About this Research Topic
Research focus on forensic interviews was accompanied by a shift of focus from nonverbal lie detection to verbal lie detection. This change was based on findings of enhanced lie detection accuracy when looking at verbal cues to deceit compared to null findings for nonverbal lie detection. Whereas verbal cues are often referred to as ‘verbal cues to deceit’, the majority of the verbal cues tested in the field are cues to truths (i.e., they detect truthful statements). Verbal cues to truths have repeatedly demonstrated stronger results than the few cues to deceit that were examined.
The main goal of this call is to understand how different contexts affect deceptive and truthful behavior and ultimately lie detection. There is a lack of research that helps us understand the effects of contexts on lie detection, including contexts differentiating (i) criminal, military, insurance, etc. interviews, (ii) single and multiple activities, (iii) cultures, (iv) interviews with single and multiple suspects, (vi) single and repeated interviews, (vii) native and non-native suspects, (viii) online and in person interviews, etc. Another goal of this call is to encourage the examination of verbal cues to deceit. Although there is an emerging effort to examine novel cues to deceit, more research needs to be done to enhance lie detection in practice.
We attempt to advance the existing literature on verbal lie detection by examining different and novel forensic-related contexts that may affect lie detection, and how these interplay with verbal cues to truths and deceit. We thus encourage submissions of manuscripts that tackle lie detection across different or novel contexts and that examine existing or novel verbal cues to truths and deceit. We are particularly interested in cross-cultural research and in online/in person interviewing, but we welcome any articles that examine different forensic contexts. We are mainly interested in contributions in the form of original research, but other types of contributions will be accepted.
Keywords: deception, lie detection, deceit, verbal cue, interview, investigative interview
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