Rehearsal is effective only under which condition?

• A. When liars anticipate questions.
• B. When questions are unanticipated.
• C. When truth-tellers lie.
• D. When no cognitive load.

Answer: (A)

Rehearsal helps reduce the cognitive load on someone who is lying by allowing them to plan and memorize a plausible sequence of events. When a liar expects what questions will come, they can practice key details, transitions, and phrasing, resulting in a more coherent, fluent, and credible account under the pressure of questioning. The interview setting demands you keep track of the story, avoid contradictions, and respond smoothly; rehearsed responses make all of that easier and less error-prone. If questions are unanticipated, the liar can’t rely on prepped content and must improvise, which tends to produce inconsistencies, awkward phrasing, or noticeable hesitation—undermining credibility. Truth-tellers, anchored in genuine memory, don’t reap the same musical benefit from rehearsal, so the advantage remains specific to fabricated accounts. In short, rehearsal is most effective when liars anticipate questions.