Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

othello error

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.98 in modern English

Syllables: oth-el-lo er-ror
IPA

15

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

4

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An erroneous conclusion that someone is lying based on signs of stress.

Example Sentences

"Out of such turmoil, it must be expected that some significant percent of Othello errors (false positives) will subsequently be improperly scored as hits when innocent subjects "confess" in return for a reduced charge."
"The relatively low accuracy rates for detecting truths in CQT polygraph research (discussed before) is perhaps the result of the Othello error (Ofshe & Leo, 1997)."
"Ekman said the Othello error stems from a truthful person being afraid of not being believed."
"The Othello error is a common occurrence in traditional lie detection, which departs from the stress-based approach to lying."

Etymology

From Shakespeare's play Othello, in which the title character misinterprets his wife's distress as proof of her infidelity.

Inflected Forms

Othello errors (plural)

Questions

What does othello error mean?: An erroneous conclusion that someone is lying based on signs of stress.
Where does othello error come from?: From Shakespeare's play Othello, in which the title character misinterprets his wife's distress as proof of her infidelity.

How to pronounce othello error

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