Science of Lie Detection: From Behavioural Observation to Current Neuroscientific Technologies

Main Article Content

Piyawat Dendumrongkul
Methat Pattamangsang

Abstract

Attempts to detect deception through behavioural analysis face inherent uncertainty in human responses, including differences in interviewer skill, interview stress, contextual factors, and subtle bodily signals. Structured investigative aids have been developed to standardise practice, while physiological devices such as polygraphs, body temperature monitors, and remote heart-rate systems help detect difficult-to-observe cues. However, each method has constraints: reliance on operator skill, resource demands, uncertain real-world accuracy, and the fact that bodily responses do not directly reflect deception in the brain. Neuroscientific technologies such as fMRI and EEG aim to detect deception directly from the brain but remain expensive, difficult to interpret, and insufficiently reliable for practical use, even when combined with multiple methods or machine learning. At present, truth-seeking relies on observing multiple behavioural indicators, checking content consistency, strengthening interviewer competencies, developing and applying structured protocols, and adopting non-accusatory interviewing approaches, with physiological tools reserved for specific cases. Continued monitoring of physiological and neuroscientific advances is advisable, as they may become viable options in future.

Article Details

How to Cite
Dendumrongkul, P., & Pattamangsang, M. (2026). Science of Lie Detection: From Behavioural Observation to Current Neuroscientific Technologies. Journal of Criminology and Forensic Science, 12(1), 77–95. retrieved from https://so02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/forensic/article/view/277352
Section
Academic Articles

References

Cannon, W. B. (1929). Bodily changes in pain, hunger, fear and rage. Appleton.

Chen, A. (2021). The Ineffectiveness of the Reid Technique in Law Enforcement Interrogations and How a Non-Accusatory Model of Interview Can Be Applied in Law Enforcement Interviews in the United States Pace University ]. New York.

Cook, R. D., Barkley, W. M., & Anderson, P. B. (2014). The Sexual History Polygraph Examination and Its Influences on Recidivism.

Davoodi, M., Aspis, N., Drori, Y., Weiser-Bitoun, I., & Yaniv, Y. (2024). LieRHRV system for remote lie detection using heart rate variability parameters. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 30749. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-80480-5

Delgado-Herrera, M., Reyes-Aguilar, A., & Giordano, M. (2021). What Deception Tasks Used in the Lab Really Do: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Ecological Validity of fMRI Deception Tasks. Neuroscience, 468, 88-109. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.06.005

DePaulo, B. M., Lindsay, J. J., Malone, B. E., Muhlenbruck, L., Charlton, K., & Cooper, H. (2003). Cues to deception. Psychological Bulletin, 129(1), 74-118. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.1.74

Deutsch, H., & Roazen, P. (1982). On the pathological lie (pseudologia phantastica). Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis, 10(3), 369-386.

Eddie, D., Vaschillo, E., Vaschillo, B., & Lehrer, P. (2015). Heart rate variability biofeedback: Theoretical basis, delivery, and its potential for the treatment of substance use disorders. Addict Res Theory, 23(4), 266-272. https://doi.org/10.3109/16066359.2015.1011625

Ekman, P., Davidson, R. J., & Friesen, W. V. (1990). The Duchenne smile: Emotional expression and brain physiology: II. Journal of personality and social psychology, 58(2), 342.

Fahsing, I., & Ask, K. (2013). Decision making and decisional tipping points in homicide investigations: An interview study of British and Norwegian detectives. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 10(2), 155-165.

Farwell, L. A., & Richardson, G. M. (2023). Brain fingerprinting field study on major, terrorist crimes supports the brain fingerprinting scientific standards hypothesis: classification concealed information test with P300 and P300-MERMER succeeds; comparison CIT fails. Cognitive neurodynamics, 17(1), 63-104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11571-022-09795-1

Freud, A. (1951). Observations on child development. The psychoanalytic study of the child, 6(1), 18-30.

Girard, J. M., Shandar, G., Liu, Z., Cohn, J. F., Yin, L., & Morency, L. P. (2019). Reconsidering the Duchenne Smile: Indicator of Positive Emotion or Artifact of Smile Intensity? Int Conf Affect Comput Intell Interact Workshops, 2019, 594-599. https://doi.org/10.1109/acii.2019.8925535

Glauner, K. M. (2021). Development of a Correction for Defensiveness in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) Profiles of Adult Male Sex Offenders.

Grubin, D. H., & Madsen, L. (2005). Lie detection and the polygraph: A historical review. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 16, 357 - 369.

Hakun, J. G., Ruparel, K., Seelig, D., Busch, E., Loughead, J., Gur, R., & Langleben, D. (2009). Towards clinical trials of lie detection with fMRI. Social neuroscience, 4(6), 518-527.

Hartwig, M., & Bond Jr, C. F. (2014). Lie detection from multiple cues: A meta‐analysis. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28(5), 661-676.

Horvath, F. S., & Peters, R. (2022). Polygraph Testing and Social Intolerance: A Warning to Examiners Outside of the United States. European Polygraph, 16, 11 - 16.

Ito, A., Abe, N., Fujii, T., Hayashi, A., Ueno, A., Mugikura, S., Takahashi, S., & Mori, E. (2012). The contribution of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to the preparation for deception and truth-telling. Brain Research, 1464, 43-52. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2012.05.004

Karim, A. A., Schneider, M., Lotze, M., Veit, R., Sauseng, P., Braun, C., & Birbaumer, N. (2010). The truth about lying: inhibition of the anterior prefrontal cortex improves deceptive behavior. Cerebral cortex, 20(1), 205-213.

Kostelnik, J. O., & Reppucci, N. D. (2009). Reid training and sensitivity to developmental maturity in interrogation: results from a national survey of police. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 27(3), 361-379. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.871

Kotsoglou, K. N., & Oswald, M. (2021). Not ‘Very English’ - on the Use of the Polygraph by the Penal System in England and Wales. The Journal of Criminal Law, 85(3), 189-208. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022018320976284

Leo, R. A., & Drizin, S. A. (2010). The three errors: Pathways to false confession and wrongful conviction.

Martin, P. K., Schroeder, R. W., Olsen, D. H., Maloy, H., Boettcher, A., Ernst, N., & Okut, H. (2020). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the Test of Memory Malingering in adults: Two decades of deception detection. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 34(1), 88-119.

O’Connor, A. R., Wells, C., & Moulin, C. J. A. (2021). Déjà vu and other dissociative states in memory. Memory, 29(7), 835-842. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2021.1911197

Oberlader, V. A., Quinten, L., Banse, R., Volbert, R., Schmidt, A. F., & Schönbrodt, F. D. (2021). Validity of content‐based techniques for credibility assessment—How telling is an extended meta‐analysis taking research bias into account? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 35(2), 393-410.

Pinto, M., Jacobsohn, L., Florindo-Silva, F., & Costa, E. S. L. (2024). Physiotherapy intervention on monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis: a systematic review. Eur J Phys Rehabil Med, 60(6), 1051-1059. https://doi.org/10.23736/s1973-9087.24.08483-1

Polich, J. (2007). Updating P300: an integrative theory of P3a and P3b. Clinical neurophysiology, 118(10), 2128-2148.

Prewtongcam, S., & Reungwiwatroj, N. (2023). การสอบสวนภาคปฏิบัติ [Practical Investigation].

Rosenfeld, J. P. (2020). P300 in detecting concealed information and deception: A review. Psychophysiology, 57(7), e13362.

Satpathi, S., Arafath, K. M. I. Y., Routray, A., & Satpathi, P. S. (2024). Analysis of thermal videos for detection of lie during interrogation. EURASIP Journal on Image and Video Processing, 2024(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13640-024-00624-5

Siddharth, G. (2024). Deep fakes Detection Using Human Eye Blinking Pattern: Deep Vision. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology.

Singh, B., Rajiv, P., & Chandra, M. (2015). Lie detection using image processing. 2015 International Conference on Advanced Computing and Communication Systems, 1-5.

Sternglanz, R. W., Morris, W. L., Morrow, M., & Braverman, J. (2019). A review of meta-analyses about deception detection. The Palgrave handbook of deceptive communication, 303-326.

Thailand Institute of Justice. (2024). DSI โรงเรียนนายร้อยตำรวจ นิติวิทยาศาสตร์ ขานรับแนวทาง “การสัมภาษณ์เพื่อหาความจริง” ตามหลักสันนิษฐานไว้ก่อนว่าเป็นผู้บริสุทธิ์ เตรียมทดลองใช้จริง [DSI, the Police Cadet Academy, and forensic science adopt the approach of 'truth-seeking interviews' based on the presumption of innocence and are preparing for real-world trials]. Retrieved 17 February from https://www.tijthailand.org/what-we-do/detail/investigative-interview-police-thai

Thongrod, K. (2021). Characteristics and Processes of Creating Memes from Thai Movies on Social Media Chulalongkorn University].

Toth, A. (2024). Cultural Diversity in Nonverbal Communication: Comparing the Meaning of Hungarian-Russian-American Nonverbal Signs. Grail of Science.

UK Ministry of Justice. (2021). Mandatory Polygraph Tests Factsheet. UK Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 2 January from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-abuse-bill-2020-factsheets/mandatory-polygraph-tests-factsheet

Vrij, A. (2016). Baselining as a Lie Detection Method. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 30(6), 1112-1119. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3288

Vrij, A., Granhag, P. A., & Mann, S. (2010). Good Liars. The Journal of Psychiatry & Law, 38(1-2), 77-98. https://doi.org/10.1177/009318531003800105

Vrij, A., Granhag, P. A., & Porter, S. (2010). Pitfalls and Opportunities in Nonverbal and Verbal Lie Detection. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 11(3), 89-121. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100610390861

Vrij, A., Mann, S., Leal, S., & Fisher, R. (2010). ‘Look into my eyes’: Can an instruction to maintain eye contact facilitate lie detection? Psychology, Crime & Law, 16(4), 327-348.

Vrij, A., Meissner, C. A., Fisher, R. P., Kassin, S. M., Morgan III, C. A., & Kleinman, S. M. (2017). Psychological perspectives on interrogation. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(6), 927-955.

Walsh, D., & Marques, P. B. (2022). Is confession really necessary? The use of effective interviewing techniques to maximize disclosure from suspects. In Police psychology (pp. 357-380). Elsevier.

Wright, M. (2013). Homicide detectives' intuition. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 10(2), 182-199.

Zhang, Z., McGettigan, C., & Belyk, M. (2022). Speech timing cues reveal deceptive speech in social deduction board games. PLoS One, 17(2), e0263852. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263852