3 rules to catch a liar

The “cognitive load model” of deception holds that “lying is multi-tasking and for that reason difficult. Liars must plan what they say, remember to play a role, and suppress the truth.” The idea is that if you want to spot a liar, you need to make their lying harder. To do this, give them other ...

“I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me.”

-S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders

“’So you're always honest,’ I said.

‘Aren't you?’

‘No,’ I told him. ‘I'm not.’

‘Well, that's good to know, I guess.’

‘I'm not saying I'm a liar,’ I told him. He raised h...

If life is a computer game, then lying is the cheat code. In a world governed by truth-default theory, the deceiver is king. We lie to get ahead in life and to get an advantage over others.

With such benefits, it’s no wonder that lying comes easily and naturally to us. Children as young as ...

Consider how we store memories compared with how we store fictions. One key insight is that when we recollect a true memory, we reference sensory details (how things looked, smelled, etc.), as well as how we felt about a specific event. This is not the case with lying.

If lying your story m...

A few years ago, a research paper came out that examined the various techniques used in “high-value detainee interrogation” — basically, how to interrogate the sort of bad guys you might see in a movie. Based on this research, we can summarize three rules to catch a liar.

You will have lied at some point in the last week. Perhaps even today. But how big was it? Was it one of those small phatic lies. Or is it something much bigger — a crime, an infidelity, a betrayal, or a sordid secret?

Lying is a hard trick to get right. Lie too much, and no one trusts you....

Liars cannot draw on real memories, and lack the imagination to fabricate a detailed, plausible story, or fear that they will give themselves away.

So, if you want to spot a liar, be a good listener. Ask questions. Keep them talking. But, if you really want to spot a liar, you need to ask “...