The Applicability of the Verifiability Approach to the Real World

The real-world applicability of content-based tools for distinguishing lies from truths depends on several issues and challenges. For example, individual differences in language style or verbal ability make the decision on an individual case difficult, and interviewee acquaintance with a tool can hamper its effectiveness. The current chapter focuses on the verifiability approach (VA), a new content-based tool. The VA is centered on the knowledge that truth-tellers provide more verifiable details than liars. When liars try to make an impression of honesty by providing many details, they prefer to provide details that are difficult to verify over details that are easy to verify. Thus, the verifiability levels of interviewee accounts are used as indicators for veracity. The applicability of VA to the real world is discussed with respect to several factors, and compared to that of other verbal and nonverbal lie detection tools.