Canadian researchers using frame-by-frame video analysis have discovered fleeting "cracks" in facial expressions when a person is lying.
Graduate psychology student Leanne ten Brinke, co-author of the research with Dalhousie University psychology professor Stephen Porter examined 697 clips of emotions frame-by-frame for more than 100,000 frames and witnessed what they call "microexpressions," that flickered across faces for from one-fifth to one-25th of a second, the Canwest New Service reported.
One of the items studied was footage of an Edmonton, Alberta, man appealing for the safe return of his missing wife. He eventually led police to where he had dumped her body and was convicted of second-degree murder, the report said.
The research said frame-by-frame scrutiny showed flashes of "of anger and disgust in his face, not noticed by most of the supportive public."
The study is to appear next month in the journal Psychological Science.
Copyright 2008 by United Press International
