What term describes the bias where investigators tend to judge statements as lies, even when they are true?

• A. Truth bias
• B. Investigator bias
• C. Cognitive bias
• D. Lie bias (investigator bias)

Answer: (D)

This describes a bias toward perceiving deception rather than truth. Investigators with this tendency tend to label statements as lies even when they are true, skewing their judgments toward deception. It’s a specific form of cognitive bias that operates in investigative contexts, and is commonly called lie bias—also described as investigator bias. This differs from truth bias, which would incline someone to assume statements are true; here the direction is toward false judgments. Understanding this helps explain why some investigations misclassify truthful statements as deceptive and highlights the importance of guarding against premature conclusions and maintaining balanced evaluation.