Cues such as laughs, coughs, or clearing the throat immediately after a denial are indicators of deception. They are known as ______ behavior.

• A. Leakage
• B. Microexpressions
• C. Evasion
• D. Erasure behavior

Answer: (D)

These cues illustrate leakage behavior, the involuntary spillover of true thoughts and emotions when someone is trying to lie or disguise what they really think. Laughs, coughs, or clearing the throat right after a denial show the body reacting to the cognitive and emotional load of deception, even as the verbal denial tries to appear firm. They’re not deliberate evasion or an attempt to erase traces; they’re signs the inner state is leaking through. Microexpressions are very brief facial expressions that can accompany leakage, but they’re a specific type of leakage rather than the general term for these cues. Erasure behavior would imply intentional attempts to delete or remove evidence after deception, which isn’t what these cues describe.