Social Engineering Blogs

An Aggregator for Blogs About Social Engineering and Related Fields

Lie To Me

Humanity has been programmed to believe that lying is unnatural and bad.  While it can be very harmful, is it really unnatural?  Human beings lie all the time.

Take a look at the video “Necessary Lies” with writer and orator Ian Leslie.  It was reported on in Wired and delineates the myths about lying, gives surprising statistics and insightful commentary on human as well as primate manipulability and predictability.

“Lying isn’t a bug in the human software [but] is a defining characteristic of our species and fundamental to all human societies,” Leslie purports.  He goes on to note that we [individuals] believe our own lies to be harmless white lies and simultaneously see other people’s lies as terrible, harmful and even malicious.

His insights come from research and discussions with psychologists, neuroscientists as well as anthropologists.

Leslie makes the bold statement that no society can function without lying and lies.  He even suggests that they are necessary and in some cases desirable.  He points out that according to social scientists; lying and truth telling exist in equilibrium.

What do you think about Leslie’s points? Do you agree?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Can Liars Really Control Their Facial Expressions?

The University of Buffalo has released more evidence that liars under intense scrutiny cannot suppress their facial expressions of emotion.  Recently, the reliability of microexpressions in lie detection has come into question.  ABC has reported on the perceived validity of microexpressions and their use by the TSA.

The scientific truth is that there are seven universal facial expressions of emotion.  These expressions can and do appear on a person’s face as microexpressions and are very helpful in detecting deception as verified by Dr. Matsumoto in the article “Evaluating Truthfulness and Detecting Deception”, which appeared in the June issue of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.

The article cites renowned facial expert Mark Frank, who has spent two decades studying the faces of people lying in high stakes situations.  The study published earlier this year in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, examines whether subjects could suppress facial actions like eyebrow movements or smiles on command while under scrutiny by a lie catcher.

Carolyn M. Hurley, PhD, lead author of the study and Frank, co- author of the study, found that these actions can be reduced, but not eliminated, and the suppression of one element of expression resulted in reduction of all facial movement, regardless of their implications for veracity.

This new study “Executing Facial Control During Deception Situations” found that although liars can reduce facial actions during intense situations such as questioning, they can’t suppress them all.

“As a security strategy,” Frank says, “there is great significance in observing and interpreting nonverbal behavior during an investigative interview, especially when the interviewee is trying to suppress certain expressions.”

An interesting side note is that most of the participants believed that they had controlled all of their facial movements during their interrogations.

What are your thoughts on the veracity of microexpressions in truth accuracy aka deception detection?

Let the Truth Be Told!

Is deceit an intrinsic part of the human emotional condition?

No doubt, it has become an accepted part of human culture.  From the little white lies we tell our kids everyday , ‘yes Santa Clause is real and you have to be sleeping for the tooth fairy to come’, to the exaggerated facts on our resumes, lying has become a part of human social nature.

TV shows as well as literature from the Bible to Shakespeare are filled with exaggerations, contradictions and sometimes bold face lies.   Lying seems to be a lucrative business.

Has a piece of human nature become public enemy number one?  Well, in a word, yes!  However, we don’t just want to be able to recognize deception, we want to stop it before it even occurs, we want to battle human nature and win.

According to Nature Magazine, the U.S Department of Homeland Security has developed a Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) designed to spot a criminal before they commit a crime.  In essence, to stop deception before it comes to fruition.  We blogged about this technology in its infancy and it was very interesting to say the least.

Similar to a lie detector, which is not admissible in many courts of law throughout the world, FAST measures a series of physiological indicators such as heart rate, steadiness of gaze etc. In effect judging a person’s “state of mind” while they walk down an airport corridor.

There are significant differences from the polygraph and FAST.  FAST uses non-contact sensors and does not depend on active questioning of the subject.  This new device has undergone preliminary testing in an undisclosed location in the northeast.

However, many researchers point out that the “normal anxieties of travel” are enough to raise the heart rates and stress levels of most people.

What are your thought/opinions on this new “science”?