Offender
Profiling Series: Vol 1
Interviewing and Deception
Edited by David Canter & Laurence Alison
(1999)
back to Interviewing
& Deception
Interviewing and Deception
Robert Edelmann
Non Verbal Behaviour and Deception
This chapter examines the extent to which nonverbal
behaviour can reveal feelings which we are motivated to conceal. Three
broad issues are examined. Firstly, the literature concerning nonverbal
cues, both actual and assumed which accompany deceit, is discussed.
Secondly, the question of whether deception can in fact be detected
from such nonverbal cues is examined and finally, factors influencing
both the ability to conceal deception and detect deception accurately
are evaluated. The chapter concludes with the assertion that there is
little evidence for a link between certain nonverbal behaviours and
detection of deception. However, much research to date has been conducted
with undergraduate students and the next step must be to pursue more
ecologically valid research.
Robert Edelmann graduated
from Birkbeck College, London, where he obtained his PhD in psychology
and trained in clinical psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, London.
He is both a Chartered Clinical and Chartered Forensic Psychologist.
He worked as a lecturer in psychology at the University of Sheffield
before joining the psychology department at Surrey in 1986 where he
was a lecturer, senior lecturer and then reader in clinical psychology.
During that time he contributed to clinical psychology training in various
ways including acting as course co-director. He was also course director
for the M.Sc in Health Psychology and established an M.Sc in Forensic
Psychology. He has recently taken up a post as Research Professor in
the School of Psychology and Counselling at the Roehampton Institute,
London. He has published numerous academic articles, book chapters and
books on a variety of topics and is cited in the Law Society Directory
of Expert Witnesses.
