asked a question and uses his finger to scratch his nose, he’s lying

·       When concealing something, a person will go from using direct language (her, she, Mrs., her actual name, etc.) to distancing language (that woman)

·       When you’re lying, it’s hard to tell a story backwards (since liars rehearse their stories in order)

·       Covering your head is a sign of deep shame

·       Wrinkles around the eyes when smiling indicates that it’s genuine

·       Extreme fear triggers coldness and clamminess in the hands

·       Person’s eyebrows go up when they know the answer to the question

·       Stepping backwards means you don’t believe a word you just said

·       Lip purse indicates lack of confidence in your words

·       Arson and rape are correlated crimes because they are about control

·       Word repetition and vocal pitch rises when lying

·       When a person’s face is not symmetrical on both sides of the face, it’s likely that they are pretending to feel emotion

·       When a person caresses their own hand, it’s a sign to reassure yourself when you don’t really believe what you’re saying

·       Eye fluttering means the person is hiding something

·       Repetition and hesitance when speaking indicates difficulty processing one’s words, which means lying

·       When talking or speaking, when eyes look down, it indicates shame

·       When a person shifts constantly between verbs tenses, it’s an indication of lying

·       The main components of a deranged person is constant criticism and lack of affection