Doctoral Dissertation Research: The moderating effect of working memory capacity while telling lies under cognitive load

该项目研究了工作记忆容量（WMC）在说谎中的作用。WMC是使用集中注意力和认知努力来完成目标的能力。任何需要注意力集中的事情都会用到WMC。研究表明，说谎可能比说实话需要更多的WMC，因为说谎需要压抑真实的信息，编造谎言，以一种可信的方式说出谎言，以及其他认知任务。相比之下，讲真话主要需要回忆信息。先前的研究表明，说谎者表现出的一些行为表明了认知负荷。当说谎者和说真话的人被置于额外的认知负荷下时，说谎者的这种行为比说真话的人更明显。这些行为可以用来更准确地区分说谎者和诚实者。目前的研究将研究这一发现如何受到WMC的影响，因为研究表明WMC与个体有关？应对认知负荷的能力。在研究1和研究2中，参与者在认知负荷或无认知负荷下说谎或说实话。WMC将被测量以检查其对语言、声音和视觉行为的影响。在研究3中，观察者将判断研究1和研究2参与者的真实性。这个项目将有助于加深对工作记忆如何影响欺骗的理解，特别是WMC越高的人在撒谎时是否能更好地应对认知负荷。该项目还将通过研究特定认知能力的变化如何影响欺骗行为，扩大对欺骗领域个体差异的研究。学习更多关于说谎和说真话的知识，可以帮助执法部门和其他在职业生涯中面临判断可信度任务的团体。这项研究可以用来帮助开发利用说谎者认知过程的测谎方法。此外，这个项目将有助于培养研究生。

The project examines the role of working memory capacity (WMC) in lying. WMC is the ability to use focused attention and cognitive effort to accomplish goals. Anything that requires attention and concentration will use WMC. Research indicates that lying may require more WMC than telling the truth because lying requires suppressing truthful information, generating a lie to tell, and telling that lie in a believable way, among other cognitive tasks. In comparison, telling the truth primarily requires recall of information. Previous research shows that liars display some behaviors which indicate cognitive load. When liars and truth tellers are placed under extra cognitive load, such behaviors become more pronounced in liars compared to truth tellers. These behaviors can be used to more accurately distinguish liars from truth tellers. The current research will examine how this finding is affected by WMC, as research has shown that WMC is related to an individual?s ability to cope with cognitive load. In Studies 1 and 2 participants will lie or tell the truth either under cognitive load or no cognitive load. WMC will be measured to examine its impact on verbal, vocal, and visual behavior. In Study 3, observers will judge the truthfulness of participants from Studies 1 and 2. This project will help advance the understanding of how working memory affects deception, specifically whether individuals with greater WMC are better at coping with cognitive load during lying. This project will also expand research on individual differences in the deception field by studying how variation in a particular cognitive capacity affects deceptive behavior. Learning more about lying and truth telling can aid law enforcement and other groups who face the task of judging credibility in their professional life. This research can be used to help develop methods of lie detection that exploit the cognitive processes of liars. In addition, this project will contribute to the training of a graduate student.