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| Fictional character, Sherlock Holmes, looks for clues |
Do you just trust your instincts and hope for the best most of the time? Science tells us there is truth to using what seems to be an instinct or sensing something is accurate or not, safe or dangerous. We are told that if we get a sense that something is wrong, or that person in the elevator looks suspicious, that we can begin our decision-making process with these initial clues. Oprah Winfrey had a guest several years ago who reviewed instances when our gut instinct can be important. For example, that suspicious-looking person may remind you of someone you found abusive at one time, so the image of the individual triggers stress-related memories. Why risk those feelings when you just wait for anther elevator?
So making everyday decisions can be helped by trusting one's gut. But after that we must check those clues for accuracy, especially if we have enough time and circumstances to do so. When we decide not to get on an elevator when someone appears suspicious, we have one chance to get it right or wrong; and so the hunch can help. When we are hiring someone for an executive job at a major company where decisions that are made can make a difference in whether a company will be profitable or not, using a variety of methods to assess that individual can offer information to help secure the right person for the job. And if you are picking out the right car, the salesperson who offers the details may give you the right information or simply offer generalizations that will make you take home the vehicle that is not the right fit for your pocketbook or special needs.
Research shows that attempts to determine lies from truth through nonverbal and verbal behavior are correct only about 50% of the time while handwriting analysis and polygraph tests have mixed and sometimes controversial results. Most profilers will admit to missing the mark in assessing the person. Since the movies and the media often dwell on the most salacious aspects of a crime, especially serial murder, the investigator with limited experience may get lost in the thicket of details that get mixed with emotion. Serial murder is a rare phenomenon, and without experience with numerous cases, it is possible to make the wrong judgment if one relies on assumptions based only on a small number of cases. This leads to what the FBI refers to as the "talking heads" phenomenon, with some of these experts offering opinions that can mislead the public, as well as pointing to the wrong person as the perpetrator of a crime. These talking heads, along with television dramas and movies can lead to those false assumptions the public likes to quote regularly when there is a high profile case. One of those false assumptions is that the serial killer is a dysfunctional loner. But for the most part, in reviewing the backgrounds of killers, many of those who kill a number of people are good students, popular at school, effective on the job or simply that good neighbor that folks say they are surprised would do such a thing.
Jaylen Fryberg, the young student at a Marysville, Washington High School who shot and killed a number of his classmates in the school cafeteria, is the most recent example. School officials and the boys parents were all surprised the popular teen would be capable of a mass shooting.
Still even though behavioral profiling principles aren't always accurate, they do allow investigators to develop a tentative road map that may lead to finding the truth. These same principles can also allow you to be right much more often than random guessing. Detectives use behavioral profiling techniques to help them figure out whether or not some suspect is innocent or not. You can use them in your daily life to help make decisions about whether to move forward or not on a relationship or to buy that automobile from some guy you just met and don't know anything about.
Behavioral profiling requires that one look at a number of different aspects of a person to decide what type of behavior to expect or whether or not what you see and hear is a lie or the truth. There's something to that "trust your gut" feeling, but it's not enough. You must look at a number of behaviors over time to increase the value of a profile.
First of all, you have to determine normal behavior from unusual behavior for a given individual. In other words, just like a scientist does, a baseline has to be established from which to proceed. Get that salesman to talk about some ordinary event-the weather or sports. Watch the face, the hands, the gestures, and the way the eyes move when speaking, the tone of the voice and inflections. Some people are typically outgoing; others aren't. A little warm up talk will help you figure out what might be typical and what's not.
As you're listening and watching, the first time you wonder whether you've heard a lie, think about what was said and the tone that was used. Then change the subject, and go back to the topic later. You do that because the lie will be accompanied by a combined set of behaviors that are repeated. Watch and listen for contradictions between the topic, how it is discussed, the behavior and what's going on at the same time a story is told. The fellow who sounds irritated while showing the sewing machine at the outset may have just got off the phone after an argument with a customer. Change the subject; talk about something relatively mundane. Then ask for the explanation about some part of the machine again, and watch to see if the behavior and the words you heard the first time are the same as what you first observed.
Lies have certain attributes and mannerisms that often accompany them. Changes in speech patterns, to include softer, louder or different tones and pitches, repeating the question, using long pauses, or a redundancy of flattering words can be that liar's bag. Silence can also be used to deceive, so don't help the person along by filling in the silences. Allow the person to talk; he or she will often lead you straight to what you need to know. Eyes that blink too much, hands that fidget, feet that move around, and a whole body that has trouble being still are behavioral red flags that should be observed at the same time. Watch how the person moves the eyes, up, down or to the side and whether or not the pattern is the same during small talk as well as during topics where a decision must be made. Watch the nonverbal signals, crossing the arms or the legs in a defensive posture or raising both arms and lowering them vigorously and repeatedly in a defiant gesture while repeating words or phrases, both of which are clues to potential behaviors and what the person might be thinking when in that proverbial "tight spot."
Just as establishing a baseline behavior will help guide you in making the right decision about a person, you can create an unusual event that can help you determine how a given individual might behave under stress. While interviewing Richard for that job as an assistant, toss him your keys and ask him to move your car someplace. Or give Betty the assignment of turning off a computer on the other side of the room right after you've asked some relatively routine questions about her educational background. In each case observe what happens next because that will tell you how Richard or Betty will behave when confronted with the type of change that often occurs within an occupational situation.
Handwriting by itself won't tell you what the person is like or whether he/she might be lying. On the other hand, if all other signs indicate deceit, examine how the person signs his/her name and match that against the baseline or body of writing. The degree of difference or exaggeration can suggest discrepancy between what the person appears to be and the person he/she really is.
Now you're ready for your practice work. Don't do this with your husband, wife or close friend as practice. Just observe the people you don't ordinarily work or relate with, and use this information to make tentative choices or decisions. Then come back later and check out your
hypothesis. The more practice you have, the better you'll get. And that will help you avoid traps that can interfere with your moving ahead to what you need or want to do.
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Carol Forsloff worked over more than 50 years as an educator, counselor and journalist. She also has been certified in forensics, testifying in the courts of Louisiana and Hawaii in document examination, rehabilitation, special education and life care planning and has had coursework specific to expert witness work and psycho-linguistics, as well as having advanced degrees in psychology and education. This recent article is an expansion of several others related to this topic of using behavioral analysis in everyday situations..
