This is the first book to thematically investigate lying in the American legal system.

A scrupulous account that overturns many commonplace notions about how we can best detect lies and falsehoods From the advent of fake news to climate-science denial and Bernie Madoff's appeal to investors, people can be astonishingly gullible. Some people appear authentic and sincere even when the facts discredit them, and many people fall victim to conspiracy theories and economic scams that should be dismissed as obviously ludicrous. This happens because of a near-universal human tendency to operate within a mindset that can be characterized as a "truth-default." We uncritically accept most of the messages we receive as "honest." We all are perceptually blind to deception. We are hardwired to be duped. The question is, can anything be done to militate against our vulnerability to deception without further eroding the trust in people and social institutions that we so desperately need in civil society? Timothy R. Levine's Duped: Truth-Default Theory and the Social Science of Lying and Deception recounts a decades-long program of empirical research that culminates in a new theory of deception--truth-default theory. This theory holds that the content of incoming communication is typically and uncritically accepted as true, and most of the time, this is good. Truth-default allows humans to function socially. Further, because most deception is enacted by a few prolific liars, the so called "truth-bias" is not really a bias after all. Passive belief makes us right most of the time, but the catch is that it also makes us vulnerable to occasional deceit. Levine's research on lie detection and truth-bias has produced many provocative new findings over the years. He has uncovered what makes some people more believable than others and has discovered several ways to improve lie-detection accuracy. In Duped, Levine details where these ideas came from, how they were tested, and how the findings combine to produce a coherent new understanding of human deception and deception detection.

A penetrating analysis of the dark corners of human deception, enlivened by intriguing case histories and experiments.

Politicians aren't the only ones who lie. The bestselling author of "Is There Life After High School?" explains America's unusually high tolerance for deceit.

The gruesome discovery of several dead bodies on the moor sparks a police investigation and a heavy media presence in the remote North Yorkshire Village of Chellingford. When Adrian Brooks shows up at Jessica Scanlon's cottage, however, it is with another line of enquiry in mind. His sister, Laura, has disappeared, and he thinks watercolour artist Jessica might be able to help him find her. Jessica's friend Etta has also gone missing, and when she is called upon to identify of the bodies discovered by the police, she confirms that it is Etta. But Jessica's landlady Mildred seems to have other ideas. A mysterious suicide, an elaborate insurance scam and the arrival of nosy true crime writer Diana Wishart create further layers of intrigue that lead to a thrilling denouement.

During the past 30 years, there have been a steadily increasing number of scientific and popular publications dealing with lying and deception. Questions about the extent to which public officials are deceptive are standard fare in current magazines and newspapers. This volume aims to present on a more precise conceptualization of this phenomenon, manifested in some well-known constructions like spin, hype, doublespeak, equivocation, and contextomy (quoting out of context). The contents of the volume have been generated for the New Agendas symposium at the University of Texas College of Communication, and all the authors are young, leading-edge researchers offering innovative perspectives and explorations of lying and deception in various contexts. This volume will appeal to scholars, researchers, and advanced/graduate students in communication, media, and psychology. It is written to the level of advanced undergraduates, and it is appropriate for use in courses covering lying and deception.