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# Introduction
A few months ago I have discussed the topic about [the factors behind the non-verbal communication]( https://steemit.com/psychology/@dysfunctional/factors-behind-the-non-verbal-communication). Few weeks ago I read this great post by @saunter titled [Watching "Lie to Me" Decreases the Ability to Distinguish Between Truth and Lies](https://steemit.com/psychology/@saunter/watching-lie-to-me-decreases-the-ability-to-distinguish-between-truth-and-lies) and we had a brief discussion in the comment section about it. Few days ago I decided to post an article to provide more information about the topic of what behavioural analysis is and why there are so many misconceptions about it. So let’s begin.

Understanding human behavior is one of the major topics in sciences like psychology, philosophy, neuro-biology etc. A lot of theories emerged in their attempt to explain what truly motivate us to ‘be humans’.

According to some behavioral theories the human behavior could be boiled down to three basic social instincts:

•	Aggressive
•	Territorial
•	Tribal

If we follow this hypothesis we could conclude that when non-socialized individual is left to their own instinctual mechanisms, will take whatever they can, from whomever or wherever they can, while protecting their own territories and families from others. These instincts work on a very primitive level. They are not applicable to abstract ideals or in that humans will associate with.

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However, when, we are a part of a society or a group we must suppress the urge to use our instincts to achieve our desires. In fact, S. Freud based his psychosexual theory about the human psyche on this mechanism. But that’s a topic for another article.

Usually society does not allow instinctual or selfish behavior. Being a part of a social group means that you must be cooperative, selfless and ready to sacrifice what is precious to you if the group requires it. Society creates and exercises control which limits the behaviour of the individuals. Think about it for a second. Everything we have in the society plays restrictive role. – laws, politics, religion. Even art and sports have evolved to help socialize and redirect natural, aggressive instincts toward positive and socially approved ends. 

But our instincts even though suppressed remain strong and ready to be executed in any given moment when social control breaks down. This is the point where we go back to our primitive instincts of aggression, territoriality, and tribal behaviour. Just take a look back in our history and you will find examples which prove this point. Wait. You don’t even have to do that. Just open the latest news-feed about what’s going on in the Middle East at the moment.
War and violence are extreme examples which show how these three traits of our behavior are actually destructive not only for the social groups but for the individuals as well.

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On a smaller scale, when socialization fails, instincts direct the behavior of both criminals and tyrants. However, when they are at work, no matter how subtly, they leave a psycho-physiological trail: **detectable signals.**

On a physiological level these signals are a product of our autonomous nervous system.
Understanding this psycho-physiological trails is crucial for trained experts to increase their ability to determine wether a person is truthful or not. This is not an easy task given the fact that individuals who’s behavior is considered ‘risky’ to the society rarely reveal themselves willingly. Normally when such person is considered to be a suspect in particular ‘problematic’ action, they tend to lie, dissemble, and cover up their connections to their actions.

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# What is behavioural analysis?
The determination of whether someone is telling the truth or is deceptive or also called behavioural analysis is a discipline based on scientific principles, which as mentioned already, lie in the physiology and psychology research findings. 
The application of this method is related to the monitoring and reporting of the effects of basics neurological mechanisms acting in times of stress and risk.
According to several theories about human behaviour, how we act is a direct reflection of our personality. Behavioural analysis is applied when an act is already committed. When it is used as a tool in investigation, it is a part of the aimed interview or interrogation that aims to determine the sincerity of the suspect. This means that behavioural analysis is used to assist the work of the law enforcement authorities when there is a relatively high number of suspects. This method is also applied today by specially trained experts all over the world.

In its essence, behavioral analysis has two main constructs. The first one is verbal – what exact words the subject is saying and when he or she does that. The second is the observation and analysis of the human reactions that take place in parallel - the non-verbal component.

# Terms and method of conducting
The behavioral analysis is usually applied in the so called target Interview - an interview that aims to retrieve certain information. It has a certain structure and pre-conceived issues, set in a certain sequence. The behavior of the interviewer should not be insulting in order not to distort the results and conclusions of the observation. The answers to the questions asked and the description of the non-verbal reactions of the interviewed are recorded by the host.
As we already said, the behavioral analysis involves an aimed conversation on a particular topic by applying a certain sequence of questions during which the interviewed person’s answers and behavioral markers are observed and analyzed. Such questions could be divided into two groups:

•	Open questions

•	Projective questions

The task of open questions is to gather as much information as possible.
It has been found that in people who say the truth, there is often a fairly uniform relationship between the different parts of their narrative, i.e. the amount of information provided and details of what happened before, during and after the event of interest.

On the other hand, the task of projective questions is to extract verbal markers for sincerity or insincerity. People who tell the truth, often there is a similar proportion between the different parts of their narrative. People who conceal the truth often give too many details not related to the main topic.

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# How guilty and truthful people behave when they are interviewed/interrogated?

Usually, truthful people would be more cooperative and willingly explain why, and even admitting that they have access and opportunity to commit such a crime and it is logical to be interrogated. On the other hand people who are deceptive would say that they are uncertain why they are suspected in a certain crime.
When asked about further information on the relative topic, deceptive people often give too many details unrelated to the issue. Another empirical finding is that when a a repetition of the question or the same word occurs it is also considered as an indicator of lying as it reveals cognitive gaps.

During the aimed interview each of the questions asked, has the purpose to trigger certain verbal and non-verbal reactions. Over the past several decades many types of questions have been created. The verbal reactions of the suspects of some of the questions are further developed and justified with empirical observations.

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# Nature and purpose of the method in investigations.
 In the basis of behavioral analysis are the first reports by Reid and Arthur (1953). They refer to the behavior of the suspect when he is under the conditions of a polygraph examination. Their reports provide the basis for an empirical assessment of the examined individuals. Studies on the pre-test interview in the polygraph procedure give the start to the development of behavioral analysis!

In such scenario the final purpose of the of the behavioral analysis is to put the suspects in a situation that allows the emergence of behaviors indicative of sincerity or insincerity.

What is important to understand is that the behavioral analysis **does not determine** whether a statement is true or false or whether a person is guilty or innocent. It is a tool which "adjusts the focus" and provides guidance on whether it is necessary for the expert to work further with the suspect.
Very often people think that using this method can determine guilt or involvement. This is a misconception. Even from the perspective of a trained scientific observer, deciding what is true and what is a lie, is never an easy task. However, the correctly done behavioral analysis "narrows the circle" of suspects and helps the focus on people with suspicious behavioral signs.

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# Conclusion

I really hope that you found this brief introduction to the topic of behavioural analysis beneficial and interesting. There is a lot more to be discussed and based on the discussions in the comment section I will try to formulate the next article on this issue.
Until then, tell me what you think. Did you know the information exposed here? Would you like to add anything to it ? 

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# Sources:

[1] John E. Reid, Richard O. Arther, Behavior Symptoms of Lie-Detector Subjects, 44 J. Crim. L. Criminology & Police Sci. 104 (1953-1954)
[2]  [Nonverbal Messages: Cracking the Code: My Life's Pursuit](https://www.amazon.de/Nonverbal-Messages-Cracking-Lifes-Pursuit/dp/0991563638/ref=sr_1_2?s=books-intl-de&ie=UTF8&qid=1525182724&sr=1-2&keywords=telling+lies+paul+ekman)
[3] [Detecting Deception](http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/fbi/decep_detect_01.pdf)

## Pictures: [PixaBay](www.pixabay.com)