Mental and Physical Countermeasures Reduce the Accuracy of the Concealed Knowledge Test

Charles R. Honts, Mary K. Devitt, Marcus Winbush, John C. Kircher

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The effects of a physical (pressing the toes to the floor) and a mental (counting backward by sevens) countermeasure on the concealed knowledge test (CKT) were examined in a mock crime experiment with 40 subjects. Some knowledgeable subjects were informed about the nature of the CKT and were trained in the use of a countermeasure, whereas others remained uninformed. All subjects were offered a monetary reward if they could produce a truthful outcome. Subjects were tested using standard field techniques and instrumentation. The physical and, to a lesser extent, the mental countermeasures reduced the accuracy of the CKT. These results clearly demonstrate that the CKT has no special immunity to the effects of countermeasures.

Original languageAmerican English
JournalPsychological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations
StatePublished - 1 Jan 1996

Keywords

  • concealed knowledge test
  • countermeasures
  • guilty knowledge test
  • lie detection
  • statistical decision making

EGS Disciplines

  • Psychiatry and Psychology

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