The Effect of Training on the Effectiveness of Deception Detection

The research conducted aims at determining the impact of short training on the trainee’s ability to detect deception with the use of non-instrumental methods of detection of deception. As the criminal procedure permits such methods of detection of deception, the results of the research are practical. The research was carried out on a group of participants given the task to watch a video recording and conclude whether the person presented told the truth or lied. Subsequently, the participants were given a short training on both verbal and non-verbal deception cues, illustrated with examples taken from the video they had watched. In the second leg of the test, the participants watched another video and decided whether the person presented was truthful or deceptive (on the grounds of deception cues they spotted). The results showed that the training improved participants’ ability to detect deception by c. 22%.