Reviews : Detecting Lies and Deceit - the Psychology of Lying and the Implications for Professional Practice Ardert Vrij John Wiley and Sons, 2000; pp249; £19.99, pbk ISBN 0-471-85316-X
| Author | Mark Hardy |
| Published date | 01 December 2000 |
| Date | 01 December 2000 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455050004700418 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
287
REVIEWS
Detecting
Lies
and
Deceit -
the
Psychology
of
Lying
and
the
Implications
for
Professional
Practice
Ardert
Vrij
John
Wiley
and
Sons,
2000;
pp249;
£19.99,
pbk
ISBN
0-471-85316-X
The
underpinning
thrust
of
this
book
(well
established
but
nevertheless
contentious)
is
that
lying
is
endemic,
some
people
are
better
at
it
than
others,
and
that
it
is
extremely
difficult
to
detect
a
lie,
or
to
differentiate
honesty
from
deceit.
Moreover,
those
professionals
who
perceive
that
their
role
charges
them
with
a
responsibility
to
identify
liars -
investigators
and
detectives,
primarily,
but
also
(perhaps
erroneously)
other
allied
workers
in
the
criminal
justice
arena -
are,
in
terms
of
either
indicators
or
outcomes,
no
better
equipped
than
a
lay
person
to
do
so.
This
is
not
to
say
that
the
characteristics
of
a
’good’
liar
cannot
be
identified.
Vrij
identifies
a
capacity
for
preparation,
originality,
quick
thinking,
eloquence,
memory,
acting
talent
and
lack
of
fear
or
guilt
as
helpful
traits
in
that
respect.
However,
contemporaneous
identification
of
an
individual
who
is
actively
deceiving,
especially
in
a
quasi-
clinical
or
judicial
setting
within
the
Criminal
Justice
System,
is
far
from
straightforward.
The
strategies,
techniques
and
technologies
that
have
evolved
to
facilitate
and
assist
this
process
are
not
conducive
to
accommodating
the
diversity
of
individuals,
and
their
very
particular
psychological
and
physiological
responses
to
anxiety
provoking
circumstances.
Factors
commonly
thought
of
as
indicative
of
lying
(including
both
verbal
and
non-verbal
indicators -
generalisations,
indirect
answers,
implausibility,
scratching,
hair
touching,
avoiding
eye
contact)
although
sometimes
observed
in
liars,
when
subjected
to
scrutiny
cannot
consistently
be
demonstrated
to
correspond
to
deceitful
individuals
in
general.
Within
the
bounds
of
the
task
which
the
author
sets
himself,
this
book
is
a
partial
success.
It is
undoubtedly
a
scholarly,
well
written
and
presented,
lucidly
argued
and
comprehensively
referenced
piece
of
original
research.
However,
practice
and
policy
implications,
although
sketched
out
at
appropriate
junctures,
are
not
fully
developed.
For
example,
the
unreliability
of
the
polygraph
is
demonstrated
and
its
use
in
court
settings
criticised
due
to
its
inherent
high
margin
of
error
and
the
consequent
potential
for
injustice.
However,
its
use
in
less
formal
settings
is
still
advocated,
as
though
the
Criminal
Justice
System
is
a
set
of
discrete
sections
in
which
decisions
and
judgements
at
one
stage
will
have
no
impact
or
influence
at
later
stages.
In
addition,
the
author
concludes
with
’Guidelines
for
Catching
a
Liar’,
practice
guidance
which
reads
as
a
straightforward
re-iteration
of
investigative
common
sense,
albeit
informed
by
the
need
to
avoid
’stereotyping’
and
to
listen
carefully.
Some
workers
will
regard
the
characterisation
of
their
knowledge
and
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