Social Engineering Blogs

An Aggregator for Blogs About Social Engineering and Related Fields

Universal Facial Expressions & Attractiveness

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 Is the attractiveness of a person’s face impacted by the facial expression they make ?

Most people think that smiling makes a person look more attractive.  Is this really true?

Researchers at the University of Portsmouth in the UK decided to test the theory and find out not only if attractive people are more attractive when they smile but if attractive people look less attractive if they show anger or displeasure.

They also tested  the theory on unattractive people to see if it goes both ways.  They studied whether unattractive people would be considered more attractive if they smiled.

Medical Xpress outlined the results of this research, which is published in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior.

Participants viewed photographs of various individuals making one of the seven universal facial expressions of emotion (anger, sadness, happiness, fear, disgust leaving out contempt).

Most of the participants rated people as attractive regardless of the facial expression they were making.  Interestingly, this worked for the unattractive people as well. They did not do better when smiling leading to the conclusion of the study;  the facial expression a person makes does not affect how attractive they are perceived to be by others.

The researchers were eager to point out that facial expressions are more likely than not to still play a role in helping people decide whether someone is approachable.

 Do YOU change your notion of attractiveness when you see someone with an angry expression   OR
Does the study’s results make perfect sense ?

Deception in the WorkPlace

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The workplace can be very hectic and stressful.  Do you think it would benefit you to know when a co-worker or your boss was lying to you?

Below are a few tips from Chron.com of what to look for if you want to know if your boss is really considering you for that promotion.

There are various clues to note when evaluating truthfulness and research has identified some reliable deception detection clues such as facial expressions, body language and word use.  However, there is no one tell-tale sign that someone is being deceptive.

1. Normal Behavior

First, find the baseline (the way they normally talk, gesture and use body language) of the individual in question and then pay attention to any departures from that individual’s baseline.

2. Verbal Vs. Nonverbal

Watch for verbal  and nonverbal cues.  A shake of the head no when saying yes, is what we call a Hot-Spot and lets the skilled observer know that there is more to the story than is being told.  The smallest shifts in the facial expressions can give away our lies.  For instance, the muscle movements around the eyes can distinguish between and honest (Duchenne) an dishonest smile.

Microexpressions are involuntary facial expressions of emotion that flash on and off the face quickly less than 1/2 second.  They occur when people are consciously or unconsciously trying to conceal or repress what they are feeling.

Most people report that they don’t see microexpressions; however, research has shown that people can be taught to spot these with the proper training such as Humintell’s micro and subtle facial expression online training tools.

3.  Body language

Hunched shoulders can be a sign of distress or discomfort and someone who avoids using any hand gestures (if that is different then their baseline behavior) could be trying to deceive you.

 4.  Practice Practice, Practice

Past research has revealed that most of us think we are really good at spotting lies but in reality we are no better than chance (50%).  However, the more training you have the better your percentage is at determining if someone is telling the truth.

 If you want to brush up on your skills revisit your training  OR 
Purchase a more advanced training /supplement such as our Evaluating Truthfulness Webinar (NEW ONE, APRIL 27) 

“Truth Serum” in a Court of Law ?

Image courtesy of Reuters

Many of us remember the tragedy that took place last July in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. NewScientist has some interesting turn of events in the Dark Knight Rises shooter case .

James Holmes has plead not-guilty by reason of insanity, and the judge presiding over the case has ruled that “medically appropriate” drugs could be used in Holmes case.  To be found insane, Holmes’ attorneys must prove that he did not know right from wrong at the time of the shooting,which killed 12 people and injured 58.

When one says “truth serum” it is not clear what drug that is, but New Scientist reports that it could be sodium pentothal, which in some US states is given as part of the lethal injection in the death penalty.  However, many scientists and psychologists think that it is very doubtful that this medical drug will be helpful in coercing Holmes into “telling the truth”.

“Under barbiturates, people often engage in fantasy and have delusions. This is similar to someone who is drunk. How much do you trust the story the drunk in the pub tells you?” said Paul Zak from Claremont Graduate University in California.

  Aldert Vrij a lie detection researcher, says that the judge’s ruling is unusual.

“I am not aware of any scientific support for truth serums.  Neither am I aware that it has value on determining whether someone is legally insane.”

However, the value of using such drugs in a court of law to elicit “truth” statements is very unclear at this point. “Regardless of their effectiveness, administering truth serums arguably violates an individual’s rights under the US constitution.  However, the constitutional implications of using a truth serum to test an insanity plea are less clear,” purports Jason Odeshoo at law firm Jenner & Block in Chicago, Illinois.

What do you think about this admission in court? Is it a violation of human rights?  OR
Is is no holds bar when one tries to plead insanity for the killing of 12 people, many in the prime of their life?