Uncovering deceit

　　"Lies are just too difficult to spot with the naked eye," says Jiang Zhenyu, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law. Despite this honest admission, Jiang is probably one of the most skilled experts when it comes to uncovering deceit. For the last four years he's been delving into the mysteries of micro-expressions: tiny subconscious facial movements that reveal a person's reaction before they have a chance to hide it.

Jiang Zhenyu is almost a real-life version of Cal Lightman, who was played by Tim Roth in American TV drama Lie to Me. As Lightman told fascinated viewers, "scorn, shame, contempt, these expressions are universal. Emotions look the same whether you are a suburban housewife or a suicide bomber, the truth is written on all our faces."

It is this truth that Jiang hopes to uncover. He says that his study is still in its initial phases. Decoding people's true thoughts based on micro-expression analysis is almost a mission impossible, but there's still a great deal to be learned. Chinese audiences would appear to agree, given the recent success of lie detective talk-show Feichang Liaode (Fei De Will Watch).

In the mind and on the page

There are two kinds of people who study micro-expressions: psychologists study it to read people's inner thoughts, while animators study it to make their pictures more convincing.

Last year, Rockstar Games broke new ground with their first-person adventure game, L.A. Noire, which utilized micro-expressions as a way to challenge players to spot lies.

It was through technology and 3D animation, rather than psychology, that Jiang became interested in micro expressions.

Born in 1979 in Hebei Province, Jiang finished his bachelor's degree (Economic information management) at the Renmin University of China in 1996. He then went to Edith Cowan University in Australia to get a Master's of Information Technology before finally going to Beijing Normal University to pursue a PhD in digital media in 2007. It was here that he had the chance to teach 3D animation to students, which triggered his interest in micro-expressions. From there, he read a series of books on the topic. One of those books led him to the work of American micro-expression pioneer Paul Ekman. Captivated, Jiang began his own research in 2008.

Extending Ekman's theory

Ekman believes that all facial expressions are the same despite races and cultures.

He even traveled to Papua New Guinea to study the Fore tribesmen, where he observed the facial expressions of people living in a tribal society, and concluded many expressions were identical across cultures.

Jiang delved into Ekman's research, and expanded upon it.

Despite all his efforts, there are those who believe micro-expression analysis is merely a pseudo-science and is highly inaccurate.

Jiang's study has been an attempt to address this. "This is a four-step method. First, we analyze the situation and the background of those involved, to provide the correct context for their emotions. Second, we analyze the modus operandi of the subject; we need to take their culture, education background and social status into consideration to pave the way for next step, where we design questions for the subject according to his or her behavior. The last step is making a conclusion after our observations," Jiang said.

Wu Boxin, the "lie detective" from China's People's Public Security University, is also an expert in criminal psychology and psychological testing. He said that he respects Jiang's work but pointed out that studies into micro-expressions began as early as 1991 in China. "Micro-expression analysis falls under the category of psychological analysis. It consists of three parts: facial micro-expressions, subtle body movements and oral signals," Wu said. "It's easy to come to false conclusions since human expressions are complicated and involve a great deal of psychological activity. In order to question suspects, we use both observations and polygraph tests. We can make judgments only when both observations and polygraphs support each other."

Wu expressed some concern that if those who aren't properly trained try to utilize micro-expressions to detect lies, it could cause problems. "People need to see this objectively," he said. "Any research on humans has a long way to go, because humans are complicated and they may differ from each other due to different races, experiences, characteristics, gender and other elements," Wu said. "Also, in micro-expression analysis, the interviewer plays a leading role because he needs to have a background in psychology. Just like psychology relies on discoveries made through neuroscience, micro-expression studies are restricted by the limitations of psychology studies." Wu emphasized that research like Jiang's is worth pursuing and has plenty of merit, but its applications shouldn't be exaggerated.

Practical applications

Despite the limits of lie detection, Jiang thinks that his study of micro-expressions and his two books on the topic make strides in the field.

"[The analysis of micro-expressions] is neither a revolutionary discovery nor a pseudoscience," Jiang explained. "I started a course last year relating to micro-expressions at our college which attracted about 130 students at the beginning but 50 of them left after just two lessons," Jiang said. "They thought this course would be exciting but were disappointed, because in many ways, it is ordinary, time-consuming and monotonous research."

Chen Xiaowan, a senior student at the college who took Jiang's micro-expression class in September 2011, thinks the study still has a long way to go. "I'm sensitive to obvious micro-expressions after this training, but I need to practice more, because people who have received training or have a certain psychological profile may see through the tricks and deceive you," Chen said.

Jiang has provided assistance to public security departments and companies.

By involving him in cases from February 2011, police have saved time, Jiang said.

Jiang also works with a company to judge whether clients have given honest answers.

"By watching videos where the interviewer asked certain questions repeatedly, I can help the company detect the meaning behind the responses, in order to help them get an idea of how customers will respond to their products," Jiang said.

He also helps companies assess candidates for certain positions.

It's hard to judge a person's intentions using your bare eyes," Jiang said, "and I don't think it's necessary for ordinary people to judge others using micro-expressions in daily life, because this kind of analysis is only really necessary when there is profit or significant conflict," Jiang continued. "Many micro-expressions are only used in situations relating to crime or games."

Jiang takes his research very seriously, and still has plans to release more research papers on the subject in future. But even after all this time, he admits he's still only human and no Cal Lightman. "I still need to record a person and watch the video several times before I can tell if they're lying," he added.