I recently participated in an interview with Dr. Kingsley Stewart from the radio program "Up Front" on Newstalk 93 FM in Kingston, Jamaica. The topic for the week was deception, with some of the focus directed on gender differences when it comes to deception. I would like to continue this discussion and ask two things;
1) Do you think men or women are better at being deceptive?
2) Do you think men or women are better at detecting deception?
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6 comments:
Hello Wes Clark - how do i listen to Talk 93 via the internet - i have Power 106 and RJR - Thanks
Hi Melanie,
I think the radio station is local to Jamaica and Caribbean, and does not have internet radio. I'm in the northeast United States, so I did the interview over the phone with Dr. Stewart. His web page is below.
Wes
http://www.ragashanti.com/bio.htm
I am a Private Polygrapher and have been in practice since 1988. Since that time I have conducted many exams and met many different racial, ethic and cultural groups under the most trying and emotional circumstances, the "Domestic" or Relationship Polygraph Exam. I have not kept many "records" or statistics, but my common knowledge is that:
It appears as though Spouses, Girlfrieds or Female Significant Others have been correct in their suspicions (of the male examinees), involvment in "Affairs". I will estimate that at least 90% of these women have correctly "pegged" their mates, PRIOR to an Exam.
Even though I suspect this propensiy exists for women detecting or corroborating suspicions of infidelity about males, I always go into an exam believing that everyone is innocent until the final charts are scored.
Interesting occurences?
Mike
Mike,
I would imagine that if a woman feels the need to consult with a ploygraphist to see if her husband or significant other has been unfaithful, it is merely a final step in confirming what she knows is true. I'm sure your estimation that 90% of the women are correct in their belief is probaly quite accurate.
I do respect your objectivity until the final results are in.
Wes
Domestic partners, who have been together long enough to "norm" each other, should be able to tell when something is amiss.
I would be surprised to see any significant differences between the abilities of men and women when it comes to deceiving. Most deception comes out of the need to "survive" a question. If you believe in the concept of the "Language Template" and view language as an organ that developed with the development of the human species then the survival instinct shouldn't be any different between a man & a woman.
Jim, you mentioned that when a couple is together for a while they may understand the "norm", or normal behavior of their partner, and thus be in a better position to know when something is amiss. I agree, but one factor to add is that quite often denial occurs in such a close relationship which is built (or should be built) upon trust, and sometimes the obvious to an outsider may not seem so obvious to the individual in the mix. With that said, when one of the individual gets beyond denial and believes the other is lying or cheating, or lying about cheating, and actually go to a polygrapher, I would believe this is an exercise to confirm their suspicions, and Mike's results of 90% accuracy are probably pretty good.
I agree Jim that there probably isn't a significant difference in gender when it comes to detecting deception. I think maybe from a sociological point of view we would expect a man to lie more than a woman, and therefore we may be more likely to believe the woman initially.
Anyway, this is why the question is posed...to stimulate discussion.
Wes
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