The Flexible Liar - Association of Certified Fraud Examiners · The Flexible Liar A Strategy for...

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Forensic Linguistic Analysis


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The Flexible Liar A Strategy for Deception Detection in Written Witness Statements

Isabel Picornell, Ph.D., CFE

ACFE 2013 European Fraud Conference Prague, Czech Republic

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Deception and Evolution

Deception is an evolutionary strategy for natural selection.

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Evolution and Communication

Psychological speech acts evolved to facilitate communication:

Cooperative principle—We automatically assume that participants in a conversation are being cooperative.

Conversational maxims—We assume that cooperative communicators are: • Informative

• Truthful

• Relevant

• Clear

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Communication and Deception

Deception piggybacks on our communication behaviour, like a parasite.

Deception is truth mimicry.

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Theoretical Assumptions for Deception

Psychologists assume that deception will affect deceivers’:

Thoughts

Feelings

Cognitive processes

And this will be reflected in certain perspectives:

Emotion leakage

Lack of embracement

Cognitive load

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The Othello Error

The misinterpretation of signs of strong emotion, cognitive complexity, and attempted control as indicative of deception.

The same processes will be active in someone who is lying and worried about being caught, and in someone who is telling the truth and worried about not being believed.

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Deception Cues Are Not Constant

We use language differently when we speak and when we write:

In speech, language expresses reality as a process. The people in the colony celebrated enthusiastically when it was promised that things would change in this way.

In writing, reality is expressed as an object. Opinion in the colony greeted the promised change with enthusiasm.

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Deception Cues Are Not Constant

In verbal contexts, cues change according to:

Time to construct the lie

Pressure to respond to questions

Attitude of the addressee

In written contexts, cues change according to:

Planning opportunities

Rehearsal time

Response time

Editing opportunities

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Witness Statements

A witness statement is a narrative relating to an event witnessed or experienced by the individual writing the statement.

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The Narrative Progression

A narrative is a report of:

A sequence of events

That has entered into the biography of the narrator

Reportable Event

Clause 1

Temporal Juncture

Clause 2

I picked up the gun.

He shot me.

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The Narrative Progression

Narrators linguistically reconstruct reality to create meaning.

Credibility arises from addressees believing that the reportable event occurred in real time.

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Narratives as a Progression of Episodes

Narrators subdivide their narratives into thematic bundles of information (episodes).

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Sentence Structures—Clauses

Independent clauses: stand on their own

her house was broken into

the robbers fled

the suspect emerged from the darkness

Dependent clauses: need to be attached to an independent clause

while she was at home

when the police arrived

as I headed back to my vehicle

Main clauses Subordinate clauses

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Segmentation Markers

Standard order of sentence clauses

main clause + subordinate clause

[The robbers fled] + [when the police arrived.]

Marked order of sentence clauses

subordinate clause + main clause

[When the police arrived] + [the robbers fled.]

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Marked Sentence Structures

Those sentences which have an initial adjunct, subordinate clause or phrase, or prepositional phrase with an adverbial function. (McEwan & Prideaux, 1997)

At this point, I felt the suspect reach for my gun.

In August 2011, my neighbour’s house was broken into.

Suddenly, my head felt like it was going to explode.

As I slid, the suspect covered my mouth and nose and stopped my breathing.

Then, the officer placed me in the back of his vehicle.

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Creating Episodes

Highlight important info. New episode.

Change in the time frame. New episode.

Change location. New episode.

Bring in new person. New episode.

Once we got to the train station, we met with a group of friends.

Moments later, the ambulance arrived.

When she was going through the metal detector, she didn’t put her bags in the x-ray machine.

That is when I called the police about everything.

Suddenly, the suspect walked out of the darkness.

After proceeding for approximately one-half mile on Dike road, I descended a hill.

So then, the officer was bringing this other guy in.

After about an hour, we got bored.

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[On July 18, 1969, at approximately 11:15 p.m. in Chappaquiddick, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, I was driving my car on Main Street] [on my way to get the ferry back to Edgartown.] [I was unfamiliar with the road] [and turned right onto Dike Road,] [instead of bearing hard left on Main Street.] [After proceeding for approximately one-half mile on Dike Road,] [I descended a hill] [and came upon a narrow bridge.] [The car went off the side of the bridge.] [There was one passenger with me, one Miss Mary Kopechne, a former secretary of my brother, Sen. Robert Kennedy.] [The car turned over] [and sank into the water] [and landed] [with the roof resting on the bottom.] [I attempted to open the door and the window of the car,] [but have no recollection] [of how I got out of the car.] [I came to the surface] [and then repeatedly dove down to the car] [in an attempt to see] [if the passenger was still in the car.] [I was unsuccessful in the attempt.] [I was exhausted and in a state of shock.] [I recall walking back] [to where my friends were eating.] [There was a car parked in front of the cottage] [and I climbed into the back seat.] [I then asked for someone] [to bring me back to Edgartown.] [I remember walking around for a period of time] [and then going back to my hotel room.] [When I fully realized] [what had happened this morning,] [I immediately contacted the police.]

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Deception as a Progression

Deception is a progression of acts over time.

Focus is driven by intentions and guided by the route the communicator formulates to move through the field of thought. (Anolli, Barconi, Ciceri, 2002)

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Deception Strategies in Witness Narratives

Focus features:

Author focus: • Self-references individually (e.g., I, me, my)

• First person singular pronouns collectively (e.g., I, me, my, mine)

Joint/other focus • First person plural pronouns (e.g., we, us, our)

• Third person pronouns (e.g., he, she, it, they, their, theirs)

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Episode I me my 1st PP 3rd PP

1 2/5 0/5 2/5 4/5 0/5

2 4/13 1/13 1/13 6/13 0/13

3 6/12 1/12 1/12 8/12 0/12

4 0/1 0/1 1/1 1/1 0/1

5 2/3 0/3 0/3 2/3 0/3

Total 14/34 2/34 5/34 21/34 0/34

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Deception Strategies in Witness Narratives

Ambiguity features:

Verb strings—two+ verbs functioning as a single verb (e.g., went to call, started yelling, tried to open, etc.)

Negation—indicating the act or process of negating or something w/o existence (e.g., no, not, nothing, unsuccessful)

Cognitive verbs—identifying a cognitive (mental) function (e.g., think, seem, appear, etc.)

Indefinite pronouns—referring to something unspecified (e.g., something, one, thing(s), etc.)

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Episode I me my 1st PP 3rd PP AF

1 2/5 0/5 2/5 4/5 0/5 1/5

2 4/13 1/13 1/13 6/13 0/13 2/13

3 6/12 1/12 1/12 8/12 0/12 4/12

4 0/1 0/1 1/1 1/1 0/1 0/1

5 2/3 0/3 0/3 2/3 0/3 1/3

Total 14/34 2/34 5/34 21(19)/34 0/34 8/34

41.2% 5.9% 14.7% 55.9% 0% 23.5%

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I me my 1st PP 3rd PP AF

Total 14/34 2/34 5/34 21(19)/34 0/34 8/34

41.2% 5.9% 14.7% 55.9% 0% 23.5%

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Prolix and Personal Strategy

A verbose approach with high immediacy and ambiguity; deceivers are cooperatively vague.

Very high use of first person singular pronouns

Very high use of I

Very high use of my (sometimes also me)

High+ use of ambiguity features • Normally associated with I use

• Clustering of features


Total 14/34 2/34 5/34 21(19)/34 0/34 8/34

41.2% 5.9% 14.7% 55.9% 0% 23.5%

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[I woke up] [and made the bed], [had breakfast with Dave.] [I got Nicky ready for school.] [I took Nicky to school] [then Maria to work.] [I went to work.] [At quarter to one I went home for lunch] [and let Turbo out.] [At 1:45 I left] [to go back to work.] [A man jumped out on the road] [and fell down.] [I thought] [maybe I hit him] [but I didn’t hit him.] [I started to check on him] [and he pushed me in my car] [and then made me drive] [then he told me] [to stop crying.] [He told me] [to stop the car.] [He took tape out] [and put it on my wrists] [and then he cut my lips with his knife] [and then put tape on my mouth.] [He cut my blouse.] [He was angry] [cuz he said] [his damn knife was dull.] [He wanted a souvenir] [and he couldn’t get] [but he cut my hair.] [He started driving] [and telephoned someone] [and said] [to meet him at that place.] [He locked my keys in my car] [and then a yellow van came] [and got him.] [I waited for a while] [and then I started to walk.] [I tried to kick him] [and he grabbed my leg] [and my tights tore.] [He said stay still.]

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[I woke up] [and made the bed], [had breakfast with Dave.] [I got Nicky ready for school.] [I took Nicky to school] [then Maria to work.] [I went to work.] [At quarter to one I went home for lunch] [and let Turbo out.] [At 1:45 I left] [to go back to work.] [A man jumped out on the road] [and fell down.] [I thought] [maybe I hit him] [but I didn’t hit him.] [I started to check on him] [and he pushed me in my car] [and then made me] [drive] [then he told me] [to stop crying.] [He told me] [to stop the car.] [He took tape out] [and put it on my wrists] [and then he cut my lips with his knife] [and then put tape on my mouth.] [He cut my blouse.] [He was angry] [cuz he said] [his damn knife was dull.] [He wanted a souvenir] [and he couldn’t get] [but he cut my hair.] [He started driving] [and telephoned someone] [and said] [to meet him at that place.] [He locked my keys in my car] [and then a yellow van came] [and got him.] [I waited for a while] [and then I started to walk.] [I tried to kick him] [and he grabbed my leg] [and my tights tore.] [He said stay still.]

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Episode I me my 1st PP 3rd PP AF

1 3 0 0 3 0 0

2 1 0 0 1 0 0

3 1 0 0 1 0 0

4 5 1 1 7 4 3

5 0 1 0 1 0 0

6 0 2 1 3 4 0

7 0 0 1 1 2 0

8 0 0 5 5 10 3

9 1 0 0 1 1 0

10 2 0 2 4 3 2

Total 13/48 4/48 10 (9)/48 27(25)/48 24(23)/48 8/48

27.1% 8.3% 18.8% 52.1% 47.9% 16.7%

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Impersonal Strategy

Focus is other or jointly oriented.

High use of third person pronouns or collective pronouns

High use of my and/or me, replacing I

Ambiguity features may be normal

Factual provision of information


Total 13/48 4/48 10 (9)/48 27(25)/48 24(23)/48 8/48

27.1% 8.3% 18.8% 52.1% 47.9% 16.7%

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Narrative Fragmentation

Deceptive narratives are more likely to fragment into many and shorter episodes.

Marked sentence structures serve as discontinuity markers,

and signal the lack of cohesion between the events described. [and then made me] [drive] [then he told me] [to stop crying.] [He told me] [to stop the car.] [He took tape out] [and put it on my wrists] [and then he cut my lips with his knife] [and then put tape on my mouth.] [He cut my blouse.] [He was angry] [cuz he said] [his damn knife was dull.] [He wanted a souvenir] [and he couldn’t get] [but he cut my hair.] [He started driving] [and telephoned someone] [and said] [to meet him at that place.] [He locked my keys in my car] [and then a yellow van came] [and got him.] [I waited for a while]

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Main Deceptive Linguistic Strategies Prolix and Personal

Verbose approach with high ambiguity and immediacy Very high use of first person

singular pronouns

Very high use of I

Very high use of my

High+ use of ambiguity features

Impersonal

Focus is other or jointly oriented; factual approach High use of third person

pronouns

High+ use of me and/or my, replacing I

Ambiguity features may be normal

Excessive episode fragmentation may be indicative of lack of cohesion.

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Isabel Picornell, Ph.D., CFE

ACFE 2013 European Fraud Conference Prague, Czech Republic

Thank you.

Evolution favours the flexible liar.

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