10 Indicators That Signal Truthfulness

People who are truthful can always be easily differentiated from people who are not. You just need to look out for a few distinctive behaviors that signal truthfulness.

Knowing if someone is telling the truth is as important as knowing when someone is lying. Truthful indicators are often overshadowed by the more popular cues that signal deception. Most people focus more on deception indicators. Truthful indicators can provide valuable insight into the veracity of others. The following 10 behaviors signal truthfulness.

10 Indicators That Signal Truthfulness

1. Quoted dialogue

Truthful people use direct quotes from the people they are describing.

Related: 10 Most Popular Psychological Persuasion Theories To Influence People

2. Included emotions

Truthful people often include thoughts and emotions when they describe people or events.

3. Unexpected events or circumstances

Fabricated stories are less likely to include unexpected events or unusual circumstances that arise during the retelling of events.

4. Corrected errors

When truthful people make mistakes, they spontaneously make corrections.

Truthfulness

5. Time

Truthful people often omit specific times and locations when describing events.

Related: Socrates’ Triple Filter Test: Truth, Goodness and Usefulness

6. Lessons learned

Truthful people include similar events they experienced in the past and incorporate lessons learned from those experiences into their descriptions of events.

7. Longer descriptions

Truthful stories are longer, more complex, and include specific details.

8. First-person/Simple past tense

Using first-person pronouns coupled with simple past tense verbs suggests the person is committed to the activity they are describing, and they retrieved the information from their memory.

9. Nonsequiturs

Truthful people include details and events that are not pertinent to the description of events.

Related: 10 Powerful Confucius Quotes That Will Change Your Perspective On Life

10. Shoulder shrug/palms up

Truthful people display an even shoulder shrug combined with a palms-up gesture.


Written By Jack Schafer Ph.D.
Originally Appeared On Psychology Today

Published On:

Last updated on:

Aaron Ben-Zeév

Aaron Ben-Zeev is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Haifa. He received his Ph.D. is from the University of Chicago (1981). Professor Ben-Zeev is considered one of the world's leading experts in the study of emotions and romantic love. Among his books are The Subtlety of Emotions (MIT, 2000),A Love Online (Cambridge UP, 2004), In The Name of Love (with Goussinsky, Oxford UP, 2008); The Arc of Love: How Our Romantic Lives Change Over Time (University of Chicago Press, 2019). He has a popular blog in Psychology Today, on Romantic Love, which enjoys about one million viewers per 90 days. A At the University of Haifa, he was President (2004-2012), Rector (2000-2004), Dean of Research (1995-2000), and Chairperson of the Philosophy Department (1986-1988). He is the Founding and former President of the European Philosophical Society for the Study of Emotions.

Disclaimer: The informational content on The Minds Journal have been created and reviewed by qualified mental health professionals. They are intended solely for educational and self-awareness purposes and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing emotional distress or have concerns about your mental health, please seek help from a licensed mental health professional or healthcare provider.

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People who are truthful can always be easily differentiated from people who are not. You just need to look out for a few distinctive behaviors that signal truthfulness.

Knowing if someone is telling the truth is as important as knowing when someone is lying. Truthful indicators are often overshadowed by the more popular cues that signal deception. Most people focus more on deception indicators. Truthful indicators can provide valuable insight into the veracity of others. The following 10 behaviors signal truthfulness.

10 Indicators That Signal Truthfulness

1. Quoted dialogue

Truthful people use direct quotes from the people they are describing.

Related: 10 Most Popular Psychological Persuasion Theories To Influence People

2. Included emotions

Truthful people often include thoughts and emotions when they describe people or events.

3. Unexpected events or circumstances

Fabricated stories are less likely to include unexpected events or unusual circumstances that arise during the retelling of events.

4. Corrected errors

When truthful people make mistakes, they spontaneously make corrections.

Truthfulness

5. Time

Truthful people often omit specific times and locations when describing events.

Related: Socrates’ Triple Filter Test: Truth, Goodness and Usefulness

6. Lessons learned

Truthful people include similar events they experienced in the past and incorporate lessons learned from those experiences into their descriptions of events.

7. Longer descriptions

Truthful stories are longer, more complex, and include specific details.

8. First-person/Simple past tense

Using first-person pronouns coupled with simple past tense verbs suggests the person is committed to the activity they are describing, and they retrieved the information from their memory.

9. Nonsequiturs

Truthful people include details and events that are not pertinent to the description of events.

Related: 10 Powerful Confucius Quotes That Will Change Your Perspective On Life

10. Shoulder shrug/palms up

Truthful people display an even shoulder shrug combined with a palms-up gesture.


Written By Jack Schafer Ph.D.
Originally Appeared On Psychology Today

Published On:

Last updated on:

Aaron Ben-Zeév

Aaron Ben-Zeev is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Haifa. He received his Ph.D. is from the University of Chicago (1981). Professor Ben-Zeev is considered one of the world's leading experts in the study of emotions and romantic love. Among his books are The Subtlety of Emotions (MIT, 2000),A Love Online (Cambridge UP, 2004), In The Name of Love (with Goussinsky, Oxford UP, 2008); The Arc of Love: How Our Romantic Lives Change Over Time (University of Chicago Press, 2019). He has a popular blog in Psychology Today, on Romantic Love, which enjoys about one million viewers per 90 days. A At the University of Haifa, he was President (2004-2012), Rector (2000-2004), Dean of Research (1995-2000), and Chairperson of the Philosophy Department (1986-1988). He is the Founding and former President of the European Philosophical Society for the Study of Emotions.

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