Detection of Deception in Adults

Deception is defined, for the purposes of this entry, as a successful or unsuccessful deliberate attempt to create in another a belief that the sender of the message [Page 208]considers to be untrue. Although it is hard to think of a context in which no deception transpires, the study of deception and how to detect it is especially crucial in the forensic setting. Most law enforcement professionals, who must assess veracity on a daily basis, know that deception is quite frequent in forensic contexts and that making mistakes when assessing veracity can have severe consequences—the innocent may be sentenced to punishment, the guilty may be freed to commit more crimes. To be able to correctly detect deception is therefore of utmost importance. Yet comprehensive study ...