Language Use Of Successful Liars

Abstract

Little research has been done to determine whether the cues to deception researched by academia and delivered to law enforcement agencies are equally useful for detecting both skilled and unskilled liars. This study investigated the effects of deceptive skill on six linguistic variables including parts of speech and emotional affect. Data was gathered from transcripts of a deceptive group communication task conducted in an online synchronous chat environment. An analysis of transcripts confirmed that liars can be distinguished from truth-tellers, and revealed that skill is also a factor affecting language patterns. Analyzed with a Mixed Model ANOVA, first-person pronouns, second-person pronouns, and conjunctions all showed a main effect for role, distinguishing liars from truth-tellers. Furthermore, skilled liars were found to use fewer words, first- and second-person pronouns, and conjunctions in synchronous chat.