Introduction
People have long been interested in determining lies and truth for a long time since few people like to be fooled. The modern world is filled with various forms of lies, and due to the abundance of information that creates noise, most do not pay attention to true or false judgments. Live communication, however, remains a burning topic for people, and here the aspect of lying can harm relationships or serve as a reason for their destruction. The best ways to detect lies are direct questions, as well as observation of gestures; criteria for determining lies are divided into behavioral and rhetorical.
Discussion
Though they are not guaranteed, direct questions and monitoring gestures can help people identify lies. An immediate question or clarification can catch a lie and stop the thought of a person trying to deceive the interlocutor. When telling a story, a person hears a question from the outside that throws him off. Such a person hesitates to continue the story; he can get confused about the storyline and details being told. I tried to deceive my parents, saying that it was not me who broke the vase but it was our newly adopted kitten. Mom asked me how the kitten behaved before and after the misconduct. I could not take the storyline and had to confess. Another way to detect lies is to follow gestures; lying to people is not easy, and they experience background stress in connection with this. Motions are soothing to gain confidence in the dialogue; touching the lips with the hand is a truncated childish gesture of covering the mouth when lying (Vrij et al.). In adulthood, this gesture transforms into the most socially acceptable motion, and I see people lying by rubbing their lips.
I single out two criteria for recognizing lies: behavioral and rhetorical. The behavioral criterion is non-verbal communication, which permeates any dialogue with a person. This criterion includes eye movement, finger and hand movements, and defensive positions. There can be a lot of non-verbal aspects here, and all of them have varying degrees of reliability (Vrij et al.). For example, I noticed a habit of folding my hands over my chest or stomach when I am lying, and if I have jewelry on my neck or clothes, I touch them. I try to distract myself in this way from the stressful state of lying. The second criterion, rhetorical, can be clearly manifested in personal communication, advertising, and text. This criterion includes short answers to questions, the expression of doubt, and the deliberate complication of the narrative, that is, attempts to confuse with terms or plot intricacies. In addition, focusing on minor details and giving too much information are signs of a lie. On the Internet, I can find a lot of second-rate courses in psychology and self-development, where mentors create sophisticated text advertising that praises the product being sold.
Conclusion
In my case, the methods of determining are divided into mechanical and rhetorical. I prefer to recognize lies by asking clarifying questions directly, as I believe that this can confuse the interlocutor with meaning. A lie requires concentration, often, for a person, this is background stress, and a direct question makes a person fall out of the rut. Specific mechanical ways of recognizing lies through gestures are touching the mouth area. It is a stripped-down childish gesture of covering one’s mouth with the hand at the moment of an awkward lie. The criteria for recognizing lies are divided into rhetorical and behavioral. The rhetorical measure includes any verbal features of the narrative. The behavioral step consists of the report’s gestures, behavior, and non-verbal components.
Works Cited
Vrij, Aldert, Maria Hartwig, and Pär Anders Granhag. “Reading Lies: Nonverbal Communication and Deception.” Annual Review of Psychology vol. 70, no. 1, 2019, pp. 295-317.