NCJ Number
231612
Date Published
2010
Length
219 pages
Annotation
This book explains the concepts and techniques of "Psychological Narrative Analysis" (PNA), which is a "system that tests truthfulness in both written and oral communications and provides clues to the communication styles and behavioral characteristics of others."
Abstract
The first chapter discusses "word clues" as a means of understanding another person's thoughts. PNA affirms that certain words reflect the behavioral characteristics of the person who spoke or wrote the words. PNA is based in the concept that interviewers can develop hypotheses based on word clues and test the hypotheses with subsequent information obtained from interviewees and confirmed by third parties. The second chapter, entitled "Human Communication and Deception," identifies and discusses psychological principles that give liars an advantage by predisposing the targets of their deception to believe something is true when it is not. The third chapter discusses "Lying by Obfuscation," which involves hiding the truth through evasive answers, ambiguous responses, and the use of misdirection in order to avoid being truthful. Various techniques of obfuscation through words and grammar are described. The fourth chapter addresses another strategy used by liars, "Omission." This involves leaving out selected facts in an otherwise true story, which enables liars to express the appropriate emotions, display believable nonverbal cues, and experience less cognitive demand. Another chapter describes the features of "The Micro-Action Interview." This type of interview differs from other interviewing techniques by asking the simple question, "What happened next?" In response to this question, honest people do not experience stress because they are telling the truth; however, liars will manifest verbal and nonverbal symptoms of distress. The remaining three chapters explain how to test for deception and how to identify deception in written and oral communications. Appended supplementary information on PNA techniques and a subject index