Can you really tell if a kid is lying? | Kang Lee

譯者: Diogenes chan 審譯者: 易帆 余

Hi.

嗨！

Let me ask the audience a question:

我來問各位觀眾一個問題：

Did you ever lie as a child?

各位小時候有沒有說過謊？

If you did, could you please raise your hand?

如果有，可以舉一下手嗎？

Wow! This is the most honest group of people I've ever met.

哇！你們是我見過 最誠實的一群人。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So for the last 20 years,

過去 20 年，

I've been studying how children learn to tell lies.

我一直在研究小孩子 是如何學習說謊的

And today, I'm going to share with you

今天，我將與各位分享

some of the discoveries we have made.

我們研究的一些發現

But to begin, I'm going to tell you a story from Mr. Richard Messina,

但首先， 我要向各位講一個故事，

這個故事是從我的一位小學校長 朋友理查．梅西納先生那邊聽來的。

who is my friend and an elementary school principal.

He got a phone call one day.

有一天他接到一通電話。

The caller says,

對方說，

"Mr. Messina, my son Johnny will not come to school today

「梅西納先生，我兒子強尼 今天不去學校了，

because he's sick."

因為他生病了。」

Mr. Messina asks,

梅西納先生問道，

"Who am I speaking to, please?"

「請問您哪位啊？」

And the caller says,

對方回答說，

"I am my father."

「我是我爸爸。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So this story --

所以這個故事...

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

sums up very nicely three common beliefs we have

幫我們歸納出了三個有關於

about children and lying.

我們對小孩子說謊的一般認知。

One, children only come to tell lies

第一，小朋友在進入小學後

after entering elementary school.

才會開始說謊。

Two, children are poor liars.

第二，小朋友不是說謊高手。

We adults can easily detect their lies.

我們大人可以輕易地 識破出他們的謊言。

And three, if children lie at a very young age,

第三，如果小朋友 很早就學會說謊，

there must be some character flaws with them,

那他們一定是有一些 性格缺陷，

and they are going to become pathological liars for life.

而且他們將來長大後 會成為一個信口雌黃的人。

Well, it turns out

然而，事實證明，

all of the three beliefs are wrong.

以上這三個認知都是錯的。

We have been playing guessing games

全世界所有人都會跟小孩子玩

with children all over the world.

猜謎遊戲。

Here is an example.

下面我舉個例子。

So in this game, we asked children to guess the numbers on the cards.

在這個遊戲中，我們會請小朋友 猜猜卡片上面的數字號碼。

And we tell them if they win the game,

然後我們告訴他們， 如果他們贏了，

they are going to get a big prize.

他們可以獲得一個大獎。

But in the middle of the game,

但在遊戲進行中，

we make an excuse and leave the room.

我們會找一個藉口離開房間。

And before we leave the room,

在離開前，

we tell them not to peek at the cards.

我們會告訴他們 不可以偷看卡片。

Of course,

當然，

we have hidden cameras in the room

我們在室內裝置了攝影機，

to watch their every move.

來觀看他們的一舉一動。

Because the desire to win the game is so strong,

因為非常想要贏得比賽，

more than 90 percent of children will peek

有超過90%的小朋友，

as soon as we leave the room.

在我們一離開房間後就會偷看。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

The crucial question is:

關鍵問題是：

When we return and ask the children

當我們回頭問那些小朋友，

whether or not they have peeked,

他們是否有偷看時，

will the children who peeked confess

這些偷看過的小朋友，

or lie about their transgression?

他們會承認他們偷看了嗎？ 還是撒謊。

We found that regardless of gender, country, religion,

我們發現，這無關 性別、國家、宗教

at two years of age,

兩歲的小朋友，

30 percent lie,

30% 會說謊，

70 percent tell the truth about their transgression.

70% 會老實承認他們作弊。

At three years of age,

三歲的小朋友，

50 percent lie and 50 percent tell the truth.

50% 會說謊，50% 會說實話。

At four years of age,

四歲的小朋友，

more than 80 percent lie.

超過 80% 會說謊。

And after four years of age,

超過四歲以後的小朋友，

most children lie.

絕大多數都會說謊。

So as you can see,

所以，就如你所見，

lying is really a typical part of development.

說謊真的只是小朋友 人格發展的一部分。

And some children begin to tell lies

有一些小孩

as young as two years of age.

甚至在兩歲時 就開始說謊。

So now, let's take a closer look at the younger children.

現在，讓我們再進一步 觀察這些小朋友。

Why do some but not all young children lie?

為什麼有些小朋友會說謊， 有些卻不會呢？

In cooking, you need good ingredients

做菜的時候， 各位都需要好的烹調原料

to cook good food.

來做出好吃的食物。

And good lying requires two key ingredients.

而好的謊言，需要兩個關鍵原料。

The first key ingredient is theory of mind,

第一關鍵原料是，心智理論，

or the mind-reading ability.

或者是讀心術。

Mind reading is the ability to know

讀心術是一種

that different people have different knowledge about the situation

能分辨出不同的人對情況 有不同知識的能力，

and the ability to differentiate between what I know

以及了解彼此 對所知事物的落差程度。

and what you know.

Mind reading is important for lying

讀心術對說謊而言相當重要，

because the basis of lying is that I know

因為說謊的本質就是

我知道你不知道 我知道的事。

you don't know

what I know.

Therefore, I can lie to you.

因此，我可以對你說謊。

The second key ingredient for good lying is self-control.

說謊的第二個關鍵是「自我控制」。

It is the ability to control your speech, your facial expression

它是一種控制言論、面部表情

and your body language,

及肢體語言的能力，

so that you can tell a convincing lie.

這樣你才能說出一個 具有說服力的謊言。

And we found that those young children

而我們發現，越會讀心術及 自我控制能力的小朋友，

who have more advanced mind-reading and self-control abilities

說謊對他們而言 會相對容易些，

tell lies earlier

and are more sophisticated liars.

而且比較會撒複雜的謊。

As it turns out, these two abilities are also essential for all of us

事實證明，這兩個能力，

也是我們長大後， 適應社會的必要能力。

to function well in our society.

In fact, deficits in mind-reading and self-control abilities

事實上，讀心術及 自我控制能力不佳的人，

are associated with serious developmental problems,

與嚴重的人格發展問題 有其相關性，

such as ADHD and autism.

像是注意力不足 過動症和自閉症。

So if you discover your two-year-old is telling his or her first lie,

所以，如果你發現你兩歲的孩子 撒了人生的第一個謊，

instead of being alarmed,

你不用驚慌，

you should celebrate --

而是要慶祝...

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

because it signals that your child has arrived at a new milestone

因為這意味著他的人格發展

達到一個新的里程碑。

of typical development.

Now, are children poor liars?

那，小朋友是不是不擅長說謊呢？

Do you think you can easily detect their lies?

你認為你可以輕易地 辨識出他們有沒有說謊嗎？

Would you like to give it a try?

各位要不要測試看看？

Yes? OK.

好嗎？好的。

So I'm going to show you two videos.

我給各位看兩段影片。

In the videos,

在影片中，

the children are going to respond to a researcher's question,

小朋友會回答研究人員的問題，

"Did you peek?"

「你有沒有偷看？」

So try to tell me

所以試著告訴我，

which child is lying

哪一個小朋友說謊？

and which child is telling the truth.

哪一個小朋友沒說謊？

Here's child number one.

這是 1 號小朋友。

Are you ready?

準備好了嗎？

(Video) Adult: Did you peek? Child: No.

（影片）大人：你有沒有偷看？ 小朋友：沒有。

Kang Lee: And this is child number two.

李康：這是 2 號小朋友。

(Video) Adult: Did you peek? Child: No.

（影片）大人：你有沒有偷看？ 小朋友：沒有。

KL: OK, if you think child number one is lying,

李康：好，認為 1 號小朋友說謊的

please raise your hand.

請舉手。

And if you think child number two is lying, please raise your hand.

認為 2 號小朋友說謊的請舉手。

OK, so as a matter of fact,

好的，事實上，

child number one is telling the truth,

1 號小朋友沒說謊，

child number two is lying.

2 號小朋友說謊了。

Looks like many of you are terrible detectors of children's lies.

看來，你們很多人很不擅於 辨認小孩子有沒有說謊。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Now, we have played similar kinds of games

現在，同樣的遊戲，

with many, many adults from all walks of life.

我們找了很多各行各業 的成年人來做測試。

And we show them many videos.

我們給他們看了很多影片。

In half of the videos, the children lied.

影片中，一半的小孩有說謊，

In the other half of the videos, the children told the truth.

另外一半的小朋友沒有說謊。

And let's find out how these adults performed.

讓我們來看看這些 成年人他們的測試結果。

Because there are as many liars as truth tellers,

因為，說謊的跟沒說謊 的人數一樣多，

if you guess randomly,

如果你隨機亂猜，

there's a 50 percent chance you're going to get it right.

你還有 50% 的機會可以猜中。

So if your accuracy is around 50 percent,

所有如果你的準確率只有 50%，

it means you are a terrible detector of children's lies.

這意味著，你不是個很擅長 辨認小朋友有沒有說謊。

So let's start with undergrads and law school students,

所以，我們先從大學生 及法學院的學生開始，

who typically have limited experience with children.

他們普遍比較缺乏和兒童相處的經驗。

No, they cannot detect children's lies.

不行，他們無法辨認小朋友的謊言。

Their performance is around chance.

他們的水準僅接近於用猜的。

Now how about social workers and child-protection lawyers,

那幾乎每天跟小孩混在一起的

who work with children on a daily basis?

社會工作者和幼童庇護律師呢？

Can they detect children's lies?

他們辨認的出來 小朋友有沒有說謊嗎？

No, they cannot.

不，他們也不行。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

What about judges,

法官呢？

customs officers

海關官員？

and police officers,

警察呢？

who deal with liars on a daily basis?

他們幾乎每天都在跟 說謊的人打交道。

Can they detect children's lies?

他們能辨識出來嗎？

No, they cannot.

不，他們也不行。

What about parents?

父母親呢？

Can parents detect other children's lies?

父母親有辦法辨認出 其他小朋友的謊言嗎？

No, they cannot.

不，他們也不行。

What about, can parents detect their own children's lies?

那親生父母呢？辨認地出來 自己的小孩子說謊嗎？

No, they cannot.

不，他們也不行。

(Laughter) (Applause)

（笑聲）（掌聲）

So now you may ask

現在你可能會問，

why children's lies are so difficult to detect.

為什麼小朋友的 謊話這麼難辨認呢？

Let me illustrate this with my own son, Nathan.

讓我用我的小孩， 納森，來向各位解釋。

This is his facial expression

這是他說謊時的表情。

when he lies.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So when children lie,

所以當小朋友說謊，

their facial expression is typically neutral.

他們的臉部表情會相當自然。

However, behind this neutral expression,

然而，在這個自然的表情背後，

the child is actually experiencing a lot of emotions,

小孩子實際上經歷了 相當多的情緒，

such as fear, guilt, shame

像是，害怕、內疚、羞愧

and maybe a little bit of liar's delight.

有的人還會有點暗爽。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Unfortunately, such emotions are either fleeting or hidden.

很不幸地，這些情緒不是稍縱即逝， 就是被隱藏起來。

Therefore, it's mostly invisible to us.

因此，對我們而言， 幾乎是看不見的。

So in the last five years,

所以，最近這五年，

we have been trying to figure out a way to reveal these hidden emotions.

我們已經嘗試找到了一個方式， 來揭露出這些隱藏的情緒。

Then we made a discovery.

然後，我們發現了一件事。

We know that underneath our facial skin,

大家都知道在 我們表面皮膚底下，

there's a rich network of blood vessels.

佈滿了很多的血管網路。

When we experience different emotions,

當我們在經歷 不同的情緒時，

our facial blood flow changes subtly.

我們表面的血液 會有稍微地變化。

And these changes are regulated by the autonomic system

而這些改變是被我們的 自主神經系統所控制，

that is beyond our conscious control.

By looking at facial blood flow changes,

藉由觀察表面血流的變化，

we can reveal people's hidden emotions.

我們可以揭示出 人們的隱藏情緒。

Unfortunately, such emotion-related facial blood flow changes

很不幸地，這樣與情緒相關的 表面血流變化，

are too subtle to detect by our naked eye.

我們的肉眼是 無法辨識出來的。

So to help us reveal people's facial emotions,

所以，為了幫助我們 揭露人們的表面情緒，

we have developed a new imaging technology

我們研發出一種 新的圖像技術，

we call "transdermal optical imaging."

我們稱它為，「皮膚光學影像技術」。

To do so, we use a regular video camera to record people

為了測試，我們用一個 制式的錄影機來拍攝，

when they experience various hidden emotions.

來紀錄受測人經歷不同的 隱藏情緒時的狀況。

And then, using our image processing technology,

然後，用我們的影像處理科技，

we can extract transdermal images of facial blood flow changes.

我們可以捕捉到表面 皮膚血流變化的影像。

By looking at transdermal video images,

藉由觀察皮膚影片的圖像，

now we can easily see

現在我們可以輕易地看到，

facial blood flow changes associated with the various hidden emotions.

不同的隱藏情緒之間， 表面血流的微妙變化。

And using this technology,

運用這項科技，

we can now reveal the hidden emotions associated with lying,

我們現在可以揭露出 與謊話相關的隱藏表情，

and therefore detect people's lies.

因此可以辨認出人們的謊言。

We can do so noninvasively,

我們可以非侵害性、

remotely, inexpensively,

遠端遙控、花費不貴地

with an accuracy at about 85 percent,

達到 85% 的準確率，

which is far better than chance level.

比用猜的好很多。

And in addition, we discovered a Pinocchio effect.

此外，我們發現了一個 「皮諾丘效應」。

No, not this Pinocchio effect.

不，不是這個皮諾丘效應。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

This is the real Pinocchio effect.

這才是真的皮諾丘效應。

When people lie,

當人們說謊，

the facial blood flow on the cheeks decreases,

臉頰上的表面血流會增加，

and the facial blood flow on the nose increases.

鼻樑上的表面血流也會增加。

Of course, lying is not the only situation

當然，不是只有說謊的時候，

that will evoke our hidden emotions.

才會有隱藏情緒的情況。

So then we asked ourselves,

所以，我們可以問我們自己，

in addition to detecting lies,

除了偵測謊言，

how can our technology be used?

我們還可以如何應用這個技術？

One application is in education.

第一個應用是教育。

For example, using this technology, we can help this mathematics teacher

例如，利用這項技術， 我們可以幫助數學老師

to identify the student in his classroom

辨識他教室裡 學生的上課情況，

who may experience high anxiety about the topic he's teaching

看看誰對他上課的主題 有高度焦慮的情況，

so that he can help him.

這樣他就可以幫助那個學生。

And also we can use this in health care.

我們也可以應用在醫療照顧上。

For example, every day I Skype my parents,

例如，我每天會用 SKYPE 向我的父母親請安，

who live thousands of miles away.

他們住在很遠的地方。

And using this technology,

應用這項科技，

I can not only find out what's going on in their lives

我不僅可以知道他們生活的近況，

but also simultaneously monitor their heart rate, their stress level,

而且可以同步監測他們的 心跳、壓力、心情

their mood and whether or not they are experiencing pain.

以及他們是否病痛。

And perhaps in the future,

也許將來，

their risks for heart attack or hypertension.

可以偵測到他們罹患 心臟病及高血壓的風險。

And you may ask:

而你也許會問：

Can we use this also to reveal politicians' emotions?

我們可以用這個來揭露 政治人物的情緒嗎？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

For example, during a debate.

例如，在辯論的時候。

Well, the answer is yes.

答案是可以的。

Using TV footage,

利用電視畫面，

we could detect the politicians' heart rate,

我們可以偵測到 政治人物的心跳，

mood and stress,

情緒及壓力，

and perhaps in the future, whether or not they are lying to us.

也許將來可以看他們 是否對我們說謊。

We can also use this in marketing research,

我們也可以用它來做市場調查，

for example, to find out

例如，找出人們

whether or not people like certain consumer products.

是否喜歡某項產品。

We can even use it in dating.

我們還可以用它來約會。

So for example,

例如，

if your date is smiling at you,

如果你的約會對象對著你笑，

this technology can help you to determine

這項科技可以幫助你判斷，

whether she actually likes you

對方是否真的喜歡你，

or she is just trying to be nice to you.

或者她只是嘗試著 對你好點而已。

And in this case,

在這個個案中，

she is just trying to be nice to you.

她只是想發你一張好人卡而已。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So transdermal optical imaging technology

皮膚光學圖像技術

is at a very early stage of development.

目前仍處在 早期的發展階段。

Many new applications will come about that we don't know today.

很多新的運用方式 我們還沒有發現。

However, one thing I know for sure

然而，我很確定的是，

is that lying will never be the same again.

將來說謊的方式 會與現在不同了。

Thank you very much.

非常謝謝各位。

Xiè xie.

謝謝！

(Applause)

（掌聲）