Social Engineering Blogs

An Aggregator for Blogs About Social Engineering and Related Fields

Brain Games – Body Language & Follow the Leader

Are you a follower? Or a natural born leader?

Take a look at the Brain Games clips below and learn how much of your behavior is based on what your brain is copying from the people around you.

In the Brain Games Episode “Follow the Leader” , you discover how you unconsciously adapt the way you behave, speak, and move according to who you’re talking to, who you’re trying to please, or who you’d like to be like in the future.

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

Research by psychologist Amy Cuddy revealed that participants have higher levels of testosterone (associated with dominance) and lower levels of cortisol (associated with stress) within 2 minutes of holding the poses below.

 

Click here to view the embedded video.

 So are You a Leader or a Follower? 
Share your take on this episode in our Comments

Mapping Feelings

Feelings are often associated with physical reactions: terror can send chills down your spine, and love can leave you weak in the knees.  A recent study has linked specific emotions to physical sensations. Researchers at the Academy of Finland and Aalto University tested emotional responses in hundreds of subjects and then created maps identifying locations in the body where emotions cause physical changes.

They found that common emotions trigger strong sensations in specific parts of our bodies. The study was conducted with over 700 participants from Finland, Sweden and Taiwan. The findings indicate that emotions and their bodily responses have a biological basis.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Where Do You Feel Your Strongest Emotion ?

The Truth Lies in Our Eyes ?

stockvault-eye96498

Courtesy of StockVault

A new device is being held to detect deception by accurately reading eye behavior.  Broadway World.com comments on this non-invasive lie detection method called EyeDetect.

Scientists at Utah based company Conversus, which invented the EyeDetect and the computerized polygraph, claim that their device can detect whether a person is being honest or is lying through subtle changes in the behavior of the human eye due to increased cognitive load.

Will this device replace the current polygraph or surpass it and be admitted into courts of law ?

Probably not anytime soon.  EyeDetect monitors the eye behavior of individuals using a high-speed eye tracker to measure subtle changes and then combines the measures in a mathematically optimal manner to detect deception.  The polygraph measures a person’s emotional response when lying, whereas EyeDetect evaluates changes in cognitive load associated with deception.

The scientists purport that the two technologies provide partially independent sources of diagnostic information about deception and may be used in combination to great advantage in some applications. However, there is no additional research to support that veracity can be determined solely from a person’s eyes.  In the company’s validation trial this “ocular motor deception test” had an 85% accuracy rate.

If this device can be proven, with further research, to be effective and accurate then perhaps the EyeDetect can be put into the category of a deception detection tool.  However, as of now, it seems to be more of a screening device than a bonafide  lie detector.  As with any tool or technique for evaluating truthfulness (i.e. the polygraph, or reading nonverbal tells) there is no one real sign that someone is being dishonest.  These are screening techniques/devices that have the potential to analyze individuals such as employees for hot spots that might lead to unveiling dishonesty such as previous issues with theft or fraud.

effectively screen potential employees for previous issues with theft or fraud is long overdue.”
Read more at http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwgeeks/article/Converus-Releases-First-Lie-Detection-Technology-That-Accurately-and-Efficiently-Reads-Eye-Behavior-20140408#OT3FFfOxbiJ8pRGv.99
effectively screen potential employees for previous issues with theft or fraud is long overdue.”
Read more at http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwgeeks/article/Converus-Releases-First-Lie-Detection-Technology-That-Accurately-and-Efficiently-Reads-Eye-Behavior-20140408#OT3FFfOxbiJ8pRGv.99

“We deal with a lot of sensitive information where the potential for risk is very high,“ said Vilash Poovala, co-founder and CTO of PayClip. developer of Clip a card reader that enables users in Mexico to accept credit and debit card payments through their smartphones and tablets. “We need to make sure the people we hire can be trusted. Technology like EyeDetect that can effectively screen potential employees for previous issues with theft or fraud is long overdue.“

Converus is focusing its initial efforts in demonstrating EyeDetect’s technological ability  as a pre-employment and periodic screening tool to help effectively manage risk and ensure workplace integrity.

Do You Think The Key to Unlocking The Truth Lies in our Eyes?