Cues to deception
Bella DePaulo and five colleagues reviewed the research on behavioural cues to lying, pooling 1,338 estimates of 158 cues. Liars were less forthcoming than truth-tellers and told less compelling tales. They also made a more negative impression, appeared more tense, and their accounts contained fewer ordinary imperfections and unusual details. Many behaviours showed little or no relation to lying. Cues were more pronounced when people were motivated to succeed, particularly when the motivation was tied to identity rather than money, and when the lie concerned a transgression.
Bella DePaulo and five colleagues reviewed the research on behavioural cues to lying, pooling 1,338 estimates of 158 cues. Liars were less forthcoming than truth-tellers and told less compelling tales. They also made a more negative impression, appeared more tense, and their accounts contained fewer ordinary imperfections and unusual details. Many behaviours showed little or no relation to lying. Cues were more pronounced when people were motivated to succeed, particularly when the motivation was tied to identity rather than money, and when the lie concerned a transgression.
Written from the abstract read 2026-10-25 via PubMed.
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DePaulo, B. M., Lindsay, J. J., Malone, B. E., Muhlenbruck, L., Charlton, K., & Cooper, H. (2003). 'Cues to deception.' Psychological Bulletin, 129(1), 74-118. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.1.74