How good are you at detecting someone else’s lie? Have you heard about the ways professionals can spot a lie when they see one?
Do you know any ways — body language, for example — that are supposed to help you know when another person is lying?
In the Times interactive quiz “Can You Spot the Liar?,” the producers Jeffery DelViscio and Brittany Storoz write:
Poker players might call it the “tell” — it’s the idea that your body language tells your questioners if the words you’re saying are actually true or false. These subjects in a University of Chicago study on body language and lying were asked several general questions — and then told off camera to lie or tell the truth when answering. Can you tell truth from falsehood?
Students: Take the quiz, then tell us:
— How did you do on the quiz? Did you feel confident in detecting the truthtellers from the liars? Why?
— What did you learn about yourself when taking the quiz, if anything, and why?
— How difficult or easy is it to detect a lie? Why did you answer the way you did?
In related Times coverage, see “At Airports, a Misplaced Faith in Body Language.”
Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
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