NCJ Number
123834
Journal
Polygraph Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: (1990) Pages: 68-71
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This study was undertaken with the objective of extending evidence of TrueTest's validity using conviction and imprisonment for a crime as a criterion.
Abstract
TrueTest was developed and validated using the polygraph as an external index of honesty or integrity. In this study, TrueTest was administered to 117 prisoners in five prisons in the state of Georgia. This research extends the validation of TrueTest beyond the identification of those who do not pass a polygraph investigation to those who have been convicted after trial of a crime which warrants imprisonment. TrueTest relates to a range of crimes, and does so in a convincing manner. At the same time the study seems to be saying something about the validity of the polygraph. TrueTest, as it is currently scored, and a competent polygraph investigation are now found to correlate at the .69 level in a sample established entirely independent of those used to develop the TrueTest scoring procedure. The polygraph alone would predict criminal behavior as well as TrueTest because both instruments elicit a high incidence of confessions in guilty subjects. 5 tables. (Author abstract modified)