Lying about flying: the efficacy of the information protocol and model statement for detecting deceit

Due to time constraints interviews aimed to detect deception in airport settings should be brief and veracity assessments should be made in real time. In two experiments carried out in the departure hall of an international airport, truth tellers were asked to report truthfully their forthcoming trip, whereas liars were asked to lie about the purpose of their trip. In Experiment 1 we examined five verbal cues we thought had potential to discriminate truth tellers from liars in short airport interviews: Elaboration in disclosing information, checkable details, how many people are aware of the trip, complications, and plausibility. In Experiment 2 we attempted to improve the interview protocol by adding a second interview phase in which we introduced an Information Protocol and Model Statement. All five cues differentiated truth tellers from liars in both experiments but the Information Protocol and Model Statement did not enhance these differences.