The language of lying — Noah Zandan

Jezik laži — Noah Zandan

Prevoditelj: Anja Kolobarić Recezent: Mislav Ante Omazić - EFZG

"Sorry, my phone died."

"Oprosti, riknuo mi je mobitel."

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

"Nije mi ništa, dobro sam."

"These allegations are completely unfounded."

"Ove su optužbe potpuno neutemeljene."

"The company was not aware of any wrongdoing."

"Kompanija nije znala ni za kakve malverzacije."

"I love you."

"Volim te."

We hear anywhere from 10 to 200 lies a day,

Dnevno čujemo od 10 do 200 laži,

and we spent much of our history coming up with ways to detect them,

a kroz cijelu smo povijest tražili načine da ih prepoznamo,

from medieval torture devices to polygraphs,

od sredstava za mučenje u srednjem vijeku, detektora laži,

blood-pressure and breathing monitors, voice-stress analyzers,

kontrole krvnog tlaka i disanja, analizatora glasa,

eye trackers, infrared brain scanners,

nadzora pokreta oka, infracrvenih čitača mozga,

and even the 400-pound electroencephalogram.

pa čak i EEG-a teškog 180 kg.

But although such tools have worked under certain circumstances,

Iako takvi alati funkcioniraju u određenim uvjetima,

most can be fooled with enough preparation,

većinu ih se da prevariti uz dovoljno pripreme,

and none are considered reliable enough to even be admissible in court.

a nijedan nije dovoljno pouzdan da bi se koristio na suđenjima.

But, what if the problem is not with the techniques,

Ali što ako problem nije u tehnologiji,

but the underlying assumption that lying spurs physiological changes?

već u osnovnoj pretpostavci da laž uzrokuje fiziološke promjene?

What if we took a more direct approach,

A da primijenimo direktniji pristup,

using communication science to analyze the lies themselves?

koristeći se komunikologijom kako bismo analizirali same laži?

On a psychological level, we lie partly to paint a better picture of ourselves,

Na psihološkoj razini, dijelom lažemo kako bismo sebe bolje prikazali,

connecting our fantasies to the person we wish we were

spajajući svoje maštarije s osobom kakva želimo biti

rather than the person we are.

umjesto s osobom kakva jesmo.

But while our brain is busy dreaming, it's letting plenty of signals slip by.

Dok mozak sanjari, propušta previše signala.

Our conscious mind only controls about 5% of our cognitive function,

Naš svjestan um kontrolira tek 5 % kognitivnih funkcija,

including communication,

uključujući komunikaciju,

while the other 95% occurs beyond our awareness,

dok se drugih 95 % odvija izvan naše svijesti,

and according to the literature on reality monitoring,

a prema literaturi o praćenju stvarnosti

stories based on imagined experiences

priče utemeljene na zamišljenim iskustvima

are qualitatively different from those based on real experiences.

kvalitativno su drugačije od onih utemeljenih na stvarnim iskustvima.

This suggests that creating a false story about a personal topic takes work

To govori da stvaranje lažne priče o osobnim temama zahtijeva napor

and results in a different pattern of language use.

i rezultira drugačijom upotrebom jezičnih struktura.

A technology known as linguistic text analysis

Tehnologija poznata kao "lingvistička analiza teksta"

has helped to identify four such common patterns

pomogla je u utvrđivanju četiriju uobičajena obrasca

in the subconscious language of deception.

u nesvjesnom jeziku prijevare.

First, liars reference themselves less, when making deceptive statements.

Kao prvo, lažljivci se manje pozivaju na sebe same kada daju neistinite izjave.

They write or talk more about others, often using the third person

Više pišu ili govore o drugima, često se koristeći trećim licem

to distance and disassociate themselves from their lie,

da bi se distancirali od svoje laži.

which sounds more false:

Što zvuči "lažnije"?

"Absolutely no party took place at this house,"

"U ovoj se kući nije održao nikakav tulum"

or "I didn't host a party here."

ili "Nisam održao tulum ovdje"?

Second, liars tend to be more negative,

Kao drugo, lažljivci su negativnije osobe

because on a subconscious level, they feel guilty about lying.

jer se podsvjesno osjećaju krivo zbog laži.

For example, a liar might say something like,

Npr. lažljivac bi mogao reći nešto poput:

"Sorry, my stupid phone battery died. I hate that thing."

"Oprosti, krepao mi je glupi mobitel. Mrzim to čudo!"

Third, liars typically explain events in simple terms

Kao treće, lažljivci obično jednostavno objašnjavaju događaje

since our brains struggle to build a complex lie.

jer je našim umovima teško stvoriti složenu laž.

Judgment and evaluation

Prosuđivanje i ocjenjivanje

are complex things for our brains to compute.

složenu su stvari za naše mozgove.

As a U.S. President once famously insisted:

Kao što je američki predsjednik nekoć tvrdio:

"I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

"Nikada nisam spavao s tom ženom."

And finally, even though liars keep descriptions simple,

I na kraju, iako se lažljivci drže jednostavnih opisa,

they tend to use longer and more convoluted sentence structure,

uobičavaju koristiti duže i zamršenije strukture rečenica,

inserting unnecessary words

ubacujući nepotrebne riječi

and irrelevant but factual sounding details in order to pad the lie.

i nebitne, ali uvjerljive detalje kako bi potkrijepili laž.

Another President confronted with a scandal proclaimed:

Drugi predsjednik suočen sa skandalom izjavio je:

"I can say, categorically, that this investigation indicates

"Mogu reći da istraga pokazuje

that no one on the White House staff,

da nitko od zaposlenika Bijele kuće,

no one in this administration presently employed

nitko od trenutno zaposlenih u administraciji

was involved in this very bizarre incident."

nije upleten u ovaj bizaran incident."

Let's apply linguistic analysis to some famous examples.

Primijenimo lingvističku analizu na neke poznate primjere.

Take seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

Npr. sedmostruki pobjednik Tour de Francea - Lance Armstrong.

When comparing a 2005 interview,

U usporedbi intervjua iz 2005.

in which he had denied taking performance-enhancing drugs

kada je poricao upotrebu steroida

to a 2013 interview, in which he admitted it,

i intervjua iz 2013. u kojem je to priznao

his use of personal pronouns increased by nearly 3/4.

upotreba osobnih zamjenica porasla je za gotovo 3/4.

Note the contrast between the following two quotes.

Pogledajte razliku između ove dvije izjave.

First: "Okay, you know, a guy in a French, in a Parisian laboratory

Prva: "Znaš, tip u francuskom, u pariškom laboratoriju,

opens up your sample, you know, Jean-Francis so-and-so, and he tests it.

otvori tvoj uzorak, znaš, neki Jean-Francis i testira ga.

And then you get a phone call from a newspaper that says:

Onda te neki novinar nazove i kaže:

'We found you to be positive six times for EPO."

"Saznali smo da ste šest puta bili pozitivni na steroide."

Second: "I lost myself in all of that.

Drugi: "Izgubio sam se u svemu tome.

I'm sure there would be other people that couldn't handle it,

Siguran sam da ima ljudi koji se s tim ne bi mogli nositi.

but I certainly couldn't handle it,

ali ja nikako nisam mogao

and I was used to controlling everything in my life.

jer sam se naučio kontrolirati sve u mom životu.

I controlled every outcome in my life."

Kontrolirao sam svaki ishod svog života."

In his denial, Armstrong described a hypothetical situation

Dok je zanijekao, Armstrong je opisivao hipotetsku situaciju

focused on someone else,

koja je bila usmjerena na nekog drugog,

removing himself from the situation entirely.

sebe je potpuno isključio iz cijele situacije.

In his admission, he owns his statements,

Kad je priznavao, usmjerio se na sebe

delving into his personal emotions and motivations.

i vlastite emocije i uzroke.

But the use of personal pronouns is just one indicator of deception.

Upotreba osobnih zamjenica tek je jedan od pokazatelja prijevare.

Let's look at another example from former Senator

Pogledajmo sljedeći primjer bivšeg senatora

and U.S. Presidential candidate John Edwards:

i predsjedničkog kandidata Johna Edwardsa:

"I only know that the apparent father has said publicly

"Znam samo da je pravi otac javno priznao

that he is the father of the baby.

da je otac djeteta.

I also have not been engaged in any activity of any description

Također nisam bio uključen ni u kakvu aktivnost

that requested, agreed to, or supported payments of any kind

koja je uključivala traženje, prihvaćanje i obavljanje bilo kakvih uplata

to the woman or to the apparent father of the baby."

ženi ili pravom ocu djeteta."

Not only is that a pretty long-winded way to say, "The baby isn't mine,"

Osim što je to prekompliciran način da kaže: "Dijete nije moje",

but Edwards never calls the other parties by name,

Edwards uopće ni ne spominje imena drugih sudionika

instead saying "that baby," "the woman," and "the apparent father."

umjesto toga govori "to dijete", "ta žena" i "pravi otac".

Now let's see what he had to say when later admitting paternity:

Ovo je rekao kad je kasnije priznao očinstvo:

"I am Quinn's father.

"Ja sam Quinnin otac.

I will do everything in my power to provide her

Učinit ću sve što mogu da joj pružim

with the love and support she deserves."

ljubav i podršku koju zaslužuje."

The statement is short and direct,

Izjava je kratka i izravna,

calling the child by name and addressing his role in her life.

dijete zove imenom i poziva se na svoju ulogu u njenom životu.

So how can you apply these lie-spotting techniques to your life?

Kako možemo primijeniti ove tehnike uočavanja neistina?

First, remember that many of the lies we encounter on a daily basis

Trebamo zapamtiti da je većina laži s kojima se svakodnevno susrećemo

are far less serious that these examples, and may even be harmless.

manje ozbiljna od ovih primjera, a mogu biti i sasvim bezazlene.

But it's still worthwhile to be aware of telltale clues,

Ali ipak vrijedi biti svjestan znakova

like minimal self-references, negative language,

poput minimalne upotrebe prvog lica, upotrebe negativnog jezika,

simple explanations and convoluted phrasing.

jednostavnih objašnjenja i zamršenih rečenica.

It just might help you avoid an overvalued stock,

Ovo bi vam moglo pomoći izbjeći kupnju precijenjenih dionica,

an ineffective product, or even a terrible relationship.

neučinkovitih proizvoda, pa čak i užasnu vezu.