Catch Liars by Redirecting Their Misdirection
Lies often come in the form of misdirection, or more
specifically a long-worded answer to a yes or no question that's meant to
direct you away from the truth. Here's how it works and how to beat it.
Dr. John R. Schafer, over at Psychology Today, is back with
another tip for detecting and countering liars. (Last week he shared what
Well... tends to reveal.) This time around, we're off to the Land of Is:
If You Begin a Sentence with Well, There's a Good Chance
You're Lying
If you think someone's lying, you can't really subject them
to a polygraph test. But, it…
Read more
Yes or No questions deserve "Yes" or
"No" answers. When people choose not to answer "Yes" or
"No," they go to the Land of Is. The Land of Is occupies the space
between truth and deception. This murky area contains a labyrinth of
half-truths, excuses, and suppositions.
The way one enters that "murky area" is by
answering a "yes" or "no" question with a roundabout answer
that's meant to misdirect. Here's an example:
You: Adam, does this hard drive full of circus clown
pornography belong to you?
Me: Why would I save all that circus clown pornography on a
hard drive when I can just get it online?
The idea of the misdirection is to create doubt in the
person asking the question. The idea is to get the asker to assume they were
silly for asking in the first place, because obviously it was a poor assumption
to make. In these situations, however, the doubt the asker should have is
whether or not the responder is being truthful. Schafer suggests redirecting
the misdirection to get things back on track. In our example, you might say
something like this:
You: I don't know why you would or would not save all those
unsettling photos and videos of circus clowns in unusually compromising yet
strangely erotic positions. That's not what I asked. I asked if the hard drive
containing the pornography belongs to you.
Me: Yes it does.
You: Can I, uh...borrow it?
Me: Sure.
In the end, it works out for everyone. But seriously, there
are two big takeaways here. First, if you want to detect a liar you should ask
them a yes or no question. Second, if the person answering the question doesn't
respond with a yes or no answer and instead tries to misdirect, remind them of
what you asked. Whether they choose to lie or not, you'll probably know either
way.
Poor Man's Polygraph: Part 2 [Psychology Today]
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