Abstract
Research suggests that people are not very skilled at detecting deception from ordinary communications (Vrij, 2000). A recent meta-analysis (Bond & DePaulo, 2006) indicated that the average accuracy in discriminating a truthful from a deceptive statement was 54%, when chance is 50%. Another line of research has shown that people are able to make remarkably accurate inferences from very brief exposures (or “thin slices”) of nonverbal behavior (Ambady & Rosenthal, 1993; Willis & Todorov, 2006). We propose that the ability to detect deception may actually be greater when people observe thin slices communications rather than longer communications. In a within- participants design, 80 college students will attempt to discriminate truthful from deceptive communications based on either long or thin-slice videotaped clips of people discussing their friendships. The findings may have important implications for the fields of deception detection and interpersonal perception.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. Weylin Sternglanz
Project Type
Event
Start Date
3-30-2007 12:00 AM
End Date
3-30-2007 12:00 AM
Detecting Deception from Thin Slice Communications
Research suggests that people are not very skilled at detecting deception from ordinary communications (Vrij, 2000). A recent meta-analysis (Bond & DePaulo, 2006) indicated that the average accuracy in discriminating a truthful from a deceptive statement was 54%, when chance is 50%. Another line of research has shown that people are able to make remarkably accurate inferences from very brief exposures (or “thin slices”) of nonverbal behavior (Ambady & Rosenthal, 1993; Willis & Todorov, 2006). We propose that the ability to detect deception may actually be greater when people observe thin slices communications rather than longer communications. In a within- participants design, 80 college students will attempt to discriminate truthful from deceptive communications based on either long or thin-slice videotaped clips of people discussing their friendships. The findings may have important implications for the fields of deception detection and interpersonal perception.
