Hesitation while replying indicates insincerity

The findings of a recent study conducted by the American Psychological Association suggested that while communicating, the longer the hesitation, the less sincere the response appears. The study claimed that when people pause before replying to a question, even for just a few seconds, their answers are perceived to be less sincere and credible than if they had replied immediately.

The research was published in 'Journal of Personality and Social Psychology'.

"Evaluating other people's sincerity is a ubiquitous and important part of social interactions," said lead author Ignazio Ziano, PhD, of Grenoble Ecole de Management.

"Our research shows that response speed is an important cue on which people base their sincerity inferences," added Dr Ziano.

Researchers conducted a series of experiments involving more than 7,500 individuals from the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Participants either listened to an audio snippet, viewed a video, or read an account of a person responding to a simple question (example: did they like a cake a friend made or had they stolen money from work). In each scenario, the response time varied from immediate to a 10-second delay. Participants then rated the sincerity of the response on a sliding scale.

Across all 14 experiments, participants consistently rated delayed responses as less sincere regardless of the question, whether it was a harmless one about cake or a more serious one about committing a crime.

A few conditions reduced this effect, the researchers found. For example, if the answer was considered socially undesirable, such as saying, "No, I don't like it" when a friend asks if you like their cake, response speed did not seem to matter much; the answer was considered sincere whether it was fast or slow.

The researchers also found that if people thought a slower response was due to mental effort (for instance, having to think back if you had stolen candy 10 years ago), response speed had a smaller effect. The findings have wide implications, according to Dr Ziano. "Whenever people are interacting, they are judging each other's sincerity. These results can be applied to a wide range of interactions, going from workplace chit-chat to couples and friends bickering," he said.