Spotting the Next Madoff: Tips about Nonverbal Tells in Due Diligence and the Psychology of Perceiving Emotions

Friday, April 3, 2009, 10:30 AM - 12:15 PM, Uris 330

Practical Skills:


Clark Freshman, Professor of Law, Hastings College of the Law, University of California; Expert in due diligence and lie-detection

Science Commentary:


Dana R. Carney, Assistant Professor of Management; Social perception researcher

Abstract:


Critical information gets conveyed in the blink of an eye - could you be missing something? The Facial Action Coding System (FACS) developed by Paul Ekman is a method for reading intentions, feelings, and motives from fleeting facial expressions. FACS has been used to teach lie-detection techniques to police, intelligence, and homeland security officials in the United States and abroad. Our visiting speaker, Professor Clark Freshman, has teamed with Ekman to develop FACS workshops for lawyers, executives, and investors. and Professor Freshman will teach these skills in the practical component of our workshop. Professor Dana Carney is an expert in the science underlying social judgment, and her research has explored just how much information one needs to form an accurate judgment of another person. Together, Professors Freshman and Carney will share practical tips for reading emotions and intentions in the context of negotiations, where the ability to accurately judge another's intentions and motives can inform tactical and strategic decisions. A discussion of applications for this method in negotiation, due diligence, management, and legal situations will follow.

Related Reading:


Carney, D. R., Colvin, C. R., & Hall, J. A. (2007). A thin slice perspective on the accuracy of first impressions. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 1054-1072

About the Speakers

Clark Freshman is a professor of law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law. Professor Freshman's scholarship and teaching focus primarily on dispute resolution, including law and psychology, the effect of emotion on dispute resolution, lie detection, emotional skills. He works with Paul Ekman, the world's leading authority on lie detection, and Mike Wheeler, a Harvard Business School professor, in studying lie detection and emotional recognition for lawyers and negotiators. Learn more about Professor Freshman

Dana Carney is an assistant professor of management at Columbia Business School. Her research centers on social judgment and decision making, drawing theory and method from research on: social perception, social cognition, judgment and decision making, social neuroscience, nonverbal communication, and personality. Learn more about Professor Carney