The Role of Comparison Questions in Physiological Detection of Deception

Steven W. Horowitz, John C. Kircher, Charles R. Honts, David C. Raskin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

Comparison questions in physiological detection of deception were studied with 60 “guilty’ and 60 “innocent’ participants in a mock crime experiment. Different types of comparison questions were used in four conditions: relevant–irrelevant (R-I) participants answered only relevant and neutral questions; trivial directed lie participants were instructed to lie to three of the six neutral questions; personal directed lie participants were instructed to lie to personally relevant questions; and probable lie participants received traditional probable lie comparison questions. Respiration, cardiovascular, vasomotor, and electrodermal activity were recorded. Manipulation of the comparison questions produced different patterns of physiological responses for innocent but not for guilty participants. The R-I test produced an unacceptable rate of false positive decisions.

Original languageAmerican English
JournalPsychophysiology
StatePublished - 1 Jan 1997

Keywords

  • control question test
  • detection of deception
  • directed lies
  • probable lies
  • relevant–irrelevant test

EGS Disciplines

  • Psychiatry and Psychology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Role of Comparison Questions in Physiological Detection of Deception'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this