Author: ProfGid
From English profile - profile. By the way, in 2021, the ProfGid career guidance center developed an accurate career guidance test. He himself will tell you which professions are suitable for you, and give an opinion about your personality type and intelligence.
A profiler is an expert in detecting lies based on a person’s facial expressions, gestures and manner of speaking.
Features of the profession
Profiler, verifier, profiling specialist, specialist in non-contact lie detection (as opposed to contact, using a polygraph) - these are numerous names for the same specialist.
This diversity is explained by the fact that profiling in business is a relatively new phenomenon. The name of the profession has not yet been established.
At first, the term “profiling” meant the compilation of a psychological portrait (profile) of a criminal based on traces at the crime scene. This is otherwise called portraiture or personality profiling. First of all, the method is used when searching for serial killers. It combines knowledge of criminology, psychiatry and psychology. (See the series “Profiler”. In Russian translation – “Profile of a Killer”.)
Later, profiling began to be called the identification of potentially dangerous individuals.
At first, the technology was used in civil aviation during pre-flight inspection of passengers. The main task of such profiling is to prevent terrorists from boarding. And he, of course, strives to pass without giving himself away. He lies and pretends to be calm, but an observant profiler can bring him to light.
Over time, the art of detecting lies has expanded beyond the security services. Profilers successfully use it in various areas of business.
"Fool me! If you can,” is the motto of Cal Lightman, the famous lie expert from the popular TV series (“Lie to Me”). Dr. Lightman works in various areas, helping to identify a criminal, understand office intrigues, and complicated relationships between business partners.
So what are the trends in profiling today? Let's name a few.
Business profiling is the name given to the profiler’s support of business negotiations. The specialist looks at his client’s interlocutors, monitors their behavior and demeanor. A businessman resorts to this service when he wants to make sure of the truthfulness and seriousness of the intentions of his negotiating partners.
Bank profiling means observation during an interview with a future bank borrower. Such research allows us to reduce losses from non-repaid loans. True, profiling is sometimes called checking the background data of a future borrower. But this is already a job for another specialist.
Audit profiling is used by auditing companies to verify the integrity of accountants. This is an effective addition to traditional verification of accounting documents.
Insurance profiling helps insurance companies identify fraudulent schemes when applying for insurance.
Profiling on transport identifies passengers who are capable of causing trouble, hiding weapons under their clothes, etc.
Hotel profiling , like in transport, is aimed at preventing crimes, but in hotels.
Personnel profiling helps a recruiter to recognize deception on the part of a candidate for a position, to get to the bottom of the ugly truths in his biography (large debts, criminal past, gambling addiction, etc.). Ideally, the recruiter himself should master the art of profiling.
The insincerity of the future spouse, the secret life of the teenage son, etc. family profiling reveals these secrets .
Life suggests more and more new options for using profiling.
What is profiling
Profiling or the concept of profiling was born from the word “profile” or “profile”. Essentially, this is the ability of one person (Profiler - a specialist who uses profiling techniques) to establish the personality type of another by certain signs of behavior: emotions, reactions, speech, thinking style, facial expressions and pantomime, appearance.
Having determined the general type of a person and specified it with individual psychological traits (in-depth profiling), a fairly accurate and detailed psychological profile is compiled. It is from this that a specialist can quite accurately predict a person’s future behavior and actions, find weak points and select a method of influencing or interacting with him. Depends on the area and situation.
As a science, this direction has its origins in the works of scientists:
- Jung (Carl Gustav) - identified the psychological characteristics of people into archetypes;
- Freud (Sigmund) - examined the mechanisms of psychological defense of the individual;
- Adler (Alfred) - studied how a person’s life style affects interactions with others;
- Horney (Karen) - there are a lot of studies that have shown how upbringing and relationships with the environment in childhood affect behavior in the future.
The most common area of application of profiling initially is forensics. With its help, a portrait was drawn up to search for a criminal based on the crime scene. And today the methods are used by intelligence services of different countries to prevent the threat of terrorism and fraud. Nowadays, profiling is becoming very popular in the field of hiring and people management.
Art and technology
So how does a profiler manage to detect deception if the liar he is observing is trying his best to appear truthful?
To do this, there is a technology to “read” body language, facial expressions and decipher what is hidden between the words.
Let's say a person is suspected of a terrorist attack. When talking with an FSB officer, he watches what he says, his facial expressions and gestures. But when he is asked about the luggage left on the platform, a slight shadow of anxiety flashes through his eyes, he barely noticeably tenses his hand - this does not escape the attention of an experienced employee.
The ability to notice the smallest details in behavior requires knowledge and experience. You need to know what exactly you should pay attention to and what there is no point in being distracted by. Sometimes, to confirm their findings, the profiler will videotape the conversation and then review the recording. She records everything, including details that could slip away during personal contact.
The main task of the profiler is to see and recognize lies. But this is one side of the problem. You also need to see when a person is telling the truth. If a person is verbose, expresses things in a confusing way, constantly thinks about the answer and is generally nervous, an inexperienced “lie hunter” may decide that he is being deceived. An example of a fatal profiling mistake is the story of Othello and Desdemona. Anyone who has seen the play knows that sometimes even the most truthful speeches can be mistaken for deception. Especially if you are pre-disposed against your interlocutor.
So yes or no? Truth or lie? When making his verdict, a true professional takes into account many signs and remains impartial.
The profession of a profiler gives a pleasant feeling of the thrill of the hunt.
How to learn
It is possible to learn profiling from scratch. The basics of the profession are taught in lie detection centers and academies in large Russian cities. There is both theory and practice in the form of special classes and the format of business games.
Online course “Profiling” from Vikium
The resource intelligence simulators, beloved by many Internet users, has launched its own course “. Training is inexpensive. The course will teach important skills for work and life:
- Anticipate your opponent's actions during negotiations
- Identify fake emotions
- Recognize nonverbal signals of deception and lying gestures
- Predict people's actions in different situations
- Detect deception in writing
What awaits you on the course:
- practice on profiling techniques
- practicing techniques using special exercises and tools
- micro expression trainers
- testing to determine skill level
.
Profiling Course from 4brain
Online program designed for 5 weeks of training. Suitable for retraining from related fields, and for mastering a skill from scratch. Will teach:
- profiling techniques and their correct application
- correctly interpret people's behavior and draw correct conclusions
- considers different methods of the profession
Online courses and self-study can make you as high-quality a specialist as any institute. The main thing here is desire and hard work in searching for information.
Money
Profilers are paid hourly. The cost per hour depends on the complexity of the order and the authority of the profiler. If we talk about boundaries, participation in an interview costs from 15,000 to 55,000 rubles per hour, in negotiations - from 15,000 to 250,000. Training in the basics of profiling - from 30,000 to 150,000. Depending on how successful the client base has been collected profiler, he can earn from 200,000 per month or more. The best profilers receive offers from abroad, where the income level is even higher.
Prospects
There are a maximum of five good profilers in Moscow. This is a fairly narrow specialization, and people who have the necessary skills are very highly regarded. More and more people are becoming interested in profiling, although, of course, not everyone is able to master the profession. The demand for profiling training is growing especially quickly, but most graduates of such academies still do not choose profiling as their main activity, but use their skills at work: in the human resources department, in a bank, in security services. The demand for profiler services is growing steadily.
Text: Siranush Sharoyan
Photos: Ksenia Kolesnikova
Useful tips
So how do you become a profiler? Just follow a few simple tips:
- Prepare for the conversation in advance. Try to find out as much as possible about your interlocutor. Find out about his interests, hobbies, interests, values and views. If possible, explore his social media. If preliminary preparation is impossible for some reason, try talking on neutral topics.
- Ask more questions. Often people leave things out or generalize. Therefore, ask clarifying questions until you see the full picture. And remember: there should be one answer to one question. You should not go into details or indulge in lengthy discussions if they are not necessary.
- Be as focused and attentive as possible. Pay attention to gestures, facial expressions, intonation and other points.
- Don't jump to conclusions. Analyzing the information received is the most difficult thing. Therefore, do not rush, do not label a person. Think about why he gave this or that reaction. And then choose the option that suits the given situation most.
And the last piece of advice is to watch. Be careful, because the interlocutor can manipulate you, trying to evoke some emotions, for example, anger, shame, guilt or, conversely, joy and euphoria. In this state, you will not be able to adequately perceive information.
Skills
The profiler is responsible for:
- Organization and conduct of observations.
- Determination of a person’s psychotype based on external characteristics and behavioral characteristics.
- Identification of lies and truth, based on the technique of statements and speech construction.
- Finding one or another emotion of the interlocutor in microexpressions.
- Distinguishing blurred emotional expressions.
- Difference between gestures-emblems and gestures-illustrators.
- Finding leaks of reliable information.
- Using lie detection techniques.
Knowledge
Working as a profiler implies a clear distinction between truth and lies and their analysis. A “living detector” must have the art of conducting a dialogue in such a way that the interlocutor reveals himself as much as possible both from the verbal side and from the side of gestures and facial expressions.
The profiler must understand:
- Human psychology.
- Emotional psychology.
- Human physiology.
- Emotional physiology.
- Typologies and methods of deception.
- Signs of deception are not only in speech, but also in facial expressions and movements.
- Techniques and methods for detecting deception.
FAQ
Will I be able to read people after learning profiling?
To “read” people, it is not enough just to read an intelligent book. To “scan” a person you need to know the basics of psychology and be able to observe. Only in this case will it be possible to find out about a person what he is hiding.
Is it possible to determine by gestures whether a person will set me up or not?
Will he set you up or won't you set him up, no gestures are shown. But, knowing the basics of profiling, you will be able to predict a person’s behavior: whether he is deceiving you, whether he is ready to sincerely communicate with you or not. This science provides such data.
Will knowing profiling make my life easier?
This knowledge is universal. And they really make life easier. Forecast and knowledge of human psychology help prevent some mistakes or, conversely, provoke him to openness. You need to develop and study profiling even for everyday life.
Who is better at detecting lies: a profiler or a polygraph?
If a profiler is still a rather exotic phenomenon for us, then absolutely everyone has heard about a lie detector (polygraph).
Some have even undergone this procedure for various reasons. Of course, we can say that it is human nature to make mistakes, but the machine will certainly give an impartial result. But don’t forget that a machine is just a machine, and all the data it records is still analyzed by a person.
Some people mistakenly think that being a lie detector operator is quite simple, forgetting that to do this you need to have knowledge in the field of psychology, criminology, and electronics. That is, we can immediately say that working with a polygraph requires no less training than the specialty of a profiler. As a result, both of them can almost spot a liar at first glance.
On the Internet you can find many ways to help you fool a lie detector. It is indeed possible to do this, but to do this you just need to have perfect self-control and knowledge of neurophysiology. It’s the same with a profiler - you can deceive him, but to do this you need to be a very experienced liar who himself knows thoroughly all the nuances that can give away his deception.
