The Hindu Business Line : How good are you as a liar?

To find answers to these and more questions Richard Wiseman delves into scientific experiments that are usually ‘hidden away in obscure academic journals’ and presents ‘Quirkology’ ( www.landmarkonthenet.com), a book on ‘the curious science of everyday lives’.

Do you know, for instance, that ‘a small number of highly dedicated scientists’ is studying subjects ranging from mass murderers to taxpayers, from footballers to children, in an effort to untangle the relationship between people’s lives and their date of birth?

One of the key findings is that the position of the planets at the moment of a person’s birth has no magical effect on personality. “Instead, many people who were well aware of the personality traits associated with their sign had developed into the person predicted by the astrologers.”

Trust everyone, but always cut the cards, advises a chapter on ‘the psychology of lying and deception’. A quick Q test can reveal how good you are as a liar. “Using the first finger of your dominant hand, simply draw a capital letter ‘Q’ on your forehead,” instructs Wiseman. The way you finished with the tail, right or left, can give the game away. How so?

“High self-monitors tend to draw the letter Q in a way in which it could be seen by someone facing them. Low self-monitors tend to draw the letter Q in a way in which it could be read by themselves.”

High self-monitors tend to be concerned with how other people see them, explains the author. “They are happy being the centre of attention, can easily adapt their behaviour to suit the situation in which they find themselves, and are skilled at manipulating the way in which others see them. As a result, they tend to be good at lying.”

In contrast, the low self-monitors tend to be ‘same person’ in different situations, guided as they are by inner feelings and values. So, if you drew Q in such a way that others could not have read it, take heart; you may be telling fewer lies in life compared to the correct Q-wallahs.

The ‘lying’ chapter also has vital clues to distinguish between a genuine smile and a fake one.

Does the state of economy have any correlation with the level of superstition, wonders Wiseman in a chapter titled ‘believing six impossible things before breakfast’? Research – among the islanders of the coast of New Guinea, Israelis coping with Scud attacks during the Gulf War, and Germans during their days of high inflation – has shown that people in trouble, be it economic downturn or missile firing, bank more on superstitions.

Marketers would find many useful insights in the chapter on how people decide. Such as, the fact that “many aspects of our everyday behaviour are affected by factors outside of our awareness.” Another research finding is that people tip more when the sun is shining, “and even when waiters tell them that the sun is shining”!

Funny? But fun is no fun for some scientists who are searching for ‘the world’s funniest joke’. Wiseman believes that no such joke exists, because people find different things funny. “Women laugh at jokes in which men look stupid.

The elderly laugh at jokes involving memory loss and hearing difficulties. Those who are powerless laugh at those in power.” There is, therefore, no one joke that will make everyone guffaw, he concludes.

The following joke, however, is his favourite, from the thousands he has seen: “A dog goes into a telegraph office, takes a blank form and writes: ‘Woof woof woof. Woof, woof. Woof. Woof woof, woof.’ The clerk examines the paper and politely tells the dog: ‘There are only nine words here. You could send another ‘Woof’ for the same price.’ The dog looks confused and replies, ‘But that would make no sense at all.’

Fun filled.

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