Page:CIAdeceptionMaximsFactFolklore 1980.pdf/54

C00036554 == Turning These Around: Implications for Counter-Deception ==

Though the above principles are framed in terms of what factors are associated with deception success, they have implications for countering deception. Thus, for example, the injunction to capitalize upon a victim's preconceptions (Maxim 1) suggests that it is important to examine one's own "givens" for exploitable weaknesses, a manifestly correct if not altogether pleasant conclusion; witness the unpopularity of the advocatus diaboli. Similarly, Jones' Lemma cautions against overreliance upon one channel of information and suggests the benefits of redundant "sensors" to detect incongruities. A third example is Axelrod's caution to consider the stakes involved when evaluating the historical record of an opponent's choices.

Time and space constraints do not permit a full elaboration of the counter-deception implications of these principles — a work deferred for the future.

A Need to Broaden the Perspective
The above maxims were developed principally in the context of military rather than political cases, though