Can we really tell whether someone`s lying to us, just from gestures?
Some psychologists think so. Three of them say they`ve detected points of deception in a televised interview with Saddam Hussein shown on Cable News Network during the Persian Gulf war.
This body language research showed, they said, that the Iraqi leader was relaxed during most of the interview. But he showed signs of stress when he discussed such topics as chemical warheads and Iran.
The changes indicate Hussein was being evasive, said psychologists Martha Davis and Dean Hadiks of New York and Dianne Dulicai of Fairfax, Va.
They presented their findings to the American Psychological Association conference last week in Washington.
The psychologists, experts in non-verbal behavior who have helped police assess the truthfulness of witnesses, also studied videos of the 1988 presidential campaign and the attempted Russian coup in August 1991.
In their analysis of footage from the presidential debates, they found President Bush`s gestures far more expressive than those of his opponent, Michael Dukakis. In fact, when they showed the tapes without sound Tuesday, the audience laughed as it became apparent that Dukakis was as stiff as a department store dummy.
But Bush`s gestures tended to be incomplete, short on follow-through. His movements were as disjointed as his speech, but the breaks didn`t necessarily come at the same times.
”He can do `Bushisms` with his body separate from the ones he expresses in speech,” the researchers said.
The group also scrutinized the gestures of Mikhail Gorbachev. The former Soviet leader displayed an assertive style before the coup but showed small, circumscribed gestures after it.
The analysis of Hussein`s 90-minute interview with Cable News Network correspondent Peter Arnett drew the most sweeping conclusions.
When Hussein smiled broadly, adjusted his tie, stroked his mustache or darted a glance to his aides, he was showing stress and probably being evasive, according to researchers.
And when he quickly sat up straight and pulled his arms in tight at his sides, he probably was lying, they said.
The topics that provoked evasion, they said, included possible damage to Iraq`s nuclear power plants, the use of prisoners of war as human shields, and whether Iraq had chemical warheads.
They said the pulled-in, straight-up posture that signaled a lie came in response to a question about Iraqi jets that were flown to Iran. Hussein was saying, ”In all circumstances we respect the decision and the regulations of Iran.”
Contrasting with Hussein`s uptight posture on that question were his forward-leaning, expansive gestures when Bush`s name came up.
”He is clearly preoccupied with the president and seems to bear a grudge (against) him,” the researchers wrote. ”This is a very personalized fight.”
Overall, they said, Hussein seemed confident and self-assured. He didn`t fidget; in fact, for most of the interview, he sat with his legs apart, slouched in an easy chair, making wide, relaxed gestures with his arms.
They said those were the times he was telling the truth – at least, the truth as he saw it.
The psychologists said they could find no similarities between Hussein and Hitler, despite Bush`s comparison of the two.
Arnett`s assessment that Hussein is more of a ”con man” who manipulates working-class Iraqis is closer to the mark, the researchers said. Hussein reminded them of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
The researchers` conclusions did not go unchallenged.
It`s perfectly acceptable to note changes in Hussein`s gestures when he discusses Israel and Iran, but one can`t assume that those changes mean he`s lying, said Boston psychologist Marianne LaFrance.
”Gestures do not speak for themselves,” she said, noting that it`s especially risky to draw conclusions about the body language of people from other cultures.
While the three who did the research all agreed among themselves about what the gestures indicated, she said, that doesn`t mean they`re right.
”It is quite possible for people to agree and still be wrong,” she said. ”We call it . . . a stereotype.”
