NCJ Number
208412
Journal
Polygraph Volume: 33 Issue: 4 Dated: 2004 Pages: 201-213
Date Published
2004
Length
13 pages
Annotation
By first attempting to understand or define the psychopath, this article examines the effectiveness of using a polygraph in detecting deception in a psychopath.
Abstract
Because of past research offering insight into the personality traits and behavioral characteristics, the psychopath is better understood today. However, this article further defines the psychopath and provides insight into the composition of the psychopath. It discusses the classification conundrum surrounding psychopaths. This assists in examining the effectiveness of psychophysiological detection of deception (PDD) or polygraph testing of individuals classified as psychopaths. The psychophysiological detection of deception research into the susceptibility of psychopaths to polygraph testing is limited. The article addresses several pieces of research to determine what the research reflects in detecting deception of a psychopath through a polygraph: Raskin, Barland, and Podlesny (1977), Raskin and Hare (1978), Hammond (1980), and Patrick and Iacono (1989). A common myth is that the psychopath’s deception is invisible to the polygraph. However limited as it is, research evidence suggests otherwise. References