Nearby relationships may be our biggest blind points when it comes to recognizing lies.
According to, a new investigation, in the Journal of Neurosciencereveals something unsettling about human psychology.
Our brains tend to synchronize with the people we trust, which can reduce vigilance and become more vulnerable to the deception of people who are closest to us.
Using advanced brain analysis technology, researchers have found that when friends try to deceive each other, their neural patterns align to predict whether the lie will be successful.
Scientists at the University of Science and Technology in Northern China have recruited 66 adult pairs. Some were friends, others completely strange.
Researchers monitored participants’ neural activity while each pair participated in a mistake, where a person could lie about their partner’s financial results.
The results were revealing: People were more likely to fall on lies when they came from friends than strangers.
Even more revealing is the fact that this vulnerability is stronger when potential gains are at stake rather than losses. People are more likely to be deceived by friends of trust When there is something exciting to win.
When friends interacted, their brains showed greater synchronization in areas responsible for rewarding and decision making. This neural alignment created a path to the success of deception.
The research team focused on three key brain regions while monitoring brain activity: the area that deals with risk assessment, the section that processes rewards and the part that helps us understand the intentions of others.
When strangers interacted, these brain regions kept more independent standards of activity, but when friends communicated, their brains started to work in synchronyparticularly in areas related to reward confidence and processing.
This synchronization was so predictable that researchers were able to use only brain standards to determine if a lie would be successful with 86% precision.
The mistake arises from the interaction between two brains and not from the ability of a single deceiver. When people trust each other, their brains lower their guard and become more vulnerable to manipulation.
The discovery of investigators about the timing It was particularly notable: differences in brain synchronization between successful and failed mistakes emerged in the first seconds of verbal communication among friends.
Ours brains make decisions based on confidence Almost instantly, long before we consciously process what someone is telling us.
To validate their findings, researchers introduced brain analysis data into computer systems. Computer models have been able to predict the success rates of mistake with remarkable accuracy, with the Model with the best performance reached about 86% accuracy When analyzing pairs of friends in gain situations.
These computer systems performed better when they analyzed brain synchronization between partners, instead of analyzing only individual brain activity. This reinforces that the mistake is an interpersonal processwhich emerges from the interaction between two minds and not just from the deceiver’s ability.
The greatest accuracy occurred when pairs of friends were analyzed in gain situations, exactly the condition in which humans showed greater vulnerability to deception.
The investigation has serious consequences for the understanding of financial fraudmanipulation of relationships and daily dishonesty.
Many devastating frauds involve the exploitation of existing relationships and reliable networks. From investment schemes that spread through groups of friends to domestic financial abuse, the default is consistent: We are more vulnerable to those we trust the most.
The fact that the study focuses on gain and loss scenarios is particularly relevant. People react differently to potential gains and potential losses, but this investigation shows that our vulnerability to deception follows the same pattern.
When friends present opportunities that seem beneficial, our brain may be programmed to give them the benefit of doubt.
Instead of focusing only on the deceiver’s behavior or the credulity of the victim, scientists examined the mistake as a two -brain phenomenon. Their findings show that successful lies require a Neural collaboration between the deceiver and the deceived.
This perspective can change the way we think of protecting ourselves from mistake. Instead of simply trying to detect liars, we may need to recognize when our own brains are being too synchronized with those of others, especially in high -risk situations involving money or decisions.
Use by the research team of real -time brain monitoring during face to face interactions represents a advance in relation to the previous investigation on the deceptionwhich was often based on artificial laboratory tasks. This study captured the mistake as it unfolds between royal personal.
The findings on neural synchronization align with a broader investigation into human social connection, which shows that intimate relationships involve a greater neural coupling during various activities.
What is new is the discovery that this same coupling mechanism that helps us create ties with others can be explored for deceiving purposes.
Confidence acts as a double -edged neural mechanism. Next time a close friend approaches an unmissable opportunity, remember that your synchronized brains may be working against your best judgment.
Teresa Oliveira Campos, Zap //
