With so much hanging in the balance as we head into the home stretch of the primaries and on into the general elections, it’s time to really—and I mean, really— take a closer look at the Democrat front-runner.
Much has already been said about her approval ratings when it comes to being honest and trustworthy. But what I want to do here is look at the candidate from a psychological perspective in regard to her honesty when answering certain questions. This is not so much about what she says but more about what she feels when she’s answering a question—and the findings should raise your eyebrows and cause supporters and non-supporters to take pause.
Chris Cillizza’s online article for the Washington Post on March 3, 2016, read: “Hillary Clinton’s ‘honest’ and ‘trustworthy’ numbers are lower than ever. It might not matter. And after winning New York, he’s apparently right. But the question now is, “should it matter?” I believe—along with millions of Americans—that it should.
What we are going to do here is take a look at some of the common psychological tells of people who lie and compare them with answers from the former Secretary of State. It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, I will show that a video is worth substantially more. This doesn’t require any of us to have a degree in psychology; it only requires common sense. We’ve all lied and been lied to. We’ve caught people in lies and we’ve been caught in a few of our own. When looking at the following video, the only thing required is an honest assessment—nothing more.
Democratic Debate Video
Nothing was more telling about Hillary’s emotional makeup when she attempted to answer an Anderson Cooper question concerning speaking fees from Goldman Sachs. We are not going to focus on the speaking fees she received from Wall Street; That shipped has already sailed and it has already been drilled into our brains more times than we’d like to remember. Besides, we can almost quote verbatim how much money she’s accepted from bankers. Instead, what we want to do here, is take a closer look at her body language when she was asked about running for president.
While watching this video replay there are several things you should keep in mind when comes to deception and physical tells; not all of them are etched in stone. People can lie so much they often start to believe their own lies and this can be a slippery slope into delusional thinking thus revealing the presence of some form of mental illness.
However, pathological liars are simply habitual, chronic or compulsive liars and this is not a psychological disorder. The best way to get to the root of whether a person is lying to us is to “Ask the Unexpected. “ And this is exactly what Anderson Cooper did when questioning Hillary in this CNN debate. There simply is no time to prepare an answer when someone throws us a curve ball we aren’t expecting.
There has been much psychological research done on spotting deception. Here are a few signs or tells to keep in mind when trying to figure out whether or not a person is lying to us. You already know them intuitively but still keep them in mind when viewing Hillary’s responses. A few of these tells are taken from a Psychology Today article written by Jack Schafer Ph. D, titled: ”9 Subtle Signs That Someone's Lying to You
-
Eye Pointing. Our eyes point to where the body wants to go. Liars often look toward the nearest exit, telegraphing their desire to physically and psychologically escape the anxiety caused by lying. (People who look at their watches telegraph the same message, signaling a desire to cut short a conversation.)
-
Feet Pointing. Liars will also often point their feet toward the door, signaling their desire to physically and psychologically escape an uncomfortable situation.
-
Backward Head Movement. Liars will tend to move their heads slightly backwards when they lie. This subtle gesture is an attempt to distance themselves from the source of their anxiety. People tend to lean toward the people and things they like and distance themselves from people and things they dislike.
-
Backward Leaning. Liars often sway their entire bodies slightly backward to distance themselves from their targets. People we're lying to cause us anxiety because of the fear of being caught by them.
The key points of interest on the video timeline are listed below. Pause the video or go back if you must, and listen to the question being asked and her physical response. Remember, it’s not about what a person says that matters, but what the person does. And in this case, you’ll be able to make up your own mind concerning why she struggles on matters of honesty and trustworthiness. She may be able to fool you with polished political rhetoric but the body doesn’t lie.
- 0.13
She breaks eye contact with Anderson and the Audience and starts looking at the floor.
- 0.18
We see her take her first steps back—approximately, two. This is the beginning of all backward movement to escape and avoid the anxiety she’s experiencing.
2. 0.32:
She begins to stutter and stammer and breaks eye contact with Anderson. This is significant because stuttering is not a normal part of her speech. Stuttering or stammering when you are not normally given to this behavior indicates nervousness and a self-conscious feeling about what you’re saying, or in this case, what you’re lying about.
3. 0.43
This is also a key part on the timeline. Once again, more backwards head and body leaning. She takes another step back and looks to the floor as she tries to figure out a way to cover the lie she’s just told.
4. 1.32
This one is critical because she takes another step back as she looks into the audience. She wants you to believe her, but her body language indicates that she’s not sure if you bought it or not.
I direct the viewers to notice where Hillary begins in the interview and where she physically ends up. We simply have to replace the phrase, “feet pointing “with “heel pointing.” She’s in a nationally televised debate and can’t just exit the stage although she may feel like it.
In addition, her eyes won’t point to an exit door because the floor is her door. Again, there is no escape in this type of setting. Her eyes, for most of the video, will be pointed at the floor or looking off into nowhere. It’s very hard to look someone straight in the eyes when we’re lying to them because we know they’ll be able to see right through us.
In the final analysis, we have all been lied to at one time or another. Many of us know intuitively when someone is lying to us without any need of a psychological assessment.
What has been astounding about these primaries is millions of people have a reason to distrust her on matters of honesty because they know she’s dishonest. Her favorability numbers when it comes to this matter have generally been in the toilet—even to the dismay of some of her supporters. Other supporters simply ignore the obvious because in spite of being dishonest she still seems like the best choice out there.
It’s time to ask ourselves as Democrats and Republicans one serious question: If we are going to subscribe to this notion of voting with our party no matter what, or choosing the lesser of two evils in this election, should we even have the right to vote? Should we compromise our personal convictions to unify the party? Whatever happened to the creed of “voting your conscience?”
I believe there is a revolution coming—and this time, “it will be televised.”
Comments are closed on this story.