NCJ Number
95065
Journal
Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1984) Pages: 267-276
Date Published
1984
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Much of the discrepancy in the findings of laboratory studies of the detection of deception during polygraph tests is attributable to differences in electrodermal habituation rates and to the factors which affect them.
Abstract
The study's subjects were 270 volunteers enrolled in selected criminal justice classes at a large midwestern university during 1977. The subjects were randomly assigned (in groups of 15 males and 15 females) to 8 experimental groups. They committed mock contract murders of victims represented by an image on a screen. Victims wore different uniforms depicting specific occupations. Subjects then completed a polygraph, receiving extra credit if they could successfully mislead the examiner on three of the five tests. Some subjects received placebos and were told that these would either help or hinder them in misleading the examiner. Others were given similarly arbitrary feedback regarding a demonstration card test. A standard field polygraph recorded the subjects' respiration and skin resistance responses during the detection of deception testing. On each of the polygraph tests, fewer subjects had skin resistance responses (SRR) on the irrelevant questions than on the relevant questions. The proportions of SRR responses also decreased with each succeeding question series. Additional results, theoretical and practical implications, data tables, and a list of 35 references are included.