ABSTRACT
Can we detect deception if only we rely on some hidden, consciously inaccessible knowledge? This chapter explores the history of work in this area, beginning with the classic paradigm called ‘indirect lie detection’. An argument is put forward that this cannot teach us about unconscious lie detection, and so we move on to consider other approaches that have suggested an unconscious lie detection benefit. However, it is important that we first take a step back and reflect on what we mean by ‘unconscious’ and whether it exists at all. Having done this, we return to the deception literature to explore accounts that have attempted to develop theoretically informed perspectives, namely those that rely on unconscious thought theory and the tipping point account. This chapter concludes that the evidence for unconscious lie detection is limited.
