From Behavior Bullsh*t to Behavior Science: Vincent Denault on "reading people"

Описание: Warning: multiple mentions of the word 'bullsh*t' appear in this episode! For full episode details, see https://behavior-podcast.com/from-beh.... Vincent Denault once believed he was learning how to read people’s hidden thoughts through analyzing body language. As a young lawyer in Quebec, he attended behavior analysis and “synergology” trainings that promised the ability to detect lies and determine hidden thoughts from small gestures and movements. But after digging into the research, he realized much of what he’d been taught wasn't true. In this talk, Vincent describes that journey and we explore how body-language myths spread through trainings, media, and YouTube behavior “experts.” We also discuss his research on how judges use behavior to assess witness credibility, his views on Paul Ekman, and his views on how bad-behavior-information spreaders protect themselves from criticism and responsibility. Along the way, we examine why nonverbal behavior still matters in human interaction—just not in the reliable lie-detection ways many people assume.

Other topics discussed:
• His journey out of the Synergology world and into science
• How judges can use nonverbal behavior to judge witness testimony and determine veracity, and why that’s a problem
• How spreaders of behavior bullshit can use calls for caution, and calls for "baselining," as a way to evade criticism and avoid taking responsibility for their bad info
• The role of media and shows, like the show Lie to Me and assorted movies, in spreading bad behavior info
• The role of Paul Ekman in spreading bad behavior information, including inflated claims about what you can do with behavior
• The oft-repeated but false claim that nonverbal behavior represents most of the meaning in communication, and where that false idea stems from