How to decode human behaviour patterns

Growing up in a Caribbean home, I learned to read people long before I could articulate what I was observing. The subtle shift in an elder’s posture, the way someone’s eyes avoided contact during certain conversations, the nervous tapping of fingers on a table during difficult discussions, these were the unspoken dialects of our community. Today, as both a behavior specialist and journalist, I have discovered a system that validates what many of us intuitively knew: human behaviour follows patterns that can be systematically understood.

The Behavioral Table of Elements (BTE), developed by Chase Hughes, offers what traditional lie detection methods have long promised but failed to deliver: a reliable way to interpret human behaviour. Unlike the polygraph, which Hughes aptly compares to “a coin toss” in accuracy, the BTE provides a structured approach to decoding the subtle signals we all emit.

“We have always known that truth resides not just in words, but in the entirety of human expression.”

What fascinates me about this system is how it mirrors the intuitive wisdom passed down through generations in Caribbean communities. We have always known that truth resides not just in words, but in the entirety of human expression. The BTE simply gives scientific language to this ancestral knowledge.

Structured like chemistry’s periodic table, the BTE organizes behaviours from head to feet, with the least stressful indicators on the left and increasingly deceptive signals toward the right. Each behaviour receives a Deception Rating Scale (DRS) value, creating a cumulative score that reveals patterns rather than relying on isolated gestures.

The colour coding reminds me of how we use different tones in Caribbean storytelling to convey meaning. Green indicates comfort and truthfulness, while grey signals high stress or potential deception. The turquoise sections capturing micro-expressions particularly resonate with me; those fleeting facial movements that betray our carefully constructed narratives.

In my work with communities across the diaspora, I have seen how power imbalances can make authentic communication challenging. The BTE offers a way to level the playing field, providing tools to understand what remains unsaid in professional settings, community meetings, or even family gatherings where difficult truths must navigate cultural expectations of respect and harmony.

What makes this system revolutionary is its foundation in evidence rather than intuition alone. Each behaviour in the table is supported by at least four research references, transforming what was once an art into a replicable science.

The applications extend far beyond law enforcement and interrogation. In community education, I have seen how understanding these behavioural patterns can improve communication between generations, help educators better support students, and assist leaders in addressing conflicts before they escalate.

As I reflect on the elders who first taught me to read between the lines, I realize they were master behaviour analysts without the formal terminology. They understood that truth lives in the constellation of our behaviours, not merely in our words.

The Behavioral Table of Elements simply gives us a shared language to discuss what we’ve always known: that human communication happens on multiple levels simultaneously, and to truly understand one another, we must learn to listen with more than just our ears.