Professor Aldert Vrij
Biography
I was awarded my PhD in 1991 at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and came to the UK in 1994, when I joined the Psychology Department as a Senior Lecturer. In 1996 I was promoted to Reader and in 2000 to my current position: Professor of Applied Social Psychology.
Research interests
My main research interest is deception, resulting in more than 600 publications and more than 30,000 citations. I received grants from British Research Councils, Trusts and Foundations, Insurers, Federal Bureau of Investigation and American, British, Dutch, and Singapore Governments, totalling > $11,500,000.
I work closely with practitioners (police, security services and insurers) in terms of conducting research and disseminating its findings. My book Detecting Lies and Deceit: Pitfalls and Opportunities (published by Wiley) is a comprehensive overview of research into (non)verbal and physiological deception and lie detection.
In 2016 I received the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iiiRG) Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of my significant contribution to investigative interviewing.
Research outputs
2026
The efficacy of cognitive credibility assessment to detect omission lies, embedded lies and total fabrications
Vrij, A., Mann, S., Leal, S., Deeb, H., Giorgianni, D.
28 Jul 2026, In: Applied Cognitive Psychology. 40, 4, 14p., e70246
Research output: Article
The practical relevance of investigative interviewing research: applying the EMMIE framework to bridge the research-practice gap
Palena, N., Ruiter, S., Vrij, A., Ashkenazi, T., Fisher, R. P.
16 Jun 2026, In: Police Practice and Research
Research output: Article
Effects of evidential and non-evidential interrogation techniques on suspects' perception of evidence in South Korea
Jang, M., Luke, T. J., Granhag, P. A., Vrij, A., Kim, M.
1 Jun 2026, In: Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. 23, 2, e70011
Research output: Article
Indicadores verbales de las mentiras por omisión: el efecto del tamaño de la omisión y el significado de la parte narrativa en las señales verbales de veracidad
Vrij, A., Leal, S., Deeb, H., Giorgianni, D., Fisher, R. P.
5 May 2026, In: The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context. 18, 13p., e260179
Research output: Article
Impacts of physical and testimonial evidence on South Korean police interrogator’s selection of tactics
Jang, M., Luke, T. J., Granhag, P. A., Vrij, A., Woohyun, L.
1 May 2026, In: Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. 33, 3, p. 603-626
Research output: Article
Identificazione verbale della menzogna nelle interviste investigative
Vrij, A., Giorgianni, D.
1 Mar 2026, In: Giornale Italiano di Psicologia. 53, 1, p. 197–223
Research output: Article
Assessing lying about opinions through extending the devil's advocate interview protocol with a same example statement
Leal, S., Vrij, A., Deeb, H., Giorgianni, D., Geermann, L., Fisher, R. P.
1 Mar 2026, In: Acta Psychologica. 263, 17p., 106278
Research output: Article
2025
License to spill: the influence of moral licensing survey primes on deviant behavior reporting
Whitman, K. M., Cox, J., Murad, Z., Vrij, A.
4 Dec 2025, In: Deviant Behavior
Research output: Article
The segmented interview: partitioning the initial free recall topics into segments to enhance information gathering and lie detection
Deeb, H., Vrij, A., Severino, M., Leal, S.
1 Sep 2025, In: Behavioral Sciences. 15, 9, 20p., 1163
Research output: Article
The effect of the interviewer’s cognitive load on the quality of the forensic interview
Giorgianni, D., Vrij, A., Leal, S., Deeb, H.
1 Jul 2025, In: The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context. 17, 2, p. 101-110
Research output: Article