How can you tell if someone's lying

asks tonyb

A. Researchers who have studied lying believe that there are 23 tell-tale signs of porky-telling. These include including sweating, faster pulse, taking longer than normal to answer questions, hesitating more when talking, filling in awkward gaps in conversation, won't look you in the eye, getting tongue-tied, tugging at earlobes and even blushing. But the seasoned liar has to be detected by more subtle means.

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Q. Such as
A. You may find this hard to believe, but scientists have just proven that when your lie your nose gets bigger.

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Q. Not very subtle. Didn't Pinocchio's grow to a great length
A. We're not suggesting that lying will produce an enormously long hooter. In fact, the growth is too small to be detected by the naked eye, but it does make the liar behave differently.

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Q. He befriends a cricket
A. Not necessarily. What does happen is that this slight swelling of the nose causes it to become itchy, claim Dr Charles Wolf and Dr Alan Hirsch, of the Smell and Taste Foundation at the University of Illinois. They watched tapes of ex-Pres Bill Clinton testifying before a grand jury and discovered that when he was telling the truth he never touched his nose. But when he started denying that he'd had 'relations' Monica Lewinsky, he touched his nose 26 times a minute.

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Q. What makes the nose swell
A. When you lie, your heart pumps more quickly which swells the nasal tissues, leading to a telltale scratching that the scientists have named the 'Pinocchio effect'. But even though this is named after a children's book character, it doesn't apply to children.

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Q. Why are they different
A. All children lie - it's part of growing up. In fact, an active imagination is a sign of emotional health. Pre-school children use lying to establish boundaries and explore the consequences of not telling the truth.

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Q. What about older children
A. That's down to the parents - how they react and how many lies they tell themselves. If you teach your children to recognise the truth, they are likely to grow up being truthful. If, however, you tell them to pretend they're four so you can travel half-price, you've only got yourself to blame.

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Q. Is all lying bad
A. It's usually acceptable if you're sparing someone's feelings. And US research shows that teenagers who are good at lying are more popular.

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Q. Why
A. They're like good politicians - they tell people what they want to hear.

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By Sheena Miller
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