Unveiling Deceptive Intentions: Insights from Eye Movements and Pupil Size

Abstract

Recognition of deceptive intentions from the eyes has been of appealing interest in the last decades but is still unresolved. Here, we report the development of a paradigm based on the Concealed Information Test enabling the study of various kinds of deception, that is, faking and concealing. Based on a card game, we compared fixation as well as pupil behaviour while participants were instructed to fake, conceal, or tell the truth. We realized two different layouts of stimulus presentation. Fixations differed between concealing versus faking and telling the truth; pupil size additionally unveiled the object of deception. We infer that various kinds of deceptive behaviour must be carefully distinguished, and contribute to how to use gaze measures as indicators of deceptive intentions.