DETECTING DECEPTION 223TWO PRINCIPAL NONVERBAL BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS
TO CONSIDER IN DETECTING DECEPTIONWhen it comes to body signals that alert us to the possibility of decep-
tion, you should be watching for nonverbal behaviors involving syn-
chrony and emphasis.
SynchronyEarlier in this chapter, I discussed the importance of synchrony as a way
to assess for comfort in interpersonal interaction. Synchrony is also im-
portant, however, in assessing for deception. Look for synchrony between
what is being said verbally and nonverbally, between the circumstances
of the moment and what the subject is saying, between events and emo-
tions, and even synchrony of time and space.
When being questioned, a person answering in the affirmative should
have congruent head movement that immediately supports what is said;
it should not be delayed. Lack of synchrony is exhibited when a person
states, “I did not do it,” while her head is nodding in an affirmative mo-
tion. Likewise, asynchrony is demonstrated when a man is asked, “Would
you lie about this?” and his head gives a slight nod while he answers,
“No.” Upon catching themselves in this faux pas, people will reverse
their head movements in an attempt to do damage control. When asyn-
chronous behavior is observed, it looks contrived and pathetic. More of-
ten a mendacious statement, such as an untruthful “I did not do it,” is
followed by a noticeably delayed and less emphatic negative head move-
ment. These behaviors are not synchronous and therefore more likely to
be equated with deception because they show discomfort in their pro-
duction.
There should also be synchrony between what is being said and the
events of the moment. For instance, when parents are reporting the al-
leged kidnapping of their infant, there should be synchrony between the
event (kidnapping) and their emotions. The distraught mother and fa-
ther should be clamoring for law enforcement assistance, emphasizing