Training Law Enforcement Officers to Identify Reliable Deception Cues With a Serious Digital Game

Abstract

Extant research indicates that professional law enforcement officers (LEOs) are generally no better than untrained novices at detecting deception. Moreover, traditional training methods are often less effective than no training at all at improving successful detection. Compared to the traditional training, interactive digital games can provide an immersive learning environment for deeper internalization of new information through simulated practices. VERITAS—an interactive digital game—was designed and developed to train LEOs to better detect reliable deception cues when questioning suspects and determining the veracity of their answers. The authors hypothesized that reducing players' reactance would mitigate resistance to training, motivate engagement with materials, and result in greater success at deception detection and knowledge. As hypothesized, LEOs playing VERITAS showed significant improvement in deception detection from the first to the second scenario within the game; and the low-reactance version provided the most effective training. The authors also compared various responses to the game between LEOs and a separate undergraduate student sample. Relative to students, findings show LEOs perceived VERITAS to be significantly more intrinsically motivating, engaging, and appealing as a deception detection activity.