People are more likely to tell the truth when asked questions via text message

People are more likely to tell the truth when asked questions via text message

Being 'put on the spot' by a face-to-face question might NOT be the best way to get a truthful answer.

People tend to tell the truth more when asked questions via text message - because they have more time to think.

It also includes sensitive information that the person might not normally reveal - such as exactly how much they drink, or how much (or little) they exercise.

While the police are unlikely to switch to interviewing suspects via iPhone, it's a good way to elicit precise, true answers from friends.

‘The preliminary results of our study suggest that people are more likely to disclose sensitive information via text messages than in voice interviews,’ says Fred Conrad, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Michigan.

‘This is sort of surprising,’ says Conrad, ‘since many people thought that texting would decrease the likelihood of disclosing sensitive information because it creates a persistent, visual record of questions and answers that others might see on your phone.’

When texting, people are less likely to 'round' figures up or down, and more likely to give precise answers.

‘We believe people give more precise answers via texting because there's just not the time pressure in a largely asynchronous mode like text that there is in phone interviews,’ says Conrad.

‘As a result, respondents are able to take longer to arrive at more accurate answers.’

面对面地审问某人也许不是得到真实答案的最佳方式。

用发短信的方式提问一般更能得到实情，因为人们有更多的时间思考。

通过发短信还能得知人通常不会透露的敏感信息，比如他们真实的饮酒量，或运动量的多少。

尽管警察不大可能转用iPhone来审问犯人，但这是从朋友那里获得准确真实回答的好办法。

密歇根大学的认知心理学家弗雷德?康拉德说：“我们研究的初步结果显示，相比语音访谈，人们在短信里更可能透露敏感信息。”

康拉德说：“这有些令人惊讶。许多人以为发短信会降低透露敏感信息的可能性，因为这会产生问题和回答的持久的可视记录，其他人可能会在你手机上看到。”

在发短信时，人们不大可能说个大概数字，更可能给出准确的答案。

康拉德说：“我认为人们通过短信能给出更准确的答案，因为短信很大程度上是一种非同步的通信方式，没有电话访谈的时间压力。”

“结果，应答者能有更多时间来想出更准确的答案。”