Lie Detection, NLP and Polygraph Machines

Recently I saw some daytime television whereout, Eye Accessing Cues can tell us how someone is
shows are using Lie detector machines or expertsprocessing information and not if they are lying. It is
who claim they know when someone is lying withquite common for someone to construct a memory
96% accuracy. Jeremy Kyle, Tricia and Judge Judyfrom things they know must have been in the
are some. Judge Judy for instance claims to knowmemory, a kind of association, one thing leads to
when someone is lying by their "Eye Accessinganother. In NLP we use this information gathered
Cues," a little more about them in a moment, Jeremyusing this model for rapport and the benefit of our
Kyle uses an expert with a lie detector machine andclient's, so it is a very useful model.
Tricia uses an interrogation expert. The results andEye Accessing Cues Model Explained
the shows host's assertions change people's lives; forThe Eye's can be split into three zone, Upper, Middle
the good or the worst, only the individual's concernedand Lower. When the eyes move into the upper
will know in time.zone either left or right the person is processing
On one Jeremy Kyle show five linked people took lievisually, in pictures or movies, when the eyes move
detector tests, four came back that they wereleft or right in the middle zone, that is horizontally, the
telling the truth, the fifth result came back asperson is processing sounds, which we call auditory.
inconclusive to one question. Apparently the personWhen the eyes move into the lower zone the
being tested had a slight reaction, not enough for theperson is either processing through feelings, emotions
expert to say they were lying. Jeremy Kyle thenor tactile feelings and playing internal tape loops,
added, "One day you may tell her the truth." Thiscalled inner dialogue. Generally a right-handed person
was a very damaging remark because of thewill look up and to their left to remember pictures or
implications that the person was lying, which evenmovies and right to construct pictures or movies,
the PolyGram expert said was inconclusive.look left in the middle zone to remember sounds and
One NLP operating presupposition is, "Memory andmiddle right to construct sounds, look down and to
imagination use the same neurological pathways andthe left for internal dialogue and down right for
have the same potential impact." I could ask anemotions and tactile feelings. The big misconception is
embarrassing question say to a heterosexual malethat if a person is constructing either pictures or
such as, "Have you ever kissed a man?" The answersounds they are lying. The only thing it means, if they
to this question is most likely yes, because we kissedare right-handed and conform to the model, is that
mummy and daddy goodnight. However thethey are processing information by constructing
implication of the question could be taken differently.rather than it being a remembered picture or
Now a "No" answer would be a lie, potentially worseremembered sequence of sounds.
is that the individual may have fantasied about kissingLet me give you an example. If I asked you what
another man and this would spring into their mind.you had for dinner on a Wednesday four weeks ago,
Here the "No" answer would be true though couldcan you remember? Some people can, some will
easily show as a lie on a PolyGram report.work backwards and reconstruct, piece together,
There is a big difference between "The Truth" andwhat they had and others like me would not have a
someone lying. If someone believes what they areclue.
saying, then they are telling "Their Truth." ForThe Eye Accessing Cues is a model, not everyone
example four people can witness an accident; thereconforms to it, not all left-handed people are the
will be four different versions of what happened.reverse of the right-handed model. The only way to
They can all be telling their truth and yet all four mayfind out how a person is processing information is to
not be telling "The Truth," that's why the Police havecheck it out on an individual basis. Remember that
special accident investigators. Our truths arethis is only a model of someone's processing and not
subjective and are limited by our sensory equipment,a lie detecting model. Also remember that a
sight, hearing, feeling, taste, smell and what we payconstructed picture or sound, once constructed can
attention to at any one time.become a memory and change to a remembered
The lie detector or PolyGram only detects changes inpicture or sound.
emotions; it cannot tell if someone is lying. I willConclusions on lying
repeat that last bit, "It cannot tell if someone is lying,"If someone is willing to deliberately tell lies so the
only that the individual had an emotional reaction toobserver or a PolyGram operator can calibrate to the
the question asked or their interpretation andact of lying, then they are asked simple questions of
association's to the question. This is the same for theno value, for example they turn over a deck of
so called experts. The only real way of telling ifcards one at a time and they can either tell the
someone is lying is for them to tell you they liedobserver the truth or a lie about the card's suit, then
otherwise it can only be the experts opinion. Anyonean accurate indication of the lie can be obtained. Ask
wanting more technical information about thethem a question about something that is important to
PolyGram can visitthem, then you might get a reaction that might be
Firstly let's look at the advice of the world's foremostconsidered a lie and still you won't know for sure if
expert in lie detection and FBI interview trainer Paulthey are telling the truth or lying, especially if they
Eckman PhD. "There is NO ONE THING that a personbelieve what they are saying is "Their Truth," unless
may or may not do that indicates they are lying."they then tell you or you have evidence to prove a
Paraphrased, "There are indications of inconsistencylie.
which need to be gone over again and again andBe careful what you consider to be a lie, as
areas where corroborating evidence needs to beeveryone's truth is only as good as their senses and
sort." Eye accessing cues are the movements ourwhat they paid attention too consciously and no
eye's make when we are seeking information fromtruth is the "Whole Truth," as we all Delete Distort
our memory banks or constructing, making-upand Generalise and that's another useful NLP Model.
something, in our head. With calibration, checking it