Despite the increasing abundance of scientific information about detecting lies, humans themselves are still rather bad at spotting deceptions. For example, a 2006 study performed by psychologists Charles Bond and Bella DePaulo found that people can accurately detect lies only 54% of the time — just 4% higher than a 50-50 likelihood through pure chance. Studies like these have been conducted for many years and featured over 24,000 participants, making their findings pretty reliable, if depressing. Some researchers believe this is partially due to our own conscious biases and decision-making skills: even if we can spot a liar, we often talk ourselves out of it. What’s more, emotionally intelligent people are more likely to be taken in by a liar, possibly due to relying too heavily on their feelings or a desire to believe most people are telling the truth.

Because humans are so bad at catching lies, it’s often best simply to trust your instincts and go with your gut if you think you’re being deceived.