National Security Students Learn the ‘Magic’ of Understanding Deception

Liam Orsini ’24 practices making several silver coins disappear one by one. He’s learning how to perform the trick seamlessly while anticipating what his audience is thinking and feeling. Not only is mastering this trick fun, it’s an exercise in understanding deception.

Orsini is learning from one of the world’s foremost experts in understanding deception and how the mind works. He recently returned from studying abroad at the University’s campus in Prato, Italy, where he took “Issues and Deception” with Charles “Andy” Morgan, M.D., M.A., a forensic psychiatrist, former intelligence officer, and neuroscientist. The trick was part of a class assignment, enabling Orsini and his classmates to study deception in a hands-on and novel way.

In working to master two magic tricks, students learned about the science of deception, including how it feels on a personal level. When performing a magic trick, which by its nature requires deception, students gain an understanding of the major components of being deceptive – anxiety and fear – known as a “cognitive load.” The magic tricks help students appreciate and experience these components in a fun and safe way.

“By practicing this, improving our skills, and convincingly completing the trick, we’re utilizing what we’ve learned in class,” said Orsini, who is pursuing a degree in national security. “The trick is an example of deception. The purpose is to deceive the person observing it, and we talked about the different components of deception in class. Now we’re figuring out how they apply to the trick, and I’m trying to determine if the person watching picks up on what I’m doing.”

Dr. Morgan demonstrates one of the magic tricks the students learned

‘Much harder than people think’

The class is a unique and hands-on way for students to learn about the science behind determining whether someone is lying, a skill directly transferrable to interviewing. Students have their own story they want to tell – that they are making the coins disappear – and the story they don’t want to tell because they’re hiding something. Like a suspect who is fabricating in, say, a police interrogation, the students performing the trick are saying one thing and doing another, and they have to convince their audience.

Dr. Morgan likes to find creative and fun ways to engage his students. While in Italy, he also taught “World of Spies and Espionage,” in which students explored the world of spying and espionage as it is represented in the world of feature films. While watching movies, they focus on the narrative. They questioned what the world depicted in these films would look like if it were real, as well as why individuals are betrayed and what the rules are. Films, says Dr. Morgan, can provide an invaluable insight into implicit meaning. He hopes this, as well as “Issues and Deception,” can help students apply what they’ve learned to the “real world.

“The reason deception can work, if you’re working at the CIA or the NSA or any of the other agencies, is that time, effort, and planning go into successful operations,” said Dr. Morgan, a national security professor at the University who spent much of the fall semester with students in Italy. “It’s not easy to be deceptive in a convincing way. It’s actually much harder than people think.”

‘It’s awesome’

While performing their magic tricks, students must manage executing the trick properly and convincing their audience while also handing the cognitive load of deception. They’re trying to tell a story while simultaneously hiding what they’re really doing.

While Kalyssa Ward-Hill ’24 insists she does not like lying, she says the class – and learning the magic tricks – has been eye-opening. “Issues and Deception” was the first class she took with Dr. Morgan, and she enjoyed surprising her audience while performing the magic tricks.

“It helps teach us about how people could say or do one thing but use disguises,” said Ward-Hill, an international affairs major. “It’s awesome. Dr. Morgan makes it fun. If you get it wrong, it’s not a big deal. He’ll teach you.”

‘Mimicking reality’

Dr. Morgan wants to make sure his students master the tricks. They have time in class to practice, and at the end of the course, the students perform their tricks for their classmates, professor, and a panel of judges. They are scored on their technical and presentation abilities. The assignment teaches them that deception takes practice, something they come to understand and appreciate firsthand.

“Skill doesn’t matter if you can’t convince the person watching,” said Tom Woods ’23, who is pursuing a national security degree. “They have to believe it. They think the coin disappears. This is a perfect way to demonstrate what we’ve learned instead of simply a classroom lecture.”

For Orsini, the member of the University’s national security program, the class was a great way to learn about deception firsthand while having fun learning magic tricks with his in classmates – all while studying abroad in Italy.

“It’s mimicking reality,” he said. “The stakes are low, but still you want to do it convincingly.”