LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE - IS IT REALLY THAT EASY TO SPOT A LIAR

How good are you at recognizing when someone is lying?  Do you recall the TV show called Lie to Me that was popular a few years ago? The show followed the work of Dr. Cal Lightman (played by Tim Roth) and his colleagues. Apparently they had devised ways to detect when someone was lying or telling the truth by analyzing facial expressions, body movements, and changes in voice and speech. In other words, the show was based on the idea that people, even very good liars, display some small and uncontrollable expressions that can be detected by someone trained to identify them. These beliefs are widespread across the general population and also among law-enforcement professionals. But they are completely WRONG!