Most people lie occasionally.
The lies are often trivial and essentially inconsequential such as pretending to like a tasteless gift.
But in other contexts, deception is more serious and can have harmful effects on criminal justice.
From a societal perspective, such lying is better detected than ignored and tolerated.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to detect lies accurately.
Our technique is part of a new generation ofcognitive-based lie-detection methodsthat are being increasingly researched and developed.
By using specific techniques, these differences can be amplified and detected.
One such approach is theAsymmetric Information Management (AIM) technique.
Importantly, longer, more detailed statementstypically contain more cluesto a deception than short statements.
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Essentially, the AIM method involves informing suspects of these facts.
For truth-tellers, this is good news.
For liars, this is less good news.
Truth-tellers typically seek to demonstrate their innocence and commonly provide more detailed information in response to such instructions.
In contrast, liars wish to conceal their guilt.
This means they are more likely to strategically withhold information in response to the AIM instructions.
This asymmetry in responses from liars and truth-tellers from which the AIM technique derives its name suggests two conclusions.
In contrast, if the potential suspect is lying then the investigator would typically be presented with shorter statements.
The experiment
But how effective is this approach?
Preliminary research on the AIM technique has been promising.
All interviewees were then told there had been a data breach in their absence.
They were, therefore, a suspect and faced an interview with an independent analyst.
Half were told to tell the truth about their mission to convince the interviewer of their innocence.
They were then interviewed, and the AIM technique was used in half of the cases.
We found that when the AIM technique was used, it was easier for the interviewer to spot liars.
Recalling information can be difficult, and truth-tellers often struggle with their recall.
Memory tools known as mnemonics may be able to enhance this process.
This can elicit new previously unreported information from memory.
Either way, our method is an ethical, non-accusatory and information-gathering approach to interviewing.
The AIM instructions are simple to understand, easy to implement and appear promising.
