Psychological Aspects of Polygraphy

Criminal Psychology - is a science which deals with the study in the behavior of criminals

Abnormal Behavior - is simply a label given to behavior that is deviant from social
expectations/norm.

Biological Background of Behavior

The human being is the product of heredity, environment, and education (training).
At birth, man is consider blank except for reflexes which are necessary for his survival. Some of
these reflexes are the following: sucking, swallowing, crying and others.

ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Heredity- transmission of physical and mental traits of the parents to offspring.

2. Environment- plays important role to

developed an individual to criminality.

Maladaptive behavior- if the behavior interferes with optional functioning and growth
(maladjustment)

THEORIES OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR

Biological Viewpoint- it is the cell of the body that controls the thoughts in reactions of the mind.
Malfunctioning of the nerve cells cause abnormal behavior. It is body over mind.
Intrapsychic Viewpoint- behavior or actions of a person can be explained in terms of his perceptions,
motives, values.
Social/ Behavioral Viewpoint- thoughts and behaviors of the individual is greatly influenced by the
people and things around him.
Holistic Approach- people are being complex system made up of interacting parts.

TYPES OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR

NEUROSIS- when abnormal reaction patterns are either

mildly serious incapacitating but there is no loss of contact with reality.

a. Feeling of inadequacy
b. Avoidance instead of coping
c. Self defeating behavior and blocked personal growth

2. PSYCHOSIS- when abnormal reaction pattern includes severe disturbances characterized partial
or complete loss of contact with reality.

a. Marked impairment of contact with reality

b. Severe impairment of personal and social functioning
CAUSES OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR

1. Biological – brain malfunctioning due to organic conditions.

a. Syphilitic Infection
b. Drug Intoxication
c. Nutritional Deficiencies
2. Psychoanalytic - due to stressful situations that involved a threat to the individual.
a. Caused by unconscious conflict between motive and defense mechanism
b. Psychological problem develops when motives that are unacceptable to the conscious (ego)
portion of the personality are blocked for expression by defense mechanism.
c. If the individual copes effectively with the stress of anxiety continue the individual resorts to
various ego defense mechanism such as denial and rationalization. This may lead to incongruence
between reality and individual experience and if it becomes extreme, it may results to maladaptive
behavior.

3. Behavioristic - due to faulty learning

4. Humanistic – due to blocked or distorted personal growth denial to a failure to use opportunities
for personal growth and self – fulfillment causes anxiety, futility and danger.

5. Interpersonal - due to unsatisfactory interpersonal relationships.

6. Socio-cultural - emphasize the role or pathological social conditions such as poverty, racial
prejudice
and discrimination.

When a person is frustrated in his attempts to adjust himself to difficult situation over a long
period of time, he may try to escape from conflicts by suffering from any of the following mental
disorders:

1. Neurosis - a condition where a person compromises with reality by developing imaginary

ailments, phobia, obsession or compulsion.

2. Psychosis - a mental condition where the person may withdraw from the real word into the
world of fantasy and make-believe, where a person’s hidden or unexpressed desires can be fulfilled.

3. Psychopath or sociopath with an antisocial personality -

A mental disorder , where one, instead of compromising with reality,
withdraw into his shell. The person may go to the other extremes and
may become very aggressive and cruel in his behavior towards others
and , when his antisocial behavior comes in conflict with the law, he
becomes a criminal.

4. Psychoneurotic person
Are those in the twilight zone between normality and abnormality.
They are not insane, but neither are they normal. The neurotic is
always tense, restless and anxious. Frequently, they have obsession,
compulsion, phobia, and in some cases, amnesia. Anxiety is the
dominant characteristic.
NEUROTIC REACTION
1. Anxiety Reaction- feeling of apprehension about matters that have no basis.
2. Asthenic Reaction (Neurasthenia) –the person always complain of ache and pain he suffered from
fatigue and shows high irritability.
3. Hypochodriacal Reaction- isolated and immature self-centered person with an obsessive concern
about his state of health and preoccupied with the bodily processes.

4. Hysteric Neurosis
Conversion Reaction- the individual develop symptoms of an illness or the loss of motor function
or bodily sensation to avoid an emotional conflict(cannot move his feet, loss of voice etc….)
Dissociative Reaction- the individual is usually immature and very prone to suggestion and may
show history of highly developed fantasy life.
- flight or escape to awareness, rather than illness. This may be in form of brief amnesia
developed into multiple personality.

Somnambulism (sleep walking)

Sleepwalking may last as little as 30 seconds or as long as 30 minutes.

In 2008, Brian Thomas, was accused of killing his wife while he dreamt she was an intruder, whilst on
holiday in West Wales. He was found not guilty.
1991, R v Burgess: Burgess was accused of hitting his girlfriend on the head with a wine bottle and
then a video tape recorder. Found not guilty, at Bristol Crown Court, by reason of insane automatism.

5. Phobic Reaction – repressed fear transferred to objects or situations. It is an excessive irrational

fear.

6. Obsessive Compulsive Reaction

obsession- persistent or desire that is irrational
compulsive- repetitive urges

7. Neurotic Depressive Reaction- abnormal amount of sadness and defection and fails to recover a
reasonable amount of time.

UNHEALTHY REACTIONS TO FRUSTRATION

1. Anxiety - manifested through apprehension, tension, and uneasiness from anticipation of

danger. The source of which is largely unknown or unrecognized.

2. Phobia - an irrational fear which is fixed , intense, uncontrollable, and most of the time has no
reasonable foundation. (ex: Claustrophobia)

3. Obsession - is an idea that persistently recurs in a person’s mind sometimes against his wish,
though it may have no basis at all.

4. Compulsion – is an irresistible impulse to perform certain acts that are repetitive and ritualistic,
e. g. pyromania – the irresistible urge to set fire.
dipsomania - compulsive desire to take alcoholic drinks,
kleptomania - the urge to steal

5. Regression - a behavior pattern wherein a person returns to state of former adjustment

and attempts to experience them again in memory.

6. Memory disorder or amnesia - caused by painful memories associated with some shocking
experiences which are repressed and cannot be recalled.
7. Delusion - a false belief firmly held despite incontrovertible proof of evidence to the
contrary .

8. Hallucination - a sensory perception in the absence of an actual external stimulus.

9. Schizophrenia or dementia praecox - is characterized by disturb thinking.

AN INDIVIDUAL IS CONSIDERED PSYCHOTIC OR IN LAYMAN’S TERM “INSANE” SUFFERING FROM

SCHIZOPHRENIA

“Split mind”

- This condition was formerly called “ Dementia Praecox”. It characterized by strong tendency to
retreat from reality, by emotional disharmony, unpredictable disturbances in stream of
thought, regressive and in some, by a tendency to deterioration.

Characterized by:
-Alteration in perception
-Alterations of activity
-Alteration in thought
-Alterations in facial
expression

TYPES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

PARANOID
DISORGANIZED
CATATONIC

1. PARANOID- preoccupation with one or more delusions (false belief) or frequent auditory
hallucinations (false sensory perceptions)

a. Delusion of Grandeur
Believe that he is an exulted being such as king.

b. Delusion of Reference
The individual misinterpret coincidental occurrences as being
directly aim at him.

c. Delusion of persecution
Defense against feelings of failure and resorting self
devaluation by projecting to blame to others who become
“persecutors” interpreting imagined attention as proof of own
importance
HEBEPHRENIC
This type displayed in coherent thought, speech and action generally characterized by foolish and
infantile behavior.

All the following are prominent:

-disorganized speech
-disorganized behavior
-disorganized facial expression

CATATONIC

With excessive motor activity

Peculiar movements, repeating actions and words
Manifest and more complete withdrawal from reality than other schizophrenics.
Desperately finds system of beliefs, some faith on which he can build.

INVOLUTIONAL MELANCHOLA
It is a depressive type of psychosis which is more common in women than in men. It usually occurs in
women during the menopause period 40-55 years of age.

The symptoms are over concern for health, insomnia, irritability, pessimism, doubt, worries about
impending death and retribution for guilt feelings.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
is a common chronic disorder characterized by long-lasting anxiety that is not focused on any one
object or situation. Those suffering from generalized anxiety experience non-specific persistent fear
and worry and become overly concerned with everyday matters.
Major depressive disorder (MDD)
- (also known as recurrent depressive disorder,clinical depression, major depression, unipolar
depression, or unipolar disorder) is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low
mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable
activities.

Seung-Hui Cho
Virginia Tech Massacre
(April 16, 2007)
killed 32 people and wounded many others before committing suicide
Orlando Florida Gay Club Bar Tragedy
Suspect : Omar Mateem (June 11, 2016)

CLASSIFICATIONS OF PERSONALITY DISORDER

1. PARANOID - suspicious hypersensitive, excessive self importance, tendency to blame others for
his mistakes and feelings of persecution.

2. SCHIZOTYPAL- Characterized by a pervasive pattern of distorted thought, behavior , and

functioning. Individuals with this disorder are more prone to experience depression and psychotic
disorders.

3. SCHIZOID- It is characterized by disruptive patterns of thought, behavior, and functioning. This

type of personality disorder is believed to be relatively rare and tends to affect more men than
women. Individuals with schizoid personality disorder are also at risk for experiencing depression.
4. HISTRIONIC
Characterized by immaturity, emotional instability, craving
for excitement and self-dramatization. (KSP) Sexual adjustment is
usually poor and interpersonal relationships are stormy, gullible and
self-centered.

5. NARCISSISTIC
Exaggerated sense of self-importance and preoccupation with
receiving attention. They are interpersonally exploitative in reaching
their goals disregarding the rights and feelings of others.

6. ANTISOCIAL / Psychopathy
Continuing violation of the rights of others through aggressive
antisocial behavior, without remorse of loyalty to anyone. Have
enough intelligence and good health.

Antisocial characteristics:

failure to conform to social norms

deception, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or
pleasure

impulsiveness or failure to plan ahead

irritability and aggression, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults

reckless disregard for safety of self or others

consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by failure in financial obligations

lack of remorse, as indicated by indifference to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from
another

In his 1941 book, Mask of Sanity,

Hervey M.Cleckley introduced 16 behavioral characteristics of a psychopath:

Superficial charm and good "intelligence"

Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational thinking
Absence of nervousness or psychoneurotic manifestations
Unreliability
Untruthfulness and insincerity
Lack of remorse and shame
Inadequately motivated antisocial behavior
Poor judgment and failure to learn by experience
Pathologic egocentricity (selfishness) and incapacity for love
General poverty in major affective reactions (poor facial expression)
Specific loss of insight (recognition of motivational sources behind one’s thoughts, actions or
behavior)
Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations
Fantastic and uninviting behavior with drink
Suicide threats rarely carried out
Sex life impersonal, trivial, and poorly integrated
Failure to follow any life plan

7. BORDERLINE
Characterized by instability, reflected in drastic moods shift and behavior problems often with
intense anger outburst with little provocation, impulsive, unpredictable, angry-empty, with
low frustration tolerance.

(THERE IS OFTEN ANXIETY AND FEARFULNESS)

8. AVOIDANT
Hypersensitive to reflection, limited social relationships and reluctance to enter social interaction,
fearful of criticism but desires affection, often lonely and bored.

9. DEPENDENT
Extreme dependence on other people and panics at having to be
alone, lacks self-confidence and fells helpless.

10. COMPULSIVE

Excessive concern with rules, orders, efficiency and work complex with an insistence that everyone do
things their way and an inability to express warm feelings, pre-occupation with trivial details and poor
allocation of time.

11. PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE

Hostility expressed indirectly such as stubbornness intentional inefficiency of forgetting.