Validity of The Positive Control Polygraph Test: Comments on Forman and McCauley

• NCJ Number: 122821
• Journal: Polygraph Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: (1989) Pages: 158-167
• Author(s): C R Honts; L N Driscoll
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Theoretical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

In 1986, Forman and McCauley reported a laboratory mock experiment where they contrasted the validity of positive control, guilt knowledge, and control detection of deception techniques.

Abstract

They concluded that the positive control was a superior technique and they made a strong case for enhanced generalizability of the results obtained with their field practice model over the results of other mock crime paradigms. We examined the Forman and McCauley claims and concluded that their field practice model has no claim to enhanced generalizability over other mock crime paradigms. Our analysis indicated that the Forman and McCauley results with the guilty knowledge and control questions techniques were suspect since the Forman and McCauley raters achieved unusually lower and unacceptable interrater reliabilities with techniques that are usually very reliable. Further analyses compared the Forman and McCauley results with the results of another experiment (Driscoll, Honts, and Jones, 1987) and it was concluded that the control test is not a superior detector of deception technique. 1 table, 35 references. (Author abstract)