Dissecting Pinocchio: How to Detect Lies from Head to Toe by Christopher Dillingham

Author:Christopher Dillingham [Dillingham, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Christopher Dillingham, Esq.
Published: 2012-12-28T05:00:00+00:00

Pinocchio’s Arms

Much has been written in body language books about “open” versus “closed” body language. There are many gurus out there that will tell you that people who have closed body language – arms crossed or held out in front of them to “block” the other person – are more likely to be deceptive than people with open body language. While there is a small element of truth to this belief, closed body language is meaningless unless Pinocchio’s body language changes from open to closed in response to a specific stimulus. Even more importantly, the change can also be from closed to open; what is truly important is the change itself.

I once had a supervisor whose relaxed body language was keeping his arms and legs crossed, but if he was under pressure, he opened his body language. This made him very difficult to read in department meetings, trials, and depositions. When he testified in court, he was the picture of relaxation. When defense attorneys tried to rattle him, he just looked more relaxed and serene. In many ways, his body language reflected that of a veteran poker player, whose body language is often reversed from that of the normal behavior exhibited by most people.

If you are a poker player and have wondered if there is general rule to follow when trying to determine if someone is bluffing, remember the rule of reversal: If a good player acts confident, then he is probably holding a weak hand. If he acts hesitant, he probably holds a stronger hand. Professional poker players follow this rule when there are no other visible “tells” or other signs of deception. In poker and real life, though, there are other things to look for other than open or closed body language. For example:

 Liars show decreased use of illustrators – “talking” with one’s arms and hands – than the honest. Therefore, if someone decreases his use of illustrators, you should immediately be suspicious.

 Liars also limit their use of adaptors. Adaptors are those movements we make to sure our hair and clothing are in place. It is commonly thought that the use of adaptors is an indicator of deception, but this is not true. We often call these “nervous movements,” but as we have already discussed, nervousness is not a reliable indicator of deception in and of itself alone.

 Liars often exhibit decreased overall arm and hand movement when lying. They tend to act stiffer and exercise more control over their muscular movements, and may grip the arms of a chair if sitting or hide their hands in their pockets. I’ve also seen obviously deceptive people sit on their hands in order to mask their mendacity.

Decreased arm and hand movements have been shown in numerous scientific studies to be a reliable indicator of deception. The reason this indicator appears to be valid is because while Pinocchio is constantly monitoring and editing his body language, he appears to exercise too much control. Leakage of Pinocchio’s true emotions, though, still may occur.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.