Research suggests that most people cannot tell from demeanor whether someone is lying or telling the truth. Such poor performance is not because lies are told flawlessly. Most liars make …
How to Detect Lies by Analyzing Facial Expression
The importance of context in Micro Expression Detection
Micro expressions can occur either as the result of conscious suppression or unconscious repression of emotions. As such, spotting micro expressions (or analyzing facial expressions) is key to learning how …
Errors in Detecting Lies
Dangers and Precautions when Catching Lies
When it comes to deception and catching lies, there are a number of common errors you need to be wary of. The two biggest failures of judgment in deception detection …
Do lie detectors actually work?
A deception detection expert’s account of the polygraph exam
Is it called a lie detector or a polygraph? First created in 1921 by a law enforcement officer, the polygraph machine’s sole purpose was to track moment-to-moment physiological changes in …
The Truth Behind Lie to Me
Science of Lie to Me
As featured on the Lie to Me website (www.lietome.com) June 6, 2017 The beginning It was the very successful producer Brian Grazer’s idea, not mine. Googling him, I learned that …
“Nonverbal Messages: Cracking the Code”
Dr. Ekman's scientific autobiography now available
Excerpt taken from Introduction (pp. ix – xiv) November 1, 2016 “What motivated me to spend fifty years investigating facial expressions, emotions and deception? Why these topics, which had been …
Trusting Can Be Dangerous
Evaluating truthfulness
December 8, 2015 Misjudging a Person I have spent a lot of time in the last thirty years advising police, both regional and national, on how to evaluate truthfulness. You …
Ineffectively Testing the Effectiveness of TSA
The SPOT program
November 11, 2015 Trouble with ineffective testing TSA personnel in the SPOT (Screening Passengers with Observational Techniques) program have come under repeated, unjustified criticism. Their failure to catch people pretending …
5 Signs of Lying That Aren’t as Foolproof as You’d Think
Think you can spot a liar? Think again.
November 2, 2015 As seen on Yahoo Health by Temma Ehrenfeld Too bad every liar isn’t Pinocchio, with a tell-all nose. But do our faces give lying away in more …
Dr. Paul Ekman on Torture
Choosing humane interrogation techniques
August 17, 2015 As seen in the Huffington Post I was approached soon after 9/11 by a senior psychologist, who held office in APA, to participate in the government’s newly …
Catching Liars
What you need to know
August 2014 Science Fiction From a distance of twenty feet, without your knowledge or consent, the surveillance cameras, microphones and physiological sensors apply computer algorithms to process your gait, facial …
#AskEkman: How do I become a facial expression expert?
Learn from the expert
July 2014 The most popular questions we receive at the Paul Ekman Group are questions relating to which courses and/or universities are best equipped to promote a career in becoming …
Is Snowden Lying?
Evaluating truthfulness
June 2014 Many readers have asked whether Snowden was lying in his recent NBC-TV interview, knowing I have worked for the government and corporations spotting lies by how someone behaves. …
Spotting Poker Bluffs
Can you tell when someone is bluffing?
May 2014 The game has changed now that TV broadcasts people playing poker In the old days, not a word was spoken, and that tradition continues today in some venues. …
Welcome to our new Website!
Improved products and new ways to connect
April 2014 Paul Ekman Group Website I’m Paul Ekman. Welcome to the first post of my blog on our new website! This past year has been exciting as we’ve improved our …
Duping Delight
Getting away with lies
December, 2009 The Thrill of Lying The Navy warrant officer John Anthony Walker, Jr. was convicted as a spy for the Soviet Union in 1987, and is serving a life …
Why People Lie
Reasons for lying
People resort to lying for so many different reasons that it’d be impossible to list them all. However, of the most common motives for telling lies, avoiding punishment is the …