Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1985. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-58).

The polygraph, and other methods of lie detection, measure the physiological arousal thought to accompany attempts to deceive. Traditional methods of lie detection, however, have failed to acquire the accuracy and consistency necessary to be relied upon in important applications. The reason for this is that there is not a sufficient understanding of why people exhibit physiological arousal when they are deceptive, and how they come to have these responses. The current thesis explores how classical conditioning can be used to explain the physiological arousal a person has to their own deception, and how this might come about in the normal social conditioning of the individual. Chapters 1 discusses the background of lie detection to this point, current methods in use, and the current understanding of why people exhibit physiological arousal when they are deceptive. Chapter 2 covers some of the technical aspects of the experiments presented in this thesis, such as the experiment programs and environment used. Chapter 3 of the current thesis examined the punishment of verbal behaviors in a person’s past conditioning can cause them to exhibit increased physiological arousal when engaging in that behavior. Chapters 4 and 5 explored the classical conditioning of eyeblink and skin conductance responses to deception and truth-value in a laboratory setting. Chapter 6 further explored the classical conditioning of a skin conductance response to instances of deception regarding an internally consistent context, and the generalization of these conditioned responses to instances of deception that only the subject knew about. In conclusion, the current thesis argued that the responses relied upon by traditional methods of lie detection can be explained using a behavioral explanation based on classical conditioning and past punishment. Classical conditioning, it is argued, can provide a more direct explanation of the responses exhibited, and potentially a powerful tool for improving the responses we rely upon to detect deception.

Risk assessments for offenders often combine past records with current clinical findings from observations, interviews, and test data. Conclusions based on these risk assessments are highly consequential, sometimes resulting in increased criminal sentences or prolonged hospitalization. Offenders are therefore motivated to intentionally minimize their risk scores. Intentional minimization is especially likely to occur in offenders with high psychopathic traits because goal-directed deception is reflected in many of the core traits of the disorder, such as manipulativeness, glibness, and superficial charm. However, this connection appears to be based on the conceptual understanding of psychopathy, and it has rarely been examined empirically for either frequency or success. The current study examined the connection between psychopathic traits and the intentional minimization of risk factors using a sentenced jail sample. In general, offenders were able to effectively minimize risk on the HCR-20 and SAQ, while the PICTS, as a measure of cognitive styles, was more resistant to such minimization. Psychopathic traits, especially high interpersonal facet scores, led to greater minimization using a repeated measure, simulation design. Important differences in the willingness and ability to use deception were found based on (a) the content of subscales, and (b) the mode of administration (i.e., interview vs. self-report). The important implications of this research are discussed for risk assessment procedures regarding likely areas of deception and its detection. It also informs the growing literature on the connection between psychopathic traits and deception.

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To date, the tandem interview approach has yet to be scientifically vetted as an investigative interviewing technique. Specifically, it is unclear what affect the application of two interviewers has on the investigative process. This is alarming considering that this approach is regularly applied under current law enforcement operations. Despite a dearth of research examining the tandem interview approach in investigative interviews, the extensive research on teams would lead us to believe that teams should benefit the overall investigative interview process and outperform individuals in detecting lies. Consequently, the goals of this research were to investigate these potential benefits. Findings from a laboratory study consisting of 90 simulated investigative interviews (N = 225) revealed several advantages associated with the application of the tandem interview approach. First, tandem interviewers found conducting the investigative interview to be less cognitively demanding and paid more attention to diagnostic cues to deception. Second, tandem interviewers conducted superior interviews than single interviewers. Specifically, they were able to obtain more information from interviewees, asked more open-ended questions, and asked a greater total number of questions. Despite outperforming single interviewers during the interview, tandem interviewers were unable to detect deception better than single interviewers. Still, overall detection rates were better than previous research. The general findings from this study suggest that tandem interviewers that adopt a rapport-based approach throughout the investigative interview can enhance investigative interviewing outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.

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