Michael Shermer tests the Polygraph and Lie Detection Part 2

[hungrytomato]

Of course you can get a read off body language. Poker players do it all the time.

[AmphibiousReconMSOB]

what if am paranoid cause I just smoked a blunt with jack and jill

[Atomicslid139]

I can definitely tell all the interviewees are actors. Bad ones too.

[PipeManChuck]

This stuff if total bs. People have different mannerisms accents. Peaple can be right or left handed or ambidextrous. Someone could be nervous, scared, worried, mentally ill and all would give false readings. I've seen this used on mentally ill patients in the corrections field and it's a disaster. If you have a nervous mental ill person in a stressful situation and you question them, you are guaranteed to get all sorts of false results. This is total bs and it doesn't work at all.

[WTCnucleardemolition]

Google "Quadri-Track ZCT"

[othewire23]

those were sum of the worst lies i've ever heard. doesn't take a pro to figure that shit out

[ninjajesus81]

@othewire23 Yeah that was pretty bad lying. Hang gliding? Are you serious? Say bowling or knitting.

Lies are easy to spot when they're that obvious. But if you try to catch someone lying when they just move their legs or shift position in their chair, you're going to accuse a lot of people who are telling the truth.

[paranoia2120]

I like the video but they didn't really answer my question. No real solutions. The reason why this keeps happening, is because people don't understand how to spot lies. They get taken advantage of, used and tossed to the curve. -- looking for a solution to the cheating and lying problem? Goto my channel right now! Learn the art of deception detection, did some knowledge about emotional timing and you'll never be played again.

[LuMathis]

It seems that these people did not know what the questions were, or where to lie. They had to decide to lie to make up a lie on the spot. I think this is how at least some of the lies in this video were caught.

This is not how lying works in real life, however, where the liar usually makes up appropriate lies to expected questions beforehand. Clinton knew exactly what he was going to be asked and what to say. He did not have to stop and make up stories during the interview.

[wilmeriscool]

just pay me i can tell if ur lying

[camj2116]

this is more accurate than polygraph machines however

[InSaneTK]

You can not judge peoples honesty by how much eye contact they have. It's the most bogus thing to teach people to look for. I'm never fully comfortable looking a person in the eye for more then a few seconds no matter how truthful and sincere I may be in a conversation. People who are good at lying and confident have even more eye contact then normal.. Being artistic also has given me a mind of heavy visual imagination, i stare a lot out in space cause i "see" images of what i talk about.

[karablak1]

They should put that Tim the waiter guy from the "bottled water" and "the best" episodes of Penn & Teller Bullshit for her to test. I bet he could lie through all questions without her noticing a thing.

[Jerseygirl8999]

Huh we all know that Bill Clinton lied..this is outdated but still imformative

[UdallIn72]

@Jerseygirl8999

I was a little confused about that, too.

Maybe what Shermer meant to say is that, applying the president's own strange definition of "sexual relations," he WASN'T lying.

When he said "I did not have sexual relations with that woman," if we apply a definition of "sexual relations" that does not include oral sex... Well, techincally what he said wasn't a lie.

It's DISHONEST, yeah, but not precisely a lie.

[bucknasty20067]

Look Up Silvan Tomkins

[Thymonico]

Wow! I learned something unexpected today.

Good body language readers are capable of noticing when someone lies within reasonable accuracy.

It's not 100% accurate and is a lot less (LOT LOT LOT LESS) certain than mathematical laws.

People are varied, but they're also similar, shown in this very study!

[monkeyshateme138]

6:58 That's all I have to say.

[kinomyway]

I believe body language does say something, but requires high training and natural environment. If I get to learn some tricks beforehand I'd easily fool her. (but not everyone's learning tricks, right?)

[CrispyClaire]

With the interviewees, I dunno if it's a proper test, because when you know you're being scrutinised and you're trying to look as if you're not lying, you tend to act suspiciously anyway, even if you're telling the truth. Also, I think these interviewees might decide to throw her off track by looking as if they're lying when they're really telling the truth. But that doesn't really relate to everyday situations.

[BipedalHumanoid]

I have an anxiety disorder. The idea that I'll be put on a lie detector at any point in my life scares the crap out of me. It is very easy to make me nervous and because of this I have been falsly accused of lying many times throughout my lifetime.

[Celtic505]

Me too, Ive the EXACT same experience. I get nervous & anxiety often for no reason, sometimes the slightest hint or mention of something that reminds me of something uncomfortable or negative. Mere thoughts of those things can send me into panic, especially bad memories or reminders of previous panic attacks. I've always had this fear that I'd be accused of a crime I didn't do & fail a polygraph b/c I'm nervous & the police think I did it b/c I panic & get anxious when interrogated & show fear.

[BipedalHumanoid]

Have you ever sought medical help for it? I've found SSRIs are a big help.

[dlandon2000]

This would be very interesting to try with good poker players

[bcbenp44]

It seems like people who has social anxiety give a lot of the same reactions as people who are lying. A person could be telling the truth and be accused of lying simply because they show how uncomfortable they are.

[FederalBureauOfMusic]

@bcbenp44 Well said.

[guitarplayer4real]

@bcbenp44 My ex wife had PTSD from childhood abuse. She failed 3 polygraph's when her company was investigated for missing monies and law enforcement keyed in on her. Even though her doctor told the state that she could not possibly be a good polygraph candidate, they tested, failed and followed her closely.

Weeks later the real thief was caught and convicted.

Never take a polygraph if you are innocent and they are looking at you. That came straight from an ex DA who was her attorney.

[ninjajesus81]

@guitarplayer4real The problem with declining to take a polygraph test is that people will the immediately be suspicious. "If he's innocent, why not take the polygraph?" It's a no win situation. I can't believe those things are taken seriously.

[guitarplayer4real]

@ninjajesus81 I agree! Its an assumption based on opinion that I "refuse because I'm guilty", not a fact. Not everyone handles stress the same and many studies have already eliminated the Polygraph as any real source of truth finding. Its the states tool of convenience IMO. I'll never place my well being in the hands of this machine or its operator. I'll take my chances with a good attorney and the truth from that angle. There will always be those who stand by this crackery and those who dont.

[dahur]

The UFO video shermer on Larry King Live, is systematically removing our pro ET-UFO posts, and within minutes 5-10 negative ratings. We are really putting it to the shermer machine, and somebody(guess who) doesn't like it. This confirms we are getting to him.

[blackadderthe4]

*the UFO video shermer on Larry King Live, is systematically removing our pro ET-UFO posts" no he is not as you well know! because the thread owner has to be online and he hasn't for two weeks, look at his profile! dahur has a hidden agenda of some kind, because he has bought into the "UFO" myth lock, stock and barrel! Just look at his other posts elsewhere!

[dahur]

blackadder says:

"on occasion I am wrong"

On that he is right.

[blackadderthe4]

A man who does not admit to making mistakes can't recognize when other people are making them. So what are your mistakes then, oh yes falling for the ETFO myth!

[Zeta9966]

Show me one reasonably real UFO video, and maybe I will believe you. Every single UFO or alien video I've seen is obviously fake. Michael Shermer is a gift to society. I am so tired of people taking everything at face value and just believing it. QUESTION EVERYTHING.

[FrekeOne]

@Zeta9966 science rule out most of UFO's, religions, paranormal events, cropcircles etc. roughly speaking, so why is the world full of people who swear they whitnessed these things. We can't doubt the scientists but we also can't doubt the many honest citizens who report these things. Please tell me if You have an answer.

[Naiant]

I wonder how she would fare with someone with Asperger's.

[Gesmehod]

I'm impressed. Not convinced, but impressed.

[dolafbrown]

I wonder if this episode was the impetus for creating the show, "Lie to Me." Love that show.

[1971ojoalparche1971]

Even if polygraphs were accurate, there are external factors that render them almost useless in some cases, like the health of the interviewed, that person´s state of mind in that very moment (even if innocent,) the quality of the machine, and the skill of the operator.

For body language, even this expert says she studied Clinton before, but what if they can't study a suspect before? Not all body language is a reflex, and it's not even hard to fake. It's what actors do for a living.

[quelorepario]

Carol Travis, the Social Psychologist, is simply an outdated idiot. She should study her colleague Paul Ekman's research and the search for Truth Wizards by Dr. Maureen O'Sullivan.

It IS science, and there are scientific and empirical evidence of lie detection by non verbal communication.

Cultural differences requires adaptation (like with emblematic expressions), but there are biological responses (like microexpressions and manipulators) that are universal.

[JoelWhy]

The test set up was pretty lousy; these were awful liars!

[champ2day]

i think most people could have identified the lies, they were pretty obvious.

Also if you are going to read body language, be prepared for people to deliberately give you misinformation.

[davidealessio]

i think the persons wasnt good lyers..

[joshuamarius]

Yeah they were pretty lousy...

[siika20]

Microexpressions... Indeed. They are the crucial skills to any human lie detector.

[aquafishsoup]

my boss lied about giving me a raised again then!

[TheThomaswastaken]

The better you get at detecting lies the less friends you'll have. Sometimes you accept what people say without believing them because if they wanted you to know they would have told you.

[infidelguy]

Thomas: I guess that explains why I don't have many. I can spot liars a mile away. People do have certain motions and behaviors when they lie, usually though, you have to get the know them first. Or.. it will be truly obvious such as with these subjects. If you lie enough, you can almost believe it yourself.

[quelorepario]

You might be one of the lie wizards in potential.

The capacity of spotting lies are based on how well and quick you can identify the personality traits of someone and how well you can identify the odd gestures and voice intonations.

Some people do all this subconsciously, they don't know why, but they have a "gut feeling" that something is wrong.

[andid]

You're telling me. I can spot lies like crazy and friends/family hate it. Unless it's important I just pretend like I never thought they were lying...

On top that, reading body language makes you hyper-aware of your own body language, and that's also not so good in social situations. It makes you seem invulnerable.

I do think it's a hell of a lot more effective than polygraph though, because we're hard-wired to pick up deception cues to an extent.

[quelorepario]

Not because you spot lies it means you have to reveal them all.

In that case you don't have friends because of lack of social skills, not just because you spot lies.

[mattias73]

And the woman who sits and argues that body language is not a 100% safe - does she know anything about science? 80% hit rate would be really good. Who asked for 100%?

[djrn]

the death penalty.

[mattias73]

Michael Michael - you didnt double blind the test with the woman and the body language... she might have read your body language - cold reading, during the sitting with you.

[zab666]

that's true yes...but I think Michael is aware of these methods as he has investigated these as well and cold reading on 80 questions....that's tough too

[newmac]

So how do you know that Clinton didn't rub his nose because he had a nose itch?

[TSOTheSimFamily]

He's lying because of a combination of motions that say he's lying, not just because he scratched his nose =P

[BlackOps2014]

Yeah bro, I'll have to agree with you. Things may seem highly suspicious, but you can't just go around assuming things.. Especially when you aren't familiar with that person and their lifestyle, or how they're feeling at that moment.

[saken40]

This is a tuff sell on both sides. Each have their applications with certain people on detecting deception. Reviewing this with Michael's skeptical nature in mind, the people told to lie were instructed to lie X number of times, which dictates that for every question they are analyzing the question, thinking of the truth, thinking of a lie and deciding if they are convincing in their conviction of the lie, if not they tell the truth, other wise they tell a lie which would have a greater tell

[InReasonWeTrust]

Her body language is most interesting of all.

[tpfahler]

My careers ruined because she thought I was lying about my college communications club. Oh well, if you want to make an omellette...

[nake89]

... you gotta use a frying pan.

[camipco]

It would be interesting to see the two methods compared. I bet the polygraph would also do well on the test they gave for body language. None of the participants are trained, and they have no reason to have an emotional reaction to their lies.

People can also train, like poker players, to avoid body-language tells.

It seems the legitimate worry of the false-positives of the polygraph would be really hard to test scientifically.

[quelorepario]

No, body language can't be fooled.

Very especially the microexpressions, there are certain muscles in the face that only reacts unconsciously, and emotions you can't be block consciously, those are shown even without your knowledge.

[1gregmichael]

ETs are real and Here on Earth. Do not believe otherwise because you'd be denying the truth.

[nlytend1]

oh yea another thing, it'll suck for someone who's unfaithful to have her as a wife. you can't get a way w/ anything.

[charliehorse12345]

id love to see this woman try to catch my younger sister lying. Shes unflinching with truth and lies

[mccote]

what is this guy the new mythbusters?

[nlytend1]

he's being around for a while, it's just now you've seen him, well a month ago anyways.

[MickB0529]

Yes , human beings are too varied , versatile but there's a paradox. Most of them are extremely predictable too. And that's precisely why IT IS possible to detect liars "most of the time". But obviously , getting a 100% result is impossible. Unless of course , your name is Derren Brown. lol

[nrubdarb]

SO, like the minute anyone varies their behavior, they're lying?

What a stupid woman.

[btownsuperstar]

her husband cheats on her, ha.

[rbond22]

I'm a big Shermer fan but this is a very sloppy analysis. She's asking obvious questions which, when you get down to it, equate to stuff like, "Have you ever stolen paper clips from work?" When the answer is obviously yes and the person says no, this has nothing to do with body language and more to do with common sense. They should've had a third-party person pre-formulate all the questions to give her less flexibility and force her to judge everything purely on body language.

[Shamudoll2]

lol that was funny when tracy lied about permanently "borrowing" office supplies

[BayerLexan]

The cultural aspects of body language are important to consider. Such as how americans tend to prefer a larger area of personal space when around others.

[kilroy1964]

This is a very poor test because Shermer is giving her feedback in the middle of her analysis. This means that the analysis is not solely on body language. It also increases the chances of hits as the analysis progresses.

Poor controls = unreliable results.

This is a shame because I'm sure we'd all like to know what she's really capable of..

[SUNIVAG]

also the people being tested are trying to act like they are lting when they are not and they know the purpose of the test....

i would suggest and interview scenario were the interviewees are told after what was going on..

that said she does have skill and things like the girl nodding yes and saying no are a big give away...as far as i know a french detective wrote a book on this ..i cant remember the name but he had developed it into an investigative technique

[DrewAWeeks]

If this system requires secrecy for its efficacy its inherently flawed because it is only manipulation. So with this only the uneducated are controllable but then only to an extent. There's a lot more to take into account than is even covered here which makes these techniques questionable to say the least.

Lastly, the reason for deception has degrees. So taking simple ideas (e.g nodding and saying no) with far reaching implications you end up with pseudo-science when its masked as accurate.

[quelorepario]

Nodding yes when saying no is pretty accurate. Try to consciously say yes nodding no, it is very hard to do it.

It is called a gestural slip, and it is one of the most reliable signs if you spot it. When it happens your body betrays you.

[Fayejealousy]

but anyway, all the people here sucked at lieing, OJ, and orthers would be much harder to spot

[Fayejealousy]

eh, women can see orther women lieing from a mile away IMO

[KeMoniito]

that bitch is just to 'sensitive' and i could cheat on her easily because i know the basics of body language my self and how to lie to people like her.☺

[asonjdj]

How would you like to be married to her? You couldnt get away with anything!

[luzimis100]

Good short

[Quinstol]

I'm confused by the inclusion of the Clinton bit, because it doesn't seem valid to compare Clinton's grand jury testimony (something less familiar, where he is being questioned on alleged criminal behavior) with his public speaking (something very familiar, where the pressures are more political in nature than legal). They're totally different settings.

[ArmageddonKitten]

I have to agree with you, Quinstol. Just being in front of a grand jury (well, via video hookup, if I'm remembering correctly) can make you nervous and act differently than in a setting--being in front of cameras and fielding political/media questions--where one is knowledgeble and comfortable. I'm not saying he did or didn't tell the truth, but I find it hard to believe someone can give an accurate "reading" in that setting.

[82abhilash]

I think with knowledge about the techniques used to detect lies, people will eventually come up with ways to move those techniques into obsolescence. Joe Allen can be fooled with practice. All one needs to know is find out what she is looking for.

[Quinstol]

No doubt, there are "countermeasures" to human lie detectors as well, though they may not be as simple as a couple physical exercises. Against a practiced liar or a good actor I doubt her skills would be worth much at all. Which is fine as long as she and her clients keep that in mind, and that it's more art than science.

[82abhilash]

I wonder how much of it is cultural. Would Joe Allen be as good if she interviewing people living in other countries?

[ArmageddonKitten]

Nevermind other countries... how about people from the US who are in other ethnic groups and have subtly different modes of communicating?

[xtbeetle32]

I think that the point was that the body language (admittedly not a science) is more accurate than the polygraph (calmed to be science.)

[AquaOceanWave]

Great Video.

[PolliFaxToaster]

bene gesserit witch!

[reapfreak]

A Dune reference, are you serious? Thats more geeky than me knowing it.

[PolliFaxToaster]

good

[tempnamehere]

I think that polygraph and body language analysis are probably good ways to tel if someone is lying but I dont think the accuracy is high enough to make them good enough for court.

[bobjones864]

It is amazingly obvious that equating physical discomfort with dishonesty is just plain sloppy. If you took me into a room and started interrogating me about whether or not I had raped someone, I'd sure as hell squirm around a lot, and my pulse would certainly jump around.

[bobjones864]

She's certainly good though. This reminds me of Malcom Gladwell's "blink." I'm pretty good at spotting liars, as are most people really, but I haven't developed the expertize to get really good.

[beforever]

I agree with Furlong, body language is just as flawed as the polygraph, high stress situations always illicit a response that can be conceived as betraying a lie, when it may simply be discomfort.

[nutherefurlong]

Body language is sometimes useful, but I think people tend to treat it on faith that it's a definite indicator.  People are too different, and cultural experience only muddles things further. It's used like the polygraph, as some sort of magical in-road to the human mind.

[jonnykzj]

That old woman who says "body language aint 100% reliable" is being completely unscientific here. In science we DO NOT HAVE ABSOLUTE TRUTHS and there is NO 100%. Prior to that statement she said it aint even 90% accurate but Shermer's tests have clearly shown that it is. So body language is a very good method for lie detection and infact the judges make use of it. Id prefer this mehtod over polytests anytime now.