Detecting deception

Question 1

What is a polygraph?

Answer 1

A device that measures autonomic changes in the nervous system, sweat levels and blood pressure, in response to various questions

Question 2

What are three uses of a polygraph?

Answer 2

i. Can be used for investigating crime
ii. Insurance companies use them on insurance claims
iii. Government agencies use them for hiring people

Question 3

What are the two types of polygraph tests?

Answer 3

Comparison question test and concealed information test

Question 4

Define a comparison question test

Answer 4

1. Includes irrelevant questions that are unrelated to the crime, relevant questions concerning the crime being investigated, and comparison questions concerning the person’s honesty and past history prior to the event being investigated

Question 5

Define comparison questions

Answer 5

questions designed to be emotionally arousing, and indicate emotional response in the absence of lying

Question 6

Define concealed information tests

Answer 6

Use of MC questions pertaining to crime, where each question has a “critical” choice that will only elicit a reaction in a guilty person (ideally)

Question 7

What is the biggest problem with the comparison question test?

Answer 7

High false positive rate: identifies guilty people, but also passes guilt on innocent people

Question 8

What is the biggest problem with the concealed information test?

Answer 8

High false negative rate: identifies innocent people, but also incorrectly labels guilty people as innocent

Question 9

Why are polygraphs inadmissible in court?

Answer 9

Aside from high rates of bad accuracy, jurors may be swayed by the polygraph, even in the face of more convicting evidence.

Question 10

Define event-related brain potentials in the context of deception detection

Answer 10

Measures brain potentials that will increase in guilty people when presented with crime-specific information.

Question 11

What are four verbal cues of deception?

Answer 11

1. Speech fillers
2. Speech pauses
3. High pitch of voice
4. High rate of speech

Question 12

What are four non-verbal cues for detecting deception

Answer 12

1. Gaze aversion
2. Smiling less
3. Blinking less
4. Fidgeting less

Question 13

What are the best indicators for detecting liars?

Answer 13

a. Provide fewer details than truth tellers
b. Less compelling accounts than truth tellers, less likely to be a story that makes sense
c. Less cooperative and more nervous
d. Less likely to spontaneously correct story

Question 14

According to Spore and Schartz, what are the two best verbal cues?

Answer 14

High pitch of voice and speech pauses/ errors

Question 15

According to Spore and Schartz, what are the three best non-verbal cues?

Answer 15

Decrease in…

1. Nodding
2. Moving the feet
3. Hand movement

Question 16

How mauch better are lie -catchers like police and judges than normal people

Answer 16

55.5% compared to 54.2%

Question 17

What group was especially good at detecting lies, and what was their explanation?

Answer 17

Secret Service
1/3 were accurate 80% of the time
- they use multiple cues, not just one

Question 18

What is a Factitious Disorder?

Answer 18

i. Symptoms are intentionally produced
ii. There is no external incentive; its likely internalized
iii. They may be aware that they are faking, but don’t understand why they do it

Question 19

Define Munchausen syndrome

Answer 19

i. Induces physical complaint, seeks doctor, even when they know it is fake
ii. May inject poison or contaminate wounds to maintain disorder

Question 20

Define somatoform disorder

Answer 20

i. Physical symptoms suggest illness that cannot be fully explained by underlying physiological disorder
1. NOTE: symptoms are not physically produced
ii. Eventually deferred to a psychiatrist,
iii. Associated with anxiety/ depression