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Lie detection and the polygraph: A historical review
Abstract
The search for a reliable means to detect deception has a long history. Because of the poor ability of most people, even professional ‘lie catchers’, to identify when someone is lying, a wide range of techniques have been developed to assist in lie detection. The link between physiological arousal and deception has been recognised for centuries, and in the nineteenth century scientists began to experiment with instruments that could measure this. The modern polygraph, which recorded changes in a number of physiological parameters, was developed in the early 1920s, with instruments designed to record changes in respiration, cardiovascular activity and sweat gland activity (forerunners to the modern polygraph) appearing in the 1930s. Since then the use of the polygraph as a ‘lie detector’ has been associated with controversy, with advocates and opponents exchanging blows often based on partial facts and full opinions. This article reviews the development of polygraphy, focusing on its emergence in the United States and to some extent in England, but also considers its role in newer applications, particularly sex offender treatment and supervision.
... Así, al enfrentarse a ellos, se mate-rializa para el sujeto el carácter impersonal de una autoridad científica. Por lo tanto, este conjunto del experto científico y el instrumento, en un entorno en el que la configuración experimental del psicólogo coincide con la del interrogatorio, sostiene el mecanismo circular de la evocación del miedo y su medición (Grubin & Madsen, 2005). ...
... A la luz del prometedor futuro de los psicólogos y los especialistas, se podría cuestionar en qué medida el desarrollo de la detección de la mentira como disciplina provocó la exclusión continua de las pruebas de detección de los tribunales (Grubin & Madsen, 2005). ...
Este artículo analiza la jurisprudencia existente en España relacionada con la validez de la aplicación de diferentes procedimientos conocidos como detectores de mentiras y su aceptación en procesos judiciales. Se aborda la psicología del testimonio como un antecedente que valora la credibilidad de los declarantes, pero no la veracidad de su declaración. Se establece que estas pruebas son mayoritariamente solicitadas por el propio imputado para demostrar su inocencia con base en la credibilidad de su testimonio, pero sin aportar otro tipo de pruebas. El análisis muestra un rechazo al uso de estas herramientas en procesos judiciales, lo cual se explica porque falta mayor experimentación para obtener declaraciones auténticas y se desconocen estos procesos. Para ello, estos métodos siempre deben respaldarse por otro tipo de pruebas válidas.
... The Concealed Information Test or Guilty Knowledge Test by David Lykken is another predominantly used technique in polygraph examinations (Synnott et al., 2015;Bartol, 2019). There were multitudes of criticism doled upon the polygraph's extensive use by the law enforcement and judicial institutions despite the lack of scientific evidence (Grubin & Madsen, 2005;Meijer & Verschuere, 2015). However, the core ideas behind the functioning of a polygraph and lie detection via emotional responses that elicit physiological and neurological indicators remain relevant to this day, as can be seen in the case of Ryan Brunn, whose guilt was proven mainly and supported by the polygraph examination that he was given (Basu, 2012). ...
This project was submitted for the fulfilment of the course - 'Introduction to Forensic Psychology' to Dr Jayasankara Reddy, Department of Psychology, as part of the Bachelor of Arts degree, Christ (Deemed To Be University).
... The psychophysiological literature has many contradictory claims on the extent by which emotional responses can identify deception. [Fabiani et al.,2000 ;Grubin et al.,2005] hence polygraph testing gives false positives and false negatives if the subject is too emotional to handle the pressure of a testing or the subject is trained to lie perfectly and keep his autonomic responses in check, respectively. Besides the polygraph testing can be extremely stressful and invasive for the suspects. ...
Abstract:
Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature Profiling (BEOSP), also referred to as Brain fingerprinting developed by Dr. Farwell in 1991, is a neuro-psychological method used for studying the response of the Brain to the presence or absence of a piece of information. It is based on the detection of P300 or P300 MERMER response elicited on encountering a stimulus previously stored in the brain as a form of memory. It is a noninvasive, unbiased and efficient method of interrogation of suspects and militants. It is a variant of guilty knowledge testing. It results in the form of information present or information absent which is then used to determine if the person is guilty or not. Unlike polygraph testing it is not based on autonomous nervous system (ANS) response thus avoiding emotional manipulations and outbursts. It is solely computer based technique performed using a digital electroencephalogram that measures the presence or absence of electrical brain waves in the brain through electrodes placed in the scalp region of the forehead. It has shown 100% accuracy in various tests conducted by Dr. Farwell in 2012. Though there has been criticism on the methods of Farwell but till date there is no such countermeasure or denial of the technique. Hence it is one of the most promising techniques in the field of neuroscience and criminology. Besides, we can make it more effective and widespread by performing more independent tests and making the technique cost effective and available to all.
Geneseprozesse von Sicherheitstechnologien sind von Grund auf diskursiv gerahmt, da das als innovatorische Triebkraft wirkende Sicherheitsrisiko selbst diskursiv konstituiert ist. Dieses reziproke Verhältnis zwischen Sicherheitstechnologien und der Diskursivität von Sicherheitsprogrammen bildet die Hintergrundfolie des Beitrags. Konkretisiert am Beispiel der modernen Lügendetektionsverfahren, wie sie seit den Anschlagen vom 11. September 2001 in Sicherheitsprogrammen eingebunden werden, analysiert der Beitrag die Zirkularität zwischen diskursiven Sicherheitsinnovationen und materialen Technologien. Dabei verweist er auf die analytische Relevanz der Techniksoziologie und der Innovationstheorie für die Diskursforschung.
Classical polygraph screenings are routinely used by critical businesses such as banking, law enforcement agencies, and federal governments. A major concern of scienti�c communities is that screenings are prone to errors. However, screening errors are not only due to the method, but also due to human (polygraph examiner) error. Here we show application of machine learning (ML) to detect examiner errors. From an ML perspective, we trained an error detection model in the absence of labeled errors. From a practical perspective, we devised and tested successfully a second-opinion tool to �nd human errors in examiners’ conclusions, thus reducing subjectivity of polygraph screenings. We report novel features that uplift the model’s accuracy, and experimental results on whether people lie differently on different topics. We anticipate our results to be a step towards rethinking classical polygraph practices.
Although the technical and psychological accuracy of the polygraph has been contested almost since the device’s inception, it continues to enjoy substantial popularity within law enforcement and federal agencies throughout North America. This paper excavates the sexual politics of the polygraph focused on two key arenas where the polygraph has been a popular and powerful tool: identifying LGBTQ applicants and employees within federal agencies and determining parole for convicted sex offenders. Key questions guiding this analysis include the following: What are the relationships between the polygraph and disciplining sexual deviance? How does the polygraph fit within a larger history of surveilling and controlling sexual alterity? Drawing on theories of affect and spectacle, the paper unravels the polygraph’s role as an accomplice to state-sanctioned projects of heteronormativity. Through analysis of training materials, practitioner memoirs, and policy guidelines, the polygraph is situated as an early precursor to surveillance infrastructure that attempts to identify, manage, and predict deviant sexuality.
Sex offenders have great incentive to deny and/or minimize their offense, and both researchers and treatment providers regularly encounter their socially desirable response patterns. Despite the importance of distinguishing those who are lying about their innocence from those who are truly not culpable, law enforcement agencies and clinicians have few resources, other than the polygraph, to discern false denial from truthful, actual denial using scientifically supported methods. The Analysis of Patterns of Denial (APOD), a checklist of denial techniques, was developed to assist in making this distinction. It was developed by comparing a sample of guilty persons who denied their offense conduct with persons who were falsely accused (i.e., accused and investigated but later convincingly cleared by polygraph, a DNA non-match, and/or confession by another person). Items that satisfactorily discriminated between the two groups were retained in the final checklist. The APOD is intended to help those who work with sex offenders identify denial response patterns to more accurately determine if an alleged sex offender is being truthful or deceptive.
A lie is not the truth, a common definition found in each dictionary or encyclopaedia. Humans use it in different situations and for various reasons, but in the case of forensics, recruitment, and trust in the company or family, it can be curtailed in order to avoid it or to detect it. One of the possible detection tools is the polygraph, whereby lies may be registered and interpreted by means of physiological activities controlled by the autonomic nervous system, such as sweating, trembling, or changes in breathing or in the heart rate. The analyses of the aforementioned parameters are monitored in response to questions, thus, providing information about a possible lie. Questions should be asked according to one of the approved protocols and given procedures and algorithms, which are constantly developed and revised to provide the best possible results.
The study examined whether periodic polygraph testing in sex offenders acted as a deterrent for engaging in risk behaviour. Fifty community-based male sex offenders were allocated into two groups: a 'Polygraph Aware' group where participants were told to expect a polygraph test, and a 'Polygraph Unaware' group. Relevant behaviours reflecting varying degrees of seriousness (Low, Medium and High) were identified at initial baseline interviews. Both groups were polygraphed after 3 months and then again at 6 months. Thirty-two subjects (64%) attended the first polygraph examination, 31 (97%) of whom disclosed relevant behaviours. There was no significant difference in the seriousness of behaviours reported between the two conditions. All subjects were told to expect a second polygraph. Twenty-one subjects (42%) completed the second polygraph test, with 71% disclosing relevant behaviours. There was a significant decrease in the seriousness of behaviours reported when compared with the first test. It was concluded that polygraph testing had an impact on the level of seriousness of the risk behaviours engaged in by sex offenders, but this only occurred after experience of the test itself. The high refusal and attrition rates suggested that some offenders sought to avoid the polygraph.
Men and women (20 each) were videotaped while describing someone they liked, someone they disliked, someone they were ambivalent about, someone they were indifferent about, someone they liked as though they disliked him or her, and someone they disliked as though they liked him or her. Accuracy at detecting that some deception had occurred was far greater than accuracy at detecting the true underlying affect, and Ss who were good at detecting that deception was occurring were not particularly skilled at reading the speakers' underlying affects. However, Ss whose deception attempts were more easily detected by others also had their underlying affects read more easily. Speakers whose lies were seen more readily by men also had their lies seen more readily by women, and observers better able to see the underlying affects of women were better able to see the underlying affects of men. Skill at lying successfully was unrelated to skill at catching others in their lies. A histrionic strategy (hamming) was very effective in deceiving others, and this strategy was employed more by more Machiavellian Ss, who also tended to get caught less often in their lies. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
Following a review of federal policies on polygraph testing for investigations and preemployment screening in the 1960s and 1970s, the events following a 1983 Reagan directive requiring polygraph testing in the investigation of security leaks are detailed. The General Accounting Office and the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) were asked by Congress to examine the validity and reliability of polygraph testing. OTA found serious limitations and widely differing results in its review of polygraph validity and reliability research. As a result legislation was introduced to limit polygraph use in criminal investigation and prohibit its use for any screening purposes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Post Conviction Clinical Polygraph Examination Testing (Lie Detector Testing) offers significant opportunities for assessing, treating and monitoring sex offenders. This article briefly reviews the historical development of polygraph techniques including the physiological measures employed, the administration of the polygraph and the interpretation of data collected. Criticisms of polygraphy are explored and information concerning the scientific acceptability of these procedures is given. The current influence of polygraphy in sex offender work is reviewed. Evidence is given of the utility of polygraphy in reducing denial, improving treatment outcomes and more effectively supervising sex offenders on probation or license. Cost benefit considerations are examined, as well as the need for further controlled research and future regulation of the polygraph, if it is to be introduced in Britain. Planned UK Trials are described.
The role of on-the-job experience in fostering skill at detecting deception was examined. A deception-detection test was administered to three samples of more than 100 subjects each: a group of undergraduates with no special experiences at detecting deceit; a group of new recruits to a federal law enforcement training program, who had some limited on-the-job experience at detecting deceit; and a group of advanced federal law enforcement officers, with years of experience working at jobs in which the detection of deception is very important. Although the officer samples were more confident about their judgments of deceptiveness than were the students, they were no more accurate than the students. None of the three groups showed a significant improvement in deception-detection success from the first half to the second half of the test; however, the advanced officers felt increasingly confident about their performance as they progressed through the test. Correlational analyses of the relationship between accuracy and confidence provided further evidence that experience does not improve people's awareness oi the accuracy or inaccuracy of their judgments. The findings from this research are compared to the results of research on other kinds of professional decision-makers (e.g., clinical psychologists), and several theoretical perspectives on the role of experience in decision making are discussed.
A field study of the control question test (CQT) for the detection of deception was conducted. Data from the files of 41 criminal cases were examined for confirming information and were rated by two evaluators on the strength of the confirming information. Those ratings were found to be highly reliable, r = .94. Thirty-two of the cases were found to have some independent confirmation. Numerical scores and decisions from the original examiners and an independent evaluation were analyzed. The results indicated that the CQT was a highly valid discriminator. Excluding inconclusives, the decisions of the original examiners were correct 96% of the time, and the independent evaluations were 93% correct. These results suggest that criteria other than confession can be developed and used reliably. In addition, the validity of the CQT in real-world settings was supported.