So I’m taking a moment for a break at lunch to read my favourite article, The Globe and Mail’s Social Studies page. I read the following:
U.S. researchers are developing “truth detection” software, to see if e-mails are being economical with the truth. It uses five basic indicators, says Jeff Hancock of Cornell University:
“E-mails that mask a lie have on average 28 per cent more words. “When you’re lying . . . you provide more detail, you are in persuasive mode.”
Liars are more likely to use third-person pronouns such as “they” and “he.”
People feel uncomfortable when they are lying so they tend to use negative emotional terms such as “sad,” “unhappy” and “stressed out.”
Another sign of a fib is overuse of sense terms, such as “see,” “feel” and “touch.”
Liars tend to use fewer “causal phrases,” to minimize the chances of being found out. “They will just say, ‘Sorry, I couldn’t meet you,’ and be deliberately vague.”
- Source: The Sunday Times of London
I’m a long-winded person. I think it’s safe to say I use over 28 percent more words than most people. I use third-person when I’m not keen on identifying specific people. I periodically use “stressed out”. And yeah, I feel.
Am I lying?
