A Closer Look at the Interpersonal Deception Theory

We all do it. We do it to get ourselves out of trouble, to avoid confrontation, or to get something we want. "It" is called deception. It's derived from the Interpersonal Deception Theory, one of the many theories of communication, and while there are some people who are extremely good at bending the truth, it is possible to detect dishonesty based on the behavioral patterns of the deceiver. Through examples given from personal experiences, films, and excerpts from a book on communication theory, the whole idea of being able to sense deception can be better understood.

The first example is the whole idea of "leakage," which is when a deceiver's behavior outside of his or her conscious control signals dishonesty (handout, 2). In other words, it is the signals our bodies give (facial expressions, tension, etc.) that makes us detectable, as the term "leakage" suggests. A researcher by the name of Miron Zuckerman created a model that shows the possible reasons as to why these behavioral patterns occur. The reasons, taken from a Communication Theory handout, are as followed:

"1.) the intense attempt to control information can produce too-slick performances." This means that the way the deceiver tells the story may seem shady or unbelievable because he or she is trying way too hard to make the made up information seem believable. Exaggerators tend to do this the most, and they seem to be the easiest to catch because they rarely give you the same story twice.

"2.) Lying causes psychological arousal." You know that feeling you get when you're doing something bad? That rush you experience whenever you speed down a highway or get into a fight with somebody? The same rule applies to lying. You start feeling that thrill or that fear, and it can give you away. This rule also ties in with the third rule.

"3.) The predominate felt emotions that accompany deceit are guilt and anxiety." A colleague in your class that you aren't too fond but is really nice invites you to a party. Even though it's on a Friday night and you made no other plans, you tell him or her that you are busy and you can't go. Immediately you feel bad, and the feeling continues for quite some time. These feelings can also come from the psychological arousal that is caused from lying.

"4.) The complex cognitive factors involved in deception can tax the brain, leading to unintentional nonverbal behaviors." The shifting of eyes, tapping of fingers, increased heart rate, and maybe even stuttered speech. These are only a few of the things that can give away a deceiver. Even more interestingly, I had a psychology class in which I learned that there was a study on micro-expressions that the face makes when one is lying, but are almost impossible to notice. The researchers recorded an interview with many deceivers, and they then frame-by-frame looked carefully for these micro-expressions. These gave away the liars almost immediately, and they were caused from the stress and loss of stamina the brain could take when thinking of what to say.

The second example can clearly be seen in the movie "The Negotiator," directed by F. Gary Gray. In the movie, Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey play two of the top negotiators in Chicago, and after Samuel L. Jackson is accused of murder, he goes for broke by taking hostages in order to give him the time he needs to find out who framed him. There is a scene in the movie when Samuel L. Jackson is interrogating one of the hostages who took a role in the murder. During this time, the man is beginning to lie, and you can see it on his face as his eyes shift around vigorously and beads of sweat begin falling off of his face. To add to it, Samuel L. Jackson mentions that during his training, he studied the physical effects that lying had, and one of them was that if people who were trying to remember something looked to the upper left with their eyes, then they were telling the truth because that is where most of the memory in the brain is held, while those who looked anywhere else were generally lying. This can be directed right back to Zuckerman's four-factor model. The man was under intense pressure and had to think hard about what to say and in doing so he gave himself away.

The final example comes from a personal experience I had (one among the many). There have been a countless number of times when I've been able to catch people in the act of lying. One instance is when I was working at a fast food restaurant back home. I was told by one of my bosses that if I agreed to stay late a few nights during the week, then I'd get to make my own schedule for the next couple of weeks. Note that I had two other co-workers with me when my boss made this proposition. When the time came for me to make my schedule, however, my schedule was already created for me. I confronted by boss about it, and he immediately told me that he never said such thing. My two co-workers then told him that he had in fact said it, and they even told him when and where it was that he made this deal. It was then that I noticed there was a slight shakiness in his voice and he avoided eye contact with me, all while continuing to deny what he had told me.

Works Cited:

Griffin, Em. "Chapter 7: Interpersonal Deception Theory." Handout derived from "A

First Look at Communication Theory." Sixth Edition. McGraw Hill Higher Education. 2006.