NCJ Number
182300
Journal
Polygraph Volume: 28 Issue: 4 Dated: 1999 Pages: 310-331
Date Published
1999
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study was designed to assess whether or not demographic variables and individual differences affected the outcome accuracies of Modified General Question Technique (MGQT) and Zone Comparison Test (ZCT) psychophysiological-detection-of-deception (PDD) examinations.
Abstract
The demographic variables and individual differences analyzed in this study were residence (urban/rural), income level (less or more than $20,000), gender, age, education, and role (innocent or guilty). The study used 211 military and 168 civilian examinees. A total of 232 examinees were male, and 147 examinees were female. Examiners were 24 students enrolled in the Department of defense Polygraph Institute Basic Polygraph Examiners Training Course and 3 federally certified examiners on staff at the Institute. Examiners participated in the study during the 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th weeks of the course. All examiners used standard field polygraph instruments. A variety of scenarios (rape, murder, robbery) were used to program examinees guilty or innocent. All examinations were conducted according to Institute standards and guidelines. Analyses of the data concerning income and residence were limited to data from the civilian examinees. Results suggest that these PDD techniques are relatively robust with respect to the examined demographic variables. In general, there were no significant results. The accuracies of the tested PDD techniques were not influenced by the examined demographic variables or individual differences. 32 tables; appended polygraph examination and demographic work sheet, demographic survey sheet, and statistics for all tables; and a 23-item annotated bibliography