Hand-outs in

Lie Detection Technique

(Forensic5)

Polygraph: Meaning – Etymology: Greek polugraphos – writing copiously; popular name: Lie Detector Test; device
for measuring & recording: 1. Respiration, 2. Skin conductivity, 3. Blood pressure & Heart rate

Deception Detection – Deception: “…involves acting in such a way which leads another person to believe
something, that you, yourself, do not believe to be true.” Detection: “the act of discovering or the fact…”
Deception Detection/Lie Detection: “practice of determining whether someone is lying.”

Uses of Polygraph Examination

1. Aid in investigating criminal incidents and issues

2. Speeds up the process of investigations.
3. Eliminates innocent suspects.
4. Pre-employment screening.
5. Honesty test (periodic test).

Significance of Polygraph Examination

Criminal investigators must exert all efforts to determine lying not only on the part of the suspects but as
well as to everyone involved in the criminal act-witnesses, victims, etc.
In establishing the truth, criminal investigators apply various methods such as mechanical lie detection;
use of drugs that inhibits the “inhibitor”, hypnosis and interrogation.

Theory of Lying –
1. Bodily functions influenced by mental state;
2. Physiological changes by deception: recordable, measurable & interpretable w/ reasonable certainty;
3. Lying produces emotion of fear/anxiety: fluctuations in pulse rate, blood pressure, breathing & perspiration;
4. Physiological fluctuations: automatic, self-regulating & beyond conscious control;
5. Lying person fears detection: physiological changes;
6. Fear of detection: experienced by subject;
7. Tuning in & out – tunes in: trouble/danger, tunes out: lesser threat;
8. Polygraph Test – tunes in: most intense relevant questions; tunes out: control question & other weak relevant
questions;
9. Truthful – tunes in: control questions; tunes out: relevant ones

Physiological & Psychological Signs & Symptoms of Guilt –

1. Sweating, 2. Color change, 3. Dryness of mouth, 4. Excessive activity of Adam’s apple, 5. Fidgeting, 6. Peculiar
feeling inside, 7. Swearing to truth of his assertion, 8. Spotless past record; religious man, 9. Inability to look at
investigator straight in the eye, 10. Not that I remember expression
Kinds of Lie –
1. White/Benign Lie – for harmony of relationship;
2. Pathological Lie – can’t tell right from wrong;
3. Red Lie – communist propaganda;
4. Black Lie – intriguing to dishonor/discredit;
5. Malicious Lie/Judicial Lie – misleading /obstructing justice;
6. Fabrication – misrepresentation of truth;
7. Bold-Face Lie – obviously lying;
8. Lying by Omission – omission of important fact;
9. Lie-to-Children – to gain acceptance to children;
10. Noble Lie – to maintain law, order & safety;
11. Emergency Lie – to prevent harm to 3rd party;
12. Perjury – false testimony under oath;
13. Bluffing – pretense of capability/intention one does not possess;
14. Jocose Lies – meant to be jest; teasing & sarcasm;
15. Contextual Lies – stating part of truth out of context; 16. Promotion Lies – incredible advertisements .

Types of Liars –
1. Panic Liars: a. To avoid consequences of confession; b. Afraid of embarrassment; c. Confession worsens matter
most; 2. Occupational Liars: a. Practical liars; b. Motive of lying: higher pay off than telling truth; 3. Tournament
Liars – a. Love to lie, b. Motive of lying: challenge of not being detected; 4. Psychopathic Liars: a. Most difficult
type, b. No conscience, regret & manifestation of guilt; 5. Ethological Liars: a. Taught not to squeal, b. Squeal: slang
term – to reveal secrets of organization; 6. Pathological Liars: a. Unable to tell right from wrong, b. Insane persons;
7. Black Liars – always pretend what they are & what they think

Early and Contemporary Methods of Detecting Deception

– 1. Red Hot Iron Ordeal – Accused placed tongue to red hot iron 9 times unless burned sooner. GUILTY: tongue is
burned. 2. Ordeal by Balance – Accused placed in other end while counter balance is made. INNOCENT: lighter
than before pronouncement of accusation. 3. Boiling Water Ordeal – Accused asked to plunge right arms into
boiling water to elbow: THIEF: one w/ blisters. 4. Ordeal by Rice Chewing – Person on trial eats sathee rice then
spits; lying if: 1. saliva w/ blood or 2. corner of mouth swells or 3. person trembles. 5. Ordeal of Red Water –
Accused made to fast for 12 hrs; imbibed in dark colored water (emetic) INNOCENT: ejects all rice; GUILTY:
otherwise. 6. Combination of Drinks & Food Ordeal – Accused fasted for 12 hrs & given small amount of rice to eat
followed by large amount of black colored water. INNOCENT: concoction being vomitted. 7. Trial by Combat –
Fight between accuser & accused: loser GUILTY. 8. Trial by Torture – Accused on severe physical test. INNOCENT:
endures torture. 9. Drinking Ordeal – Accused given decoction drink by priest. INNOCENT: no harm befalls him
GUILTY: will die. 10. Trial of Eucharist – Reserved for clergy & administered w/ pomp & ceremony. GUILTY: Angel
Gabriel will descend from heaven & prevent accused from swallowing food given to him. 11. Ordeal by Heat & Fire
– Accused compelled to walk barefooted thru fire. INNOCENT: unhurt. 12. Ordeal of Boiling Oil/Water – Accused
forced to dip his hands into boiling water/oil. INNOCENT: unhurt. 13. Ordeal of Red Hot Needle – Red hot needle
drawn thru lips of accused; INNOCENT: no blood seen flowing out. 14. Ordeal of Tiger – Accuser & accused placed
together & tiger set loose upon them. 15. Test of Cross Ordeal – Accuser & accused made to stand w/ arms
crossed on their breast. TRUTHFUL: one who endured the longest. 16. Donkey’s Tail Ordeal – Donkey placed in 1
room alone. GUILTY: donkey cried
Different Methods of Detecting Deception

Forerunners of Scientific Methods: 1. Hypnosis – alteration of consciousness & concentration; subject manifests
heightened suggestibility; not admissible in court; 2. Word Association Test – questions answerable by yes or no;
concerned w/ time of response: (1) Quick answer: no relation to investigation; (2) Delayed answer: relation to
investigation; 3. Truth Serum Method – misnomer (1) not truth-inducing procedure, (2) not serum but drug; drug
used: induces state of delirium; depresses nervous system – hyoscine hybrobromide (hypodermically),
scopolamine (causes psychotic reactions); not admissible in court; 4. Narco-Analysis/Narco-Synthesis – akin to
Truth Serum Method; drug used: depresses inhibitory mechanism of brain; subject talks freely – sodium
amytal/sodium penthotal; not admissible in court; 5. Intoxication – inhibits inhibitor; commencement of question:
excitatory state; termination of question: depressive state; confession – conditional admissibility: (1) admissible:
capable to recollect facts; (2) not admissible: refuses to admit/incapable of recollection; 6. Psychological Stress
Evaluator – analysis of microtremor of voice: under stress (lying) – microtremor moderately/completely
suppressed; detects, measures, & displays voice modulations – (1) truthful: inaudible frequencies registered
clearly; lying: frequencies tend to disappear

Timeline of Modern Polygraph

– 1. Daniel Defoe: British novelist; recommended taking pulse as method of distinguishing truthfulness from lying;
2. Jacques d’ Arsonval: French scientist; External Friction: electricity generated by body – a. Sweat glands store &
discharge electricity, b. Foundation of development of galvanometer; 3. Christian Hans Stoelting - Founded
Stoelting Co: leading product supplier on physiological, psychological & psycho-physiological measurement; 4.
Angelo Mosso – Used plethysmograph in research: emotion & fear in subjects under questioning: studied effects
of these variables on cardiovascular & respiratory activity; Plethysmograph – for measuring changes in volume w/n
organ or whole body (usually resulting from fluctuations in the amount of blood or air it contains); s tudied blood
circulation & breathing patterns & their changes under certain stimuli; 1 st scientist to report experiments on
breathing, blood pressure & pulse rate; 5. Charles Samson Fere: French scientist; electro-dermal response caused
by increase in action of heart & vital energy converted w/ human emotions; human body: ability to generate,
store, discharge high voltage of static electricity; 6. Sir James Mackenzie: English heart specialist; constructed
clinical polygraph: instrument for medical examinations; capability: simultaneously record undulated line tracings
of vascular pulses; 7. Cesare Lombroso: 1st scientific instrument to detect deception; modified
hydrosphygmograph: experiments: measure physiological changes in suspect’s blood pressure & pulse rate; 1 st
person to use instrument (successfully) to determine truthfulness from deception in suspects; 8. George Sticker –
1st to suggest use of galvanograph for detecting deception; theory: galvanic skin phenomenon influenced by
exciting mental impressions; 9. Otto Veraguth: 1st to use Psychogalvanic Reflex – Electrical phenomenon due to
activity of sweat glands; 10. Hugo Munsterburg: Proposal & advocacy: Lie test based on lie detector should be
admissible in court; 11. Vittorio Benussi: Successful in detecting deception w/ pneumograph: Instrument for
recoding inhalation & exhalation; 12. William M. Marston: Contribution: verbal deception detectable by changes
in systolic blood pressure: blood pressure cuff & sphygmomanometer; also used pneumograph; Father of
Polygraph; 13. Harold Burtt: Respiratory changes indicative of deception; changes in systolic blood pressure
greater value than changes in respiration in determining deception; 14. John A. Larson: Developed Larson
Polygraph - Continuously recording: a. Blood pressure, b. Pulse, c. Respiration; psychiatrist by profession; worked
as police officer under August Vollmer; Father of Lie Detection; 15. Leonarde Keeler: Devised polygraph using
inked pens for recording changes in blood pressure, pulse rate & respiratory patterns; added psychogalvanometer
– measured changes in galvanic skin resistance; patented prototype of modern polygraph: Keeler Polygraph;
Father of modern polygraph; 16. Capt. Clarence D. Lee: Designed Lee Psychograph: a. Chart drive/recording unit,
b. Pneumograph/respiration unit, c. Cardiograph/pulse-blood pressure unit, d. Stimulus signal unit; 17. Chester W.
Darrow: Made 3rd modification to Larson Cardio-Pneumo Psychograph by adding galvanometer – a.
Psychogalvanometric record, b. Electrodes on palm & back of hand; 18. Max Wastl: Founded Lafayette Instrument
Company – leading polygraph machine distributor; 19. John E. Reid: Developed control question technique – a.
Control questions: designed to be emotionally arousing for non-deceptive subjects & less emotionally arousing for
deceptive subjects than relevant questions; b. Replaced Relevant/Irrelevant Question Technique; c. Major
breakthrough in polygraph methodology; founded 1 st polygraph school – Keeler Polygraph Institute in Chicago,
Illinois; 20. Paul Wilhelm & Donald Burns: Lie detector specialists in Michigan City, Indiana; invented Electronic
Psychometric using Electrodermal Response as basis for lie detection; 21. Cleve Backster: Developed Backster
Zone Comparison Technique: a. Alteration of Reid question sequencing, b. Quantification system of chart analysis,
c. More objective & scientific, d. Adopted as standard procedure in polygraph today

22. Joseph F. Kubis:1st researcher to computer applications to polygraph chart analysis

23. John Kircher & David Raskin: Completed software program: PolyScore – Computer Assisted Polygraph System
– Integrating 1st algorithm for measuring physiological data;
;24. Dale Olsen & Johns Harris:Completed software program: PolyScore – used sophisticated mathematical
algorithm: a. To analyze polygraph data, b. To estimate probability of deception/truthfulness