An Honest Joker reveals stereotypical beliefs about the face of deception

Abstract

Research on deception detection has mainly focused on Simple Deception, in which false information is presented as true. Relatively few studies have examined Sophisticated Deception, in which true information is presented as false. Because Sophisticated Deception incentivizes the appearance of dishonesty, it provides a window onto stereotypical beliefs about cues to deception. Here, we adapted the popular Joker Game to elicit spontaneous facial expressions under Simple Deception, Sophisticated Deception, and Plain Truth conditions, comparing facial behaviors in static, dynamic nonspeaking, and dynamic speaking presentations. Facial behaviors were analysed via machine learning using the Facial Action Coding System. Facial activations were more intense and longer lasting in the Sophisticated Deception condition than in the Simple Deception and Plain Truth conditions. More facial action units intensified in the static condition than in the dynamic speaking condition. Simple Deception involved leaked facial behaviors of which deceivers were unaware. In contrast, Sophisticated Deception involved deliberately leaked facial cues, including stereotypical cues to lying (e.g., gaze aversion). These stereotypes were inaccurate in the sense that they diverged from cues in the Simple Deception condition—the actual appearance of deception in this task. Our findings show that different modes of deception can be distinguished via facial action analysis. They also show that stereotypical beliefs concerning cues to deception can inform behavior. To facilitate future research on these topics, the multimodal stimuli developed in this study are available free for scientific use.