WHO CAN CATCH A LIAR?’, Ekman and O’Sullivan, 1991. Essay -- English L

WHO CAN CATCH A LIAR?’, Ekman and O’Sullivan, 1991. What is the definition of lying or indeed deception? Well deception can be defined in many ways, but it was termed by Vrij (Vrij, 2000, p.6) as a successful or unsuccessful deliberate attempt, without forewarning, to create in another a belief, which the communicator considers to be untrue. Telling lies is a daily life event, which varies in quite complex ways depending on the situation the person is in and the person being lied to. People lie for all kinds of reasons. However half the lies are either self–orientated, and are therefore intended to make the liar appear better or to gain personal advantage (DePaulo et al., 1996). Self– orientated lies consist of people lying in order to avoid punishment, to make a positive impression on others or to protect themselves. Some lies are other–orientated, to make another person feel better or for another’s benefit. How can you tell if someone is lying to you? People generally believe that nonverbal cues to deception exist and they know what these cues are; but how accurate are people at detecting lies? In laboratory studies concerning detection of deception, observers are given videotaped or audiotaped statements of various people who are either lying or telling the truth. After each statement the participant is asked to judge whether the statement are true or false. In most studies reported, people have not been very good at judging when people are lying. Average accuracy in detecting deceit has rarely been above 60% with 50% being chance and most people have performed below 50%. Studies revealed that in three separate experiments conducted by Kraut and Poe (1980) DePaulo and Pfeifer (1986) and Ko... ...ussed in the appropriate section of the study, therefore this could be an area that could be further explored in the future. On the whole in conclusion, the study has established the extent to which people are able to detect lies by observing physiological responses. Mistakes in lie detection are inevitable, but perhaps with the correct training, experience and motivation we may become specialists in detecting lies. But is this possible?. In my opinion in both theoretical and practical terms; this is a sound work on a vital subject. Although room for further research is needed. REFERENCES ---------- Aldert Vrij, (2002) ‘Telling and Detecting Lies’ chapter 4, in Nicola Brace and Helen Westcott (ed) ‘Applying Psychology’ The Open University Journal article – Paul Ekman and Maureen O’Sullivan (1991) ‘Who Can Catch A Liar’ Vol.46, no 9, pp.913-930