Science & Technology

'Pinocchio Effect' confirmed when lying

By T.K. Randall
December 5, 2012 ·  21 comments

Image Credit: CC 3.0 Ace Baker In the classic Disney film Pinocchio, the wooden protagonist has the unfortunate affliction of having a nose that grows in length every time he tells a lie. While the signs aren't quite so obvious in humans, it turns out that our noses do increase in temperature when we lie, a change that can be observed using thermographic equipment. This is the conclusion of a pioneering new study that set out to explore changes in temperature around the human body in connection with psychology.

Known as the "Pinocchio Effect", the thermal changes see both the area around the nose and part of inner corner of the eye increase in temperature. The team also found that anxiety increases facial temperature while concentration reduces it.

Source: Science Daily | Comments (21)

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