Here's a difficult one which I'm not getting anywhere with despite spending much time searching.

I read a several year old magazine article about a woman who replied to an ad looking for people to be tested to find out if they could detect when a person is lying. Apparently she had this hidden talent, as some people do, and when on to a new career as a result

Can anyone help me with this research in any way including a better category [I'll know if you're lying {smile]

Thanks mark

They have lie detector machines that are far cheaper more reliable and don't take a vacation. And they don't have off days.

Yes good point but only 2 years ago the uk women was sent to the fbi for further training in this skill, maybe there's a need for people to be tested without knowing about it. i think a detector needs a skilled operator too

There is really not much of a "trick" to it, FBI, most major investigation firms, They look at body language, eye movement, speech pattern. Some can attempt to watch heart beat or change. Movements over several standard questions, and so on.
Used in investigations ( but can not get probable cause from it) also used in HR departments.

This came up when I searched "uk woman has talent for detecting lies". Any help for finding leads? Maybe?

"Only one in 400 people can spot a liar with any degree of accuracy. After hundreds of volunteers are tested on their ability to read body language and identify the liars as people respond to a series of questions, Brenda, a 63-year-old retiree who previously owned a wedding boutique, emerges as the most successful 'human lie detector' with a remarkable 80% accuracy rate.

To develop her natural talent, Brenda travels to the US for a two-day crash course in interrogation techniques and reading body language. Her Hidden Talent experts are ex-FBI agents Jack Schafer and Joe Navarro, who between them have over 40 years' experience in counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism.
Brenda learns the skills that usually take years to hone to an expert standard, and for her final challenge, she must interview five people to determine which of them has taken a bag containing £500 from a room they have all entered independently."

FROM: Hidden Talent - Episode Guide - Channel 4

I agree with chuck. It is all a matter of being observant. Sweating. Agitation, dor instance, can all be keys to not telling the truth.

I question the reliability of that article because I see a lot of problems with that... not saying its impossible... just that people aren't as consistent or reliable as a machine that can detect thing no person can. Now that's speaking of getting results that would be admissible in court or anyone's lives or carreers would be dependent on.

Its very difficult and almost impossible for a human to be truly objective... and its impossible for a machine to be subjective.

Unless maybe you misunderstood the actual point of the article...
People can learn to read people by observing their body langauge... and maybe like in a large bank or retail establishment having someone in the loss prevention dept that would determine if a deeper examination might be warranted.

I actually know a few forensics types in the FBI... and if such a program exists it's a very small one. People are easier to decieve than polygraphs. Neither are 100% effective.

I can think of a few job fields that might use such a skill... Interogators, certain jobs in the security field. Intelligence agencies, Rare cases in human resources with the right companies.

So... its possible... and there are some fairly narrow areas where that might be of use...

If someone is dealing with the FBI for training... due to cost and logistics... you would most likely be talking some part of the government. Particularly internationally.

Thanks all , and smearcase. That was the link I needed , watched the show, quite interesting and all questions now answered.

But its all in TV land where results can be fixed

One thing that bothered me about the article, it says she has an 80% accuracy rate. That's not a lot. If someone gave you birth control and said it's only 80% effective, would you use it? Na, you'd buy the birth control that's 99.9% effective, even though people still get pregnant using that form.

So, she has a 20% failure rate. Not great odds if you're relying on her skills to convict someone.

Apparently 1 in 400 people have this skill, that's a pretty good portion of the population. It would be very interesting to know if they're making a living based on this inexact skill.