Group Profiling

Facial expressions, micro-expressions, gestures—these nonverbal cues can reveal deception during interviews, as they are not consciously controlled. The key is to notice and interpret these signals, a task for a profiling specialist. If you have doubts about the honesty of partners, employees, or colleagues, you can verify their statements without revealing your true intentions. Profiling allows you to discreetly assess the reliability of the information provided.

Group profiling methods are used during business negotiations, structured interviews with job candidates, and corporate investigations. A profiler prepares a structured report on the credibility of the information provided by those being tested, creates their psychological profiles, and offers recommendations for improving the team’s work environment.

Terminology

The word “profiling” comes from the English “profile.” It is a technology for evaluating verbal and nonverbal cues to detect deception, create a psychological portrait of the interlocutor, and predict their behavior. Profiling also includes projective methods for analyzing a person’s external data. Hairstyle, accessories, clothing and its color palette, facial expressions, and speech patterns all characterize a person and help identify personality traits.

Origin and Development

Profiling techniques were first used in the investigation of the Jack the Ripper murders. For a long time, profiling technologies were used by intelligence agencies to predict people’s behavior in everyday life and under stress. Profiling helps locate and apprehend criminals by determining their whereabouts.

As a comprehensive method of rapid psychological diagnostics, profiling has existed for about 10 years. Its advantages are speed, simplicity, and reliability. Rapid psychological diagnostics aims to create a psychological portrait of a person, determine their beliefs and values, motives, habits, and behavioral strategies to achieve their goals.

Profiling allows you to detect lies without instruments. The main thing is to understand what emotions and gestures mean. The ability to predict a person’s behavior improves interactions with them.

Objects of Study

During an interview, a profiler observes:

• Micro-expressions
• Gestures
• Changes in posture
• Speech patterns
• Direction of gaze
• Preferences in clothing and accessories
• Behavioral changes under stress

Behavior alone cannot serve as direct evidence of deception. Everyone is unique and reacts to lies differently. Detecting deception is possible after creating a psychological profile of the person.

Group Profiling Methods

Group profiling is a specialized field that allows for the quick identification of individuals prone to fraud and deception using specific technologies.

Structured Interview and Risk Analysis

This method assesses behavioral risks that may be hidden in resumes and biographies, such as:

• Addictions (alcohol, drugs, gambling)
• Poor credit history
• Legal issues
• Relationships with individuals exhibiting antisocial behavior

A structured interview is conducted in the form of a standard conversation. Risk profiling allows you to create a psychological portrait of the candidate in 15 minutes, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and understand how they resolve conflicts.

Properly structured interviews help obtain detailed answers to profiling questions (regarding risk factors) and uncover hidden facts.

Benefits of this method include:

• No “pressure” on employees
• Easier decision-making when selecting candidates
• Consolidated risk assessment and psychological profiling of staff

Structured Interview for Fact Verification

This group profiling method is used to detect lies during corporate investigations of theft, illicit gain, or the transfer of trade secrets to third parties.

Group profiling does not require special equipment like a polygraph (lie detector), and its reliability matches that of instrumental methods. The duration of the interview depends on the complexity of the investigation and the objectives, averaging about 40 minutes.

Fact verification interviews are conducted as informal conversations, have no medical contraindications, and usually do not provoke resistance from those being tested.

Exit Interviews

This profiling technique is based on a well-structured interview and allows for early termination of employment while preserving the company’s finances and reputation. The interview is conducted by a profiler and the departing employee’s direct supervisor. The goal is to terminate the employment contract by mutual agreement.

Profiling during exit interviews aims to:

• Save the employer’s time and money
• Minimize the risk of reputational loss from negative employee reviews
• Prevent staff demotivation

Legend-Based Interviewing

Legend-based profiling is used to detect lies during business meetings, negotiations with partners, business receptions, or corporate parties. The conversation is conducted by a profiler or a company employee, who is given a list of questions in advance, and the dialogue is recorded on video. The profiler then prepares a report on the issue under investigation. The main advantage of this technique is that the subjects are unaware they are being studied.

Individual Negotiation Model

Information is collected in advance to create a psychological profile of key individuals from a partner company. Handwriting, office interior, clothing and speech style, and photographs are analyzed. Based on this, an optimal model for business negotiations is developed.

Training sales managers and negotiators in this profiling technique does not take much time, and even beginners can use it. The effectiveness of business negotiations increases by a third when using an individual model.

Video Analysis

The profiler does not need to be present at meetings or business events. They can create a personality profile from video recordings. However, the accuracy of profiling depends on how structured the conversation is on video.

Photo Profiling

A psychological portrait can be created from high-quality, up-to-date photographs. The profiler uses two techniques:

• Physiognomy
• Visual diagnostics

This method is as reliable as psychological testing, structured interviews, and handwriting analysis. The advantage of photo profiling is its speed: processing one photo takes 5 to 15 minutes. Remote research does not require the subject’s consent.

ICDS Profiling Technique

ICDS profiling is a comprehensive system that includes concepts, models, and methods for solving tasks related to crime investigation and working with offenders.

This technique allows you to:

• Predict the behavior of a known criminal or a person suspected of a series of violent crimes
• Describe behavioral models of individuals or social groups
• Help individuals adapt to society

ICDS profiling can predict the behavior of social groups and is used for individual and group work aimed at:

• Career guidance
• Rapid psychological diagnostics and correction
• Creating psychological profiles of suspects in violent crimes for their search and apprehension
• Preparing profiles of detained individuals to develop interrogation models and verify the accuracy of their statements, as well as to develop mechanisms to motivate cooperation with law enforcement
• Identifying individuals planning terrorist acts on planes, trains, buses, or during mass events
• Locating individuals with mental disorders who pose a threat to society

Applications of Group Profiling

Group profiling is used to solve the following tasks:

• Recruitment for vacant positions
• Investigation of corporate violations
• Development of group motivation techniques for employees
• Assessment of staff performance
• Verification of information provided by partners during business negotiations
• Improving the effectiveness of business negotiations and meetings
• Developing advertising campaigns tailored to target groups
• Identifying basic behavioral scenarios among staff
• Identifying archetypes and their influence on various social groups
• Developing technologies for changing habitual behavioral scenarios in test groups
• Developing and implementing collective behavioral scenarios to enhance the company’s image
• Creating a profile of the company’s corporate culture: meta-program, value, and characterological profiles
• Improving the team’s work environment

Group profiling focuses on studying and understanding human resources and the interactions of different social groups. Using group profiling technologies helps detect deception, build effective teams, motivate employees to perform their duties well, and prevent corporate violations.