Cues to Deception in an Interview Situation

Abstract

For this study, 144 subjects assumed either the role of an interviewer or the role of a respondent, and then interacted under visual contact and no visual contact conditions. Under each condition the respondent was secretly instructed to answer six questions honestly and six questions deceptively. It was found that (a) deceptive answers were hesitant and lengthy, (b) visual presence increased variability in verbal response latencies and decreased response duration or length, (c) although interviewers tended to give respondents the benefit of the doubt, they still discriminated between truth and falsehood, and (d) increased hesitation and increased messaze lensth were associated with decreased believability.