NONVERBAL CUES TO DECEPTION AMONG

INTIMATES, FRIENDS, AND STRANGERS

David B. Buller
R. Kelly Aune

ABSTRACT: Buller and Burgoon (in press) propose that deceivers attempt to encode
strategically nonverbal cues which indicate nonimmediacy and project a positive
image. At the same time, deceivers leak arousal and negative affect via their non-
verbal display. This experiment tested these predictions, while examining the influ-
ence of relational history on deception cues and the stability of deception cues
within deceptive conversations. The nonverbal behavior of 130 strangers, friends,
and intimates was measured. Results indicated that deceivers signalled nonimme-
diacy, arousal, and negative affect, but they did not appear to project a positive
image. Deception cues were mediated by relational history and showed consider-
able temporal variation. Strangers leaked more arousal and negative affect than
friends and intimates. Further, deceivers, particularly deceiving friends and inti-
mates, seemed to monitor and control their nonverbal behavior during deception
by suppressing arousal and negative affect cues and moderating nonimmediate
behavior.

Research into behavioral cues to deception has linked several types of

behavior with deceptive intent. Recent meta-analyses and summaries
provide some of the best evidence on the cues related to deception (De-
Paulo, Stone, and Lassiter, 1985a; Kraut, 1980; Zuckerman, DePaulo, &
Rosenthal, 1981; Zuckerman & Driver, 1985). Zuckerman and Driver
report that 58% of the behaviors examined in two or more of the studies
they meta-analyzed reliably distinguish truthtellers from liars. Further, a
number of additional experiments not included in the meta-analyses
provide evidence of recurrent patterns in deceivers' behavior.
Buller and Burgoon (in press) argue that the behaviors which distin-
guish truthtellers from liars can be characterized as either strategic or

David B. Buller is an assistantprofessorof Communication at the University of Arizona.

R. Kelly Aune is an assistantprofessorof SpeechCommunication at the Universityof Hawaii.
Address all correspondence to Dr. David B. Buller, Dept. of Communication, University of
Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.
Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 11(4), Winter 1987
© 1987 Human Sciences Press 269