July 27, 2004 11:35 AM

Liar Spotting 101
Posted by at 11:35 AM

In a good job interview, candidates ought to raise as many, if not more questions as their interviewer. And while there's always an "understood trust" between parties, how does one know if the other is lying in their responses?

According to John T. Wells, CPA, CFE, and founder and chairman of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, liars almost always give up some telltale signs of their deception.

Behaviorists tell us that lying is innate to the human species and comes about for two genetically programmed reasons: to receive rewards and/or to avoid punishment. Whether we lie depends on our calculation of the reward/punishment equation. This is called “situational honesty.” Because most of us are conditioned to believe lying is wrong, it creates stress. (That’s not true with very young children and pathological liars.) The degree of emotional discomfort is determined by two factors: the adverse consequences of the lie and our perception of being caught. Experienced interviewers know that stress causes most people to react differently when they lie. How to recognize the signs of stress and detect lying are skills auditors need to acquire.