lie detection
Spotting false statements
Lie detection is the attempt to determine whether someone is telling the truth, typically through technological or physiological methods.
The polygraph measures heart rate, breathing, and skin conductivity during questioning.
More recent approaches analyze facial microexpressions, voice stress, or brain activity.
Despite widespread use in law enforcement and employment screening, lie detection remains scientifically controversial—no method reliably distinguishes deception from nervousness, and results are generally inadmissible in court.
One who evaluates officially
- electrodesElectrical contact points
- sensorsDevices that detect input
- chartsVisual data displays
- baselineStandard for comparison
galvanic · conductivity · respiration · cardiovascular · sweat · countermeasures · admissibility · testimony
Brief involuntary facial signals
- body languageUnspoken physical expression
- eye contactDirect visual connection
- fidgetingRestless minor movements
- hesitationDelay from uncertainty
inconsistencies · nonverbal communication · tells · vocal pitch · speech patterns · cognitive load · leakage · clusters
Habit of not lying
- credibilityQuality inspiring trust
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
- suspectBelieve to be likely
- interview techniquesMethods for structured questioning
accusation · denial · admission · Miranda · corroboration · alibi · cross-examination · questioning
examiner
One who evaluates officially
- electrodesElectrical contact points
- sensorsDevices that detect input
- chartsVisual data displays
baseline · galvanic · conductivity · respiration · cardiovascular · sweat · countermeasures · admissibility · testimony · evidence
microexpressions
Brief involuntary facial signals
- body languageUnspoken physical expression
- eye contactDirect visual connection
- fidgetingRestless minor movements
hesitation · inconsistencies · nonverbal communication · tells · vocal pitch · speech patterns · cognitive load · leakage · clusters · FACS
truthfulness
Habit of not lying
- credibilityQuality inspiring trust
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
- suspectBelieve to be likely
interview techniques · accusation · denial · admission · Miranda · corroboration · alibi · cross-examination · questioning · witness
- neurolawcriminal responsibility, insanity defense, competency testing, diminished capacity, expert testimony
- investigationinvestigation, detective, evidence, clue, case
- forensicsDNA, DNA analysis, fingerprints, forensics, criminalistics
- mind tropesmad scientist, mental breakdown, mind control, multiple personality, nervous breakdown
- supersensessixth sense, super hearing, x-ray vision, night vision, infrared vision
- text analysistext analysis, bigram, trigram, tokenization, writing style
lie detectionauthentication
Confirming genuine identity
fact-checking · verification · validation · corroboration · truth-telling
lie detectiondeception
Intentional misleading of others
lying · concealment · dissimulation · obfuscation · misdirection
lie detectionmind reading
Perceiving others' thoughts directly
telepathy · thought reading · clairvoyance · confession · self-disclosure
deception, deceit, deceptive, detection, deceptively, lie detector