The results of a new study by Northwestern researchers suggests that lying may be a skill that anyone can master.
People who lie generally take time and make mistakes, as their brain is battling between two thoughts — the truth and the lie. The research found that, with enough practice, a person can train his or her mind to believe a lie is the truth so effectively that it can overcome the physical reactions tracked by polygraph “lie detector” tests.
Xiaoqing Hu, a fourth-year graduate psychology student, headed the research team that discovered it may be possible to train the human mind to lie.
“We found that lying is more malleable and can be changed upon intentional practice,” Hu said.
The experiment consisted of a control group in which participants were instructed to decrease the time it took them to lie with fewer mistakes. The group was given time to prepare their lies. Members of a training group were also allowed to groom and integrate their lies into their thoughts.
“We gave people a short amount of time to prepare their lies and to practice their lies, and after a short time of training, the difference between telling a lie and the truth were eliminated,” Hu said.
Hu’s research implies that such difficulties in lying can be erased, a practice viewed by some as a great danger, Hu said.
The research has potential repercussions for law enforcement officials, who attempt to extract the truth from criminals via polygraph tests and other interviewing methods.
“Maybe this will motivate us to develop more robust and more accurate, more reliable lie detection methods,” Hu said.
Because many lie detector tests rely on psychological responses, Hu said he would suggest more research into brain waves and other brain functions to determine how to best evade this potential roadblock in interrogations.
The research findings were published in an article entitled “A Repeated Lie Becomes a Truth? The Effect of Intentional Control and Training on Deception” in the journal Frontiers in Cognitive Science.
— Tal Axelrod
