Detecting Deception

Deception is one of the main ways of achieving strategic surprise, and its widespread use against government or corporations significantly increases the degree of uncertainty analysts must grapple with.

Uncovering deception is a key role of the intelligence analyst within military, law enforcement, business, or intelligence collection roles. However, to efficiently evaluate deception, you need to understand how it works.

In this 1-hour masterclass Ashley Barnett, Intelligence Training Lead & Research explains some of the core principles of how deception works, including:

• The illusion of attention – covering psychological findings and demonstrations illustrating how we persistently and erroneously think that we notice more than we do and how this illusion can be used to the deceiver’s advantage.
• The many guises of misdirection – where participants will learn the different ways in which our attention and thinking can be manipulated and directed.
• How to mislead a target’s explanatory reasoning – a detailed examination of how to subtly plant clues and information so that the target will accept the intended false explanation or theory and believe that it is a well-supported judgement free from manipulation.

Understanding these principles of deception will make it easier to recognise and examine possible deceptions and utilise strategies to mitigate your departmental or organisational risk.