Assessment and Intervention: Detecting Deception and...

Assessment and Intervention: Detecting Deception and Assessing Truthfulness with the Violent, Dangerous, or Suicidal Student

© 2017, The NCHERM Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

BrianVanBrunt,Ed.D.SeniorExecutiveVicePresidentofProfessionalProgramDevelopment

TheNCHERMGroup,[email protected] @brianvb

2©2017TheNCHERMGroup,allrightsreserved

Dangerousnessandviolence,fromastudent,facultyorstaffmemberisdifficult,ifnotimpossible,to

accuratelypredict.Thistrainingtopicoffersresearch-basedtechniquesandtheoriestoprovidea

foundationalunderstandingandimprovedawarenessofthepotentialrisks.Thetrainingortoolshouldnot

beseenasaguaranteeorofferanyassurancethatviolencewillbeprevented.


WhyisthisImportant?

Ø Whenassessingthreat,violencerisk,orsuiciderisk,theissueofvalidityofresponsesandtruthfulnessbecomesakeyfeatureoftheassessment.

Ø Wecannotsimplyaskstudents,staff,orfacultymembersquestionsonalistandhopetheyarebeingtruthful.

Ø Weshouldlooktoassesstheirtruthfulness,potentialfordeception,impressionmanagement,andaccuracy.

INTRODUCTION


Liar,Liar…

“Deception,adeliberateattempttoconvincesomeoneofsomethingtheliarbelievesisuntrue,isafactofeverydaylife.Depaulo andhercolleagues(1996)askedparticipantstokeepadiaryforaweekofalltheirsocialinteractionsthatlastedmorethan10minutesandtonotehowoftentheyliedduringtheseinteractions.Almostallparticipantsadmittedthattheyhadliedduringtheweektheykeptthediary.Theyliedinoneoutofeveryfoursocialinteractionsandtomorethat30percentofallthepeopletheyinteractedwith”(pxi).

Granhag,P.Vrij,A.&Verschuere,B.(2015).DetectingDeception:CurrentChallengesandCognitiveApproaches.WileyPress,Malden,MA.


www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/truth-about-lie-detection-ancient-and-modern-times-002125

Fire ordeal. The trial of Sita in the Ramayana

Trialsbyordealwereacommonmeansofdetectingguiltfrominnocence,althoughthey’rewidelyconsiderednowtobebarbaricandviolenttestsrevealingnothingoftruthorlies.Thesewereancientjudicialpracticesinwhichtheaccusedwassubjectedtodangerousperils.Deathwouldindicateguilt,andsurvivalsuggestedinnocence.



TheBocca della Verità (theMouthofTruth)isaheavymarbledisccarvedintothe

shapeofaheadandface.Itissaidtooriginallyrepresentthe

TitangodOceanus,ofthegreatearth-encirclingriverthatfeedsalltheworld’srivers,wells,andsprings.

Beginninginthemiddleages,thediscwassupposedtotell

truthfromlies.



InancientChina,suspectswouldbemadetochewdryricewhilebeingquestioned.Whenthesuspectsspatouttherice,theywereassumedtobeguiltyifthegrainsremainedstucktotheirtongue.

Thereasoningwasthatthestresscreatedbylying

wouldslowsalivaflowandcauseadrymouth.Itwasbelievedthataninnocent

personwouldhavenoreasontostressunder

suchconditions.


Ø CredibilityAssessmentØ DeceptionDetectionØ ImpressionManagementØ FakingGoodØ FakingBadØ HaloEffectØ CognitiveOverload

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS


CredibilityAssessment

Ø Credibilityassessmentdetermines howbelievableanindividual’spriorstatementsandtestimonyare.

Ø Credibilityassessmentsareusedmoreinlegalsettingstodeterminequalityofawitnessinaproceeding.


DeceptionDetection

Ø DeceptionDetectionmakesuseofquestioningandobservationtechniques,alongwithtechnologythatrecordsphysiologicalfunctions,toassessthelikelihoodoftruthandfalsehoodinssubject’sstory.

Ø “Intheend,detectingdeceptionisallabouthonesty.Ekmanconcludes,"It'smuchhardertofindthetruththantofindalie.Agoodlie-catcherisgoodatidentifyingtruthfulness.”

www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/detecting.aspx


ImpressionManagement

Ø “Insociologyandsocialpsychology,impressionmanagement isagoal-directedconsciousorunconsciousprocessinwhichpeopleattempttoinfluencetheperceptionsofothersaboutaperson,object,orevent.Impressionmanagementisperformedbycontrollingorshapinginformationinsocialinteractions.”

www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/boundless-management-textbook/organizational-behavior-5/individual-perceptions-and-behavior-41/impression-management-219-6809/


FakingGood

Ø “Whenastudentattemptstodistorthistruemotivesbyconvincingtheevaluatorthatheisbetter,orrespondtoquestionsinamoresociallydesirablemanner.”

Ø “Astudentmaydothisinordertoconvincetheevaluatorheishealthy,welladjusted,andhasfewproblems.Hemayattempttohidementalhealthproblems,anti-socialbeliefs,orproblemshehaswithauthorityorfollowingtherules”(p.84).

VanBrunt,B.(2012).EndingCampusViolence:NewApproachestoPrevention.TaylorandFrancis,NY:NY.


FakingBad

Ø “Whenastudentattemptstomaketheevaluatorthinkthattheproblemstheyarehavingareworsethantheyreallyare.”

Ø Astudentmaydothisinordertoreceivesomekindofaccommodation,suchasincreasedtimeonanexamtheyaretaking,ortheymaywanttoconvincetheevaluatorthatthereasontheymadeathreatorhurtanotherstudentwasduetoaseriousmentaldisorder,ratherthensimpleangerorrecklessness.Thisisknownasfakingbad”(p.84).

VanBrunt,B.(2012).EndingCampusViolence:NewApproachestoPrevention.TaylorandFrancis,NY:NY.


HaloEffect

Thehaloeffectisabiasinwhichouroverallimpressionofaperson(afigurativehalo)colorsourjudgmentofthatperson’scharacter.Theresearchintothehaloeffectshowsthataperson'spositivequalities,physicalappearance,andgeneralattractivenessaffectshowwejudgetheircharacter— thebettertheylookandbehave,thebetterapersonwejudgethemtobe.

Nisbett,R.E.,&Wilson,T.D.(1977b).TheHaloEffect.EvidenceforUnconsciousAlterationofJudgments.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,35, 250–256.www.beinghuman.org/article/halo-effect


Ø Thorndike(1920)didanexperimentwheresoldierswereratedbytheircommandingofficersintermsoftheirphysicalqualities(e.g.,neatness,energy,andphysique)andtheirmental,emotional,andsocialqualities(e.g.,intellect,leadership,andresponsibility).Thorndikefoundthat,ifoneofthesoldier'squalitieswasratedhighly,theotherqualitiestendedtoalsoberatedhighly,andviceversa.

- Example:Concludingthatapoliticianwhoiswarm,friendly,andhasagreatsmilewouldmakegooddecisions.

Nisbett,R.E.,&Wilson,T.D.(1977b).TheHaloEffect.EvidenceforUnconsciousAlterationofJudgments.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,35, 250–256.www.beinghuman.org/article/halo-effect


CognitiveLoad

Ø Cognitiveloadreferstothetotalamountofmentaleffortbeingusedintheworkingmemory.Sweller inthelate1980sdevelopedthisconceptinreferencetolearningenvironments.

Ø Studiesconfirmthatbeingdeceptiveismorecognitivelydemandingthanbeingtruthful.

Patterson,T.(2009).TheEffectofCognitiveLoadonDeception.FIUElectronicThesesandDissertations.Paper121.http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1174&context=etd


4GeneralApproachestoDetectLies:

1. Physiologicalresponses(breathing,heartrate,andgalvanicskinresponse).

2. Observethebehavior(facialandmicro-expressions,gestures,andbodylanguage).

3. Analyzethespeech(voicetoneandverbalstyle,wordcount,andlinguisticanalysis).

4. Measurethebrainactivity(EKG,MRI).


DETECTING LIES

Microexpressions are verybrieffacialexpressions,lastingonlyafractionofasecond.Theyoccurwhenapersoneitherdeliberatelyorunconsciouslyconcealsafeeling.Dr.Ekman’sresearchhasrevealedthatsevenemotionshaveuniversalsignals:anger,fear,sadness,disgust,contempt,surprise,andhappiness.


Ekman,P.(1985).Tellinglies. NewYork:W.W.Norton.www.paulekman.com/micro-expressions/


“Weanalyzetheaccuracyofdeceptionjudgments,synthesizingresearchresultsfrom206documentsand24,483judges.In

relevantstudies,peopleattempttodiscriminateliesfromtruthsinrealtimewithnospecialaidsortraining.Inthesecircumstances,

peopleachieveanaverageof54percentcorrectlie-truthjudgments,correctlyclassifying47percentofliesasdeceptive

and61percentoftruthsasnon-deceptive.”

Bond,C.andDePaulo,B.(2006).AccuracyofDeceptiveJudgements.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychologyReview,10,(3),214–234.


Theproblemthatismostnon-verbalcluesarebasedon“average,”notwhataspecific

individualmightdo.

Ebesu,A.S.,&Miller,M.D.(1994).Verbalandnonverbalbehaviorsasafunctionofdeceptiontype.SpecialIssue:Interpersonaldeception.JournalofLanguageandSocialPsychology,13, 418-442.


High-stakeslyingisstressfulforbothtruth-tellersandliarsalike.

Highstakesinclude:Ø Money.Ø Spouseorsignificantrelationship.Ø Reputation.Ø Freedom.


TheProblemofSmallStatisticalPatterns

Ø Imagine100menandwomeninagroup.Eventhoughtheremaybeastaticallysignificancedifferenceinheightbetweenthegendersofhalfaninch,thisishardertodetectthan,say,gender.

Ø Intheend,truthtellersandliarsaremoresimilarthandifferent.

www.truthaboutdeception.com/lying-and-deception/detecting-deception/nonverbal-cues.html


“Therearenosignsoflying,perse,butrathersignsofthinkingtoomuchwhenareplyshouldnotrequire

thoughtoremotionsthatdon’tfitwhatisbeingspoken.”

Wetrainpeopletolookforhotspots...

Adelson,R.(2004).DetectingDeception.JournalofAmericanPsychologicalAssociation,35(7),70.


“Ourdatasuggestthatliarstendtotellstoriesthatarelesscomplex,lessself-relevant,andmorecharacterized

bynegativity”(p.674).

1. “First,theuseofthefirst-personsingularisasubtleproclamationofone’sownershipofastatement… liarsmayavoidstatementsofownershipeitherto“dissociate”themselvesfromtheirwordsorduetoalackofpersonalexperience…. Ifthisstateofmindisreflectedinthewordspeopleuse,thendeceptivecommunicationsshouldbecharacterizedbyfewerfirst-personsingularpronouns(e.g.,I,me,andmy)”p.666.

Newman,M.,Pennebaker,J.,Berry,D.andRichards,J.(2003). LyingWords:PredictingDeceptionFromLinguisticStyles.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,29(5),665–675.


2. “Second,liarsmayfeelguiltyeitheraboutlyingoraboutthetopictheyarediscussing… deceptivecommunicationsshouldbecharacterizedbymorewordsreflectingnegativeemotion(e.g.,hate,worthless,sad).”p.666

3. “Finally,theprocessofcreatingafalsestoryshouldconsumecognitiveresources… individualswhouseahighernumberof“exclusive”words(e.g.,except,but,without)aregenerallyhealthierthanthosewhodonotusethesewords… Whenpeopleareattemptingtoconstructafalsestory,wearguethatsimple,concreteactionsareeasiertostringtogetherthanfalseevaluations.”p.667

Newman,M.,Pennebaker,J.,Berry,D.andRichards,J.(2003).LyingWords:PredictingDeceptionFromLinguisticStyles.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,29(5),665-675


Granhag,P.Vrij,A.&Verschuere,B.(2015).DetectingDeception:Currentchallengesandcognitiveapproaches.WileyPress,Malden,MA.(p7-8)

GeneralCharacteristicsØ LogicalstructureØ UnstructuredproductionØ Quantityofdetails

SpecificContentsØ Contextualembedding.Ø Descriptionsofinteractions.Ø Reproductionofconversations.Ø Usualdetails.Ø Superfluousdetails.Ø Accuratelyreporteddetails

misunderstood.Ø Relatedexternaldetails.Ø Accountsofsubjectivementalstate.Ø Attributionsofperpetratorsmentalstate.Ø Unexpectedcomplicationsduringincident.

Motivations-RelatedContentsØ Spontaneouscorrections.Ø Admittinglackofmemory.Ø Raisingdoubtsaboutones'own

testimony.Ø Self-depreciation.Ø Pardoningtheperpetrator.

Offense-SpecificElementsØ Detailscharacteristicsoftheoffense.

Criteria-BasedContentAnalysis(CBCA)

Thepresenceofeachcriterionstrengthensthe

hypothesisthattheaccountisbasedongenuinepersonalexperiences.


Allthefancysciencebasicallysayswearen’tverygoodatthis.Whenwegetbetter,wehavetoengageinlotsoftrainingandperhapsstartrecordingandanalyzingour

interviews.

Ifwewerefightingterrorists,thismightmakesomesense.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION


BuildingRapport

“….hespokefreelyandhonestlynotbecausehewasforcedtotalk,butbecausehelikedmeandconsidered

mehisfriend”(p.x).

Friend Stranger Foe

Schafer,J.(2015).TheLikeSwitch.SimonandSchuster,NY,NY.


FriendshipFormulaFriendship=Proximity+Frequency+Duration+Intensity

Ø Proximity isthedistancebetweenyouandtheanotherindividualandyourexposuretotheindividualovertime(thinknon-threateningenvironment).

Ø Frequency isthenumberofcontactsyouhavewithanotherindividualovertime.

Ø Duration isthelengthoftimeyouspendwithanotherindividualovertime.

Ø Intensity ishowstronglyyouareabletosatisfyanotherperson’spsychologicaland/orphysicalneedsthroughtheuseofverbalandnonverbalbehaviors(thinkcuriosity).

Schafer,J.(2015).TheLikeSwitch.SimonandSchuster,NY,NY(p.4–5).



“Ourbrainsarecontinuallyscanningtheenvironmentforfriendorfoesignals”(p.25).

FriendSignals:Ø Eyebrowflashisaquickup-and-downmovementofthe

eyebrowsthatlastsaboutone-sixthofasecond(briefandnotstaring).

Ø Headtilttotheleftortherightisanonthreateninggesture.Thisisastrongfriendsignal.

Ø Thesmileshouldbegenuinewithupturnedcornersofthemouthandupwardmovementofthecheeksaccompaniedbyawrinklingaroundtheeyes.Insinceresmilestendtolopsided.



FriendSignals:Ø Isopraxism ismirroringaperson’sbodylanguage.Ø Inwardleaniswhenpeopleleantowardpeopletheylikeand

distancethemselvesfrompeopletheydon’t.Ø Headnoddingcommunicatestothosespeakingthatthey

shouldkeeptalking.Ø Verbalnudgesreinforcesheadnoddingandencouragesthe

speakertocontinuetalking(e.g.,“Isee,”“goon…,”“tellmemore,”etc.).

Ø Focusedlisteningrequiresthoseconductinginteriewstonotletdistractionsinterrupttheirattentivelistening.



FoeSignals:Ø Elongatedstareoreyecontactthatlastsmorethanasecond

canbereadasaggressive.Ø Bodyscan/elevatoreyesisasweepinghead-to-toegazeis

oftenseenasintrusivebecausethepersondoingthelookinghasn’tearnedtherighttoinvadetheother’spersonalspace.

Ø Eyerollsendsthemessageyouthinktheindividualisstupidandnotworthlisteningto.

Ø Eyesquinting,furrowedeyebrows,andfacialtensionareassociatedwithdisapproval,uncertainty,andanger.



ConversationalBridge-Backs

Thistechniqueisusedtobuildrapportandconveyasensethatyouareattendingtothepersonbeinginterviewed.Thereisareferencetoapriorknowledgesetorconversationthatestablishespastconnectionsandmovestherapportforward.



AskingaFavor

Thistechniqueisusedtobuildrapport,andbuildsontheconceptthatdoingfavorsforothersbuildstrustandhelpstheindividualsfeelgoodaboutthemselves.(Watchdrinkexample.)



“ifyouwantpeopletolikeyou,makethemfeelgoodaboutthemselves…”

— (p.77)


WhatistheMotivationtoLie?Welietoprotect:Ø Ourselves.Lyingoftenisawaytoavoidsufferingpainful

consequences,shame,embarrassment,orconflict.Ø Ourinterests.Welietogetmaterialgoods(e.g.,money)and

non-materialgoods(e.g.attentionfromthetellingoftalltales).

Ø Ourimage.Weallwantotherstothinkwellofus,yetwealldothingsthatweourselvesconsiderlessthanrespectableattimes.

Ø Ourresources.Weoftenlietoavoidexpendingenergyortimedoingsomethingwereallydon'twanttodo.

Ø Others.Tellingpeoplewhattheywanttohearisawaytoprotecttheirfeelings.

www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/201003/why-we-lie


Considerusingapropquestiontoassessresponse.

FakingBad:Ø “Sometimes,whenpeoplethinkofsuicide,theirwristsorthe

backoftheirneckmayfeelhot.Haveyoueverexperiencedthat?”

FakingGoodØ “Whatwouldbethethingtodoifyoufounda$20onthe

groundoutsideofthisoffice?”


1. LandofIs

Ø Yes-or-noquestionsdeservea“yes”or“no”answer.Whenpeoplecannotordonotwanttoanswer“yes”or“no,”theytypicallygototheLandofIs.ThisconceptwasderivedfromPresidentClinton'snowinfamousstatement,"Itdependsuponwhatthemeaningoftheword‘is’is.If‘is’means‘is,’andneverhasbeen,that'sonething.Ifitmeansthereisnone,thatwasacompletelytruestatement.”

Ø TheLandofIsoccupiesthespacebetweentruthanddeception.TheLandofIsconsistsofhalf-truths,innuendos,suppositions,assumptions,andverbaljudo.

www.inc.com/jack-schafer/an-fbi-agent-on-how-to-detect-deception.html


1. LandofIs(Cont.)Ø Mostpeoplewanttotellthetruth,sotheygotogreatlengthsto

contorttheEnglishlanguagetomaintaintheillusionoftruthwithouttellingitentirely.PeopleoftenfindthemselvesintheLandofIswithouteverbeingawareofit.

Ø Totestpeopleforthetruth,simplyaskthemayes-or-noquestion.Iftheyfailtoanswer“yes”or“no,”aredflagshouldpopup.Aftersomeoneprovidesaconvolutedanswertoadirectquestion,askthesamequestionagain.Ifthepersononceagainfailstoanswerwitha“yes”or“no,”theprobabilityofdeceptionincreasessignificantly.



2. Well…Ø Ifyouasksomeoneadirectyes-or-noquestion,andthe

responseyougetbeginswiththeword"Well,"thereisahighprobabilityofdeception.Whenindividualsansweringadirectquestionbeginwith"Well,"itindicatestheyareabouttogiveananswerthattheyknowthequestionerisnotexpecting.



3. WhyShouldIBelieveYou?Ø Whentruthfulpeopleareaskedwhyothersshouldbelieve

them,theytypicallyanswer,"BecauseI'mtellingthetruth"orsomevariationofthat.Liarshaveadifficulttimesaying

Ø "BecauseI'mtellingthetruth"becausetheyarenottellingthetruth.Instead,liarsoffervariousresponsessuchas"I'manhonestperson,""Youdon'thavetobelievemeifyoudon'twantto,"or"Ihavenoreasontolie."Thequestion,"WhyshouldIbelieveyou?"canbeaskedinavarietyofwaysdependingonthesensitivityoftherelationship.



DetectingDeception:CurrentChallengesandCognitiveApproaches


RESOURCES MOVING FORWARD


TellingLies:CluestoDeceitintheMarketplace,

Politics,andMarriage

www.amazon.com/Telling-Lies-Marketplace-Politics-Marriage/dp/0393337456/


TheLikeSwitch:AnEx-FBIAgent'sGuidetoInfluencing,

Attracting,andWinningPeopleOver

Schafer,J.(2015).TheLikeSwitch.SimonandSchuster,

NY,NY.

https://www.amazon.com/The-Like-Switch-Influencing-Attracting/dp/1476754489/?tag=inccom028-20

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