Bruno Verschuere

Recently, Brennen and Magnussen (2023, Current Directions in Psychological Science , 32 , 395) reviewed several approaches to detection of deception that have been extensively researched for several decades. While this review is timely, it is overly pessimistic regarding the applicability of psychological research to criminal investigations, and at the same time seems overly optimistic on techniques that are still in their infancy. While we remain cautious in recommending the application of many tests, we argue that the potential contribution of detection tests to law enforcement is much greater than what was implied by Brennen and Magnussen (2023, Current Directions in Psychological Science , 32 , 395).