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Polygraphy (Lie Detection)

Reviewer
On criminology

Polygraphy (Lie detection)

Polygraphy (Lie Detection) Reviewer

Definition of Terms

1875 - The earliest attempt at a scientific approach to the development

of diagnostic instrumentation for lie detection, when the Italian
physiologist, Angelo Mosso (1846-1910), began studies of fear and its
influence on the heart and respiration. The fear of being detected was
considered an essential element of deception. Through his research
Mosso demonstrated that blood pressure, blood volume, and pulse
frequency changed depending on changes in emotions of a tested
subject. From records of pulsation, Mosso was able to distinguish
persons who were afraid from those who were tranquil.

1915 - the year Dr.Marston developed the discontinuous systolic blood

pressure test which would later become one component of the modern
polygraph.

1992 - the polygraph made its official entrance into the computer age.

1997 - considered the year of birth of lie detection in Ukraine.

18th Century - the era conducive to developing technical means of

detecting deception, subsequently named: lie detector, variograph,
polygraph, emotional stress monitor, deceptograph, to name a few.

African Tribes - have utilized their own method of detecting a guilty

person. While performing a special dance around a suspected individual,

a sorcerer intensely sniffed him. The "investigator" made a conclusion

whether the suspect committed the crime based upon the intensity of
his body odor.

Alexander R. Luria - (1902-1977) a Soviet neuropsychologist, who

initiated  the research on the psycho-physiological diagnostic
instrumentation methods in criminal investigations which began in
the 1920s. He used reaction time measures to study thought processes

and developed a psychodiagnostic procedure he referred to as the

"combined motor method" for diagnosing individual subject's thought
processes. He did not use an instrument in his study.

Ancient Methods of Lie Detection

      Ancient Rome - bodyguard candidates were asked provocative

      questions. Those who blushed were selected for the job. It was

      believed that if a person blushed in response to provocative

      questions, he would not participate in plots.

      Ancient Sparta - Before being admitted to certain schools Spartan

      young men were required to pass the selection criteria. The
      young men were ordered to stand on the edge of a cliff, and were

      asked if they were afraid. The answer was always negative;

      however its integrity was determined by the men’s complexion.
      It was concluded that the pale young men lied and they were
      pushed from the cliff.

      Nervous Behavior - if the subject look down and moved his toe
      in a circular motion while being interrogated, he was thought
      to be deceptive. This was later diagnosed as nervous behaviorism.
      Nervous individuals were stereotyped as being deceptive.
      The Ordeal of Rice - was commonly utilized as a lie detector in
      ancient China. Suspect was required to chew a mouthful of dry
      rice and then spit it out. If the rice was moist, the suspect
      was judged innocent. If the rice was dry, the suspect was judged
      guilty. The tension of guilt supposedly caused a cessation of
      salivary glands secretion of fluids.

      The Ordeal of the Hot iron - in Africa, the suspect had a hot
      iron placed on his tongue, if the suspect's tongue was not
      burned, he was judged innocent, if the suspect's tongue was
      burned, he was judged guilty. The tension of guilt supposedly
      caused a cessation of salivary secretions which would allow the
      tongue to be burned.

      The Ordeal of the Sacred Donkey - around 1500 BC in India,

      Indian priests paints a donkey's tail with carbon residue from
      an oil lamp and placed the animal in a dark tent. The suspects
      were sent into the tent and told that pulling the "magic"
      donkey's tail would reveal the liar (if a guilty man pulls his
      tail, the donkey will bray). When the suspects came out, the
      priests examined their hands. Those with clean hands had not
      touched the donkey's tail. It was assumed that this was due
      to the suspects’ fear of their guilt being discovered, proving
      they were liars.

Angelo Mosso - an Italian Physiologist, he used an instrument called

plethysmograph in his research on emotion and fear in subjects
undergoing questioning and he studied the effects of these variables
on their cardiovascular and respiratory activity.

      Plethysmograph - from the Greek word "Plethysmos" - increase or

      enlargement and "grapho" - write or record, is an instrument for
      recording and measuring variation in the volume of a part of
      the body, especially as caused by changes in blood pressure.

Anti–Climax Dampening - The principle of psychological focus which

holds that a person will establish an emotional priority for that
stimulus which he perceives to represent the greatest threat to his
well being.

Anxiety - A state of mental uneasiness or concern. Abnormal apprehension

or fear, often accompanied by psychological signs, behavior symptoms or
doubt concerning the nature and reality of a threat; real or imagined.
Unfounded self–doubt.

Apnea - The transient cessation of breathing which follows forced

breathing. On a polygraph chart, apnea is generally represented by
a blocking pattern in the pneumograph tracing.

Applied Stimulus - An intentionally applied external stimulus,

normally in the form of a question, directed to a person under going
a polygraph examination. An applied stimulus may be employed for the
purpose of demonstrating a persons response capabilities at the time
the stimulus is applied.

Associated Research Inc. - in Chicago, manufactured the 1st  commercial

polygraph instrument for Leonarde Keeler.

Autonomic Nervous System - That part of the peripheral nervous system

consisting of the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system.

Axon - The central core which forms the essential conducting part of
a nerve fiber. An extension from and a part of the cytoplasm of some
nerve cells.
Backster Zone Comparison Technique -  a polygraph technique which
primarily involved an alteration of the Reid question sequencing.

Basic Polygraph Examination Requirements

1. The Examining Room - Polygraph examinations should be conducted in
   a quiet. private room. Under normal circumstances only the
   polygraphist and examines are permitted in the examining room.
2. Pre-Test Interview - The examination actually begins with the first
   contact between the examinee and the polygraphist. The pre- test
   interview is vital to a proper polygraph examination. and no
   examination will be administered by any AzPa member without an
   adequate pre-test interview.
3. Question Formulation - Question formulation should be conduced in
   accordance with established standards and techniques. Unless
   specifically required by the nature of the issue being resolved,
   no questions regarding morals or the intimate details of a person’s
   personal life will be asked.
4. Test Construction - The use and placement of test questions within
   the question sequence must adhere to and be in accordance with
   those techniques generally recognized and widely accepted within
   the polygraph profession.
5. Stimulation Test - The “stim” test is optional. It may be
   conducted either as the first polygraph chart or inserted between
   polygraph charts. The fact that an individual has been previously
   examined, perhaps even by the same polygraphist], does not negate
   the use of the “stim” test.
6. Review of Test Questions - Under no circumstances will any test
   be administered without a prior, thorough review of all test
   questions with the examinee.
7. Administering The Polygraph Charts
      a. After applying pressure to the blood pressure cuff at the
         time of the test, the polygraphist should be able to announce
         the beginning of the test with minimum delay.
      b. Test questions should be usually spaced at not less than
         15 second intervals.
      c. The administering of the polygraph examination shall be
         conducted in accordance with established standards and
         techniques which are taught by the accredited schools.
8. Chart Interpretation - Chart interpretation is the final key to
   a valid polygraph examination. Under no circumstances is it
   permitted that a AzPa polygraphist overlook or ignore the
   established, basic concepts of chart interpretation taught in
   all accredited polygraph schools.

Behavior Symptoms - Those subjectively observable non-verbal

manifestations of a person at the time of an applied stimulus which
may or may not be indicative of that person’s veracity.

Blood Pressure Change - The visual representation of an increase or

decrease in blood pressure or volume on a polygraph chart by the
cardio component of a polygraph instrument.

Cardio-Sphygmo-graph - Heart/pressure/recording. The tracing on a

polygraph chart, made by a pen moved by a bellows device in connection
with a closed air pressurized circuit and an in-line
cardiosphygmomanometer, which reflects blood pressure and radial pulse
in response to an applied stimulus.

Cardiosphygmomanometer -  An in-line pressure dial in a closed air

pressurized circuit capable of representing the pressure in that
circuit in units of millimeters of mercury.

Cardiovascular System - Those portions of an organism which contain

the heart, arteries, veins and capillaries. The functional means by
which blood is transported throughout the body.

Cerebellum - That portion of the brain which projects over the medulla
and is especially concerned with the coordination of muscular activity
and body equilibrium.

Cerebrum - The enlarged front and upper part of the brain which contains
the higher nervous centers.

Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) was the first in 1895 to experiment with a

device, measuring blood pressure and pulse, to detect deception in
criminal suspects and noted increased blood pressure following
relevant questions when put to some subjects. He called it a
Hydrosphygmograph.

Chart - The graphic recorded representations of a persons

psychophysiological responses to a set of carefully controlled
stimuli presented to him in the form of a valid and reliable question
structure.

Christian Hans Stoelting - founded the stoelting company, now a

Manufacturer and distributor of research instrumentation including
physiology and biofeedback for scientific research plus psychological
and educational tests.

      Stoelting Company - Stoelting invented the first modern

      polygraph in 1935.

Chart Identification - Any information placed on a polygram which

identified the person examined, the polygraphist conducting the
examination as well as any other data, time and place of the
examination, including the signature of the examinee, if obtainable.

Cleve Backster -  he founded the CIA's polygraph unit shortly after
World War II. He also founded the longest running polygraph school
in the world. He developed the Backster Zone Comparison Technique
(ZCT).

Control Stimulation Test -  A modified peak of tension test used to

relax the non-deceptive examinee and stimulate the deceptive examinee
by empirical evidence of the effectiveness of the polygraph technique.

Control Question - That question within a structured technique which

is broad in scope and depth, generally limited by mutually exclusive
time parameter, which relates to a wrong doing of the same general
nature as the one under investigation, and one to which the examiner
will, in all probability, lie or to which his answer will be of
dubious validity in his own mind.
      - A question to which the examinee’s answer will be a known lie
or a probable lie. This question is similar in nature but not related
to the issue being resolved, and should be of slightly less weight
than the relevant questions.

Control Question Technique (CQT) - a polygraph technique that

incorporated control questions (comparison) which were designed to be
emotionally arousing for non-deceptive subjects and less emotionally
arousing for deceptive subjects than the relevant questions
previously used.

Counter Measures - Deliberate chemical, mental or physical, attempts

by an examinee to affect the polygraph tracings or the final outcome
of a polygraph examination.
Cuff pressure - The air pressure in the inflatable bladder in the
blood pressure cuff as indicated on the sphygmomanometer of the
polygraph instrument in units of millimeters of mercury.

Daniel Defoe - a British novelist who in 1730 wrote an essay entitled

"An Effectual Scheme for the Immediate Preventing of Street Robberies
and Suppressing all Other Disorders of the Night", wherein he
recommended that taking the pulse of a suspicious fellow was a
practical, effective and humane method for distinguishing truthfulness
from lying.

Deception - the act of making someone believe something that is

not true.

Dendrites - An extension or process of a neuron which serves to conduct

impulses toward the cell body.

Dick Arther - refined the Reid Control Question Technique with his
known Lie and Probable Lie Question Technique and the Guilt Complex
Question. This Became known as Arther's Technique.

Dicrotic Notch - graphic representation within the cardio tracing on

a polygraph chart caused by a backward surge of blood against the
semi-lunar valve in the left ventricle of the heart.

Distortion - change in polygraph tracings caused by artifact stimulus.

A disturbance of normal polygraph tracings not attributable to an
intended stimulus within a test structure.

Dr. Joseph F. Kubis - of Fordham University in New York City, was the
first researcher to use potential computer applications for the
purpose of polygraph chart analysis in the late 1970's.
Dr. Marie Gabriel Romain Vigouroux (1831-1911) a French electrotherapy
specialist was first to discover in 1879 the phenomenon we now know
as Electrodermal Response.

      Electrodermal Response - human body phenomenon in which the body,

      mainly the skin, involuntarily changes resistance electrically
      upon the application of certain external stimuli.

      Scientists Who Contributed to the electrodermal response research

      1. Ivan R. Tarchanoff (1846-1908) Georgian
      2. Charles Samson Fere (1852-1907) French
      3. Georg Sticker (1860-1960) German
      4. Otto Veraguth (1870-1944) Swiss

Dyspena - Abnormal breathing characterized by either labored breathing,

shortness of breath, suppression or serrated exhalation.

Efferent Nerve Fibers - Those neural fibers which carry impulses away
from the central nervous system.

Ego Defense Mechanism - Those psychological defenses used by a person

to shield himself against that which he perceives to represent a
threat to his immediate well-being.

Endocrine Glands - Those ductless glands which discharge their

secretions directly into the blood stream. In general, the endocrine
glands coordinate and control body activities at a slower rate than
the nervous system and thus promote long term adjustments.

Enveloping Question - A question used at the beginning and end of a

searching peak of tension test which deals with an issue or subject
which is beyond the realm of possibility of the information being
sought.

Eupnea - Regular or normal breathing.

Examinee -  An individual who has volunteered for and undergoes a

polygraph examination.

Excitability - The potential ability of a neuron to respond to any

given stimulus.

Expert Opinion - A statement reflecting the results of the evaluation

of a polygraph chart.

Extrasystole - A premature contraction of the heart which is

independent of the normal rhythm and which arises in response to an
impulse in some part of the heart other than the sino-auricular node,
or from some abnormal stimulus. An extra systole appears in the cardio
tracing of a polygraph chart as a break in the normal rhythm of
the heart.

Fight or Flight Syndrome - The activation of involuntary sympathetic

neural activity upon conscious recognition of a threat to the
immediate well-being of an organism. A group of neural symptoms which
enable an organism to cope with a stressful or threatening situation
by taking that organism from a normal relaxed state to an emergency
state of preparedness for the sake of survival.

Forensic Psychophysiology -  Modern term for polygraph examination.

Galvanograph - elecrtrical Current recording, known as the GSR, galvanic

skin response and galvanic skin conductance.
Galvanometer - measures the small differences in electrical
resistance and any shifts in a subject’s anxiety.

Ganglia -  Groups of nerve cell bodies found in the autonomic plexuses

composed primarily of sympathetic postganglionic neurons.

Guilt Complex -  A group of associated ideas or attitudes which have a

common emotional tone of feelings of universal responsibility. these
ideas or attitudes may be conscious or unconscious; however, they
may significantly influence an individuals behavior or
psychophysiological responses when confronted with an accusation.

      Guilt Complex Question - A question included in a structured

      polygraph test designed to identify a person who may be
      inappropriately responding to relevant and control questions
      due to a guilt complex. This question is usually one which
      concerns a nonexistent crime or circumstance which an examinee
      is led to believe did exist in which he is suspect but which
      he knows he could not have committed.

      Guilt Complex Question -  A question about a fictitious incident

      of individual. and of a similar nature and weight as the issue
      being resolved.

Sticker - one of the first to suggest the use of EDA, galvanic

skin response as an indicator of deception.

Hidden Key - An item of evidence known only to the victim, perpetrator,

investigator and polygraphist.

Homestasis - The tendency of an organism to maintain a state of

equilibrium between interrelated psychological and psysiological stimuli.

Hydrosphygmograph - (water pressure recording) a device consisting

of a cylinder containing water and connected with a registering tube,
used to record the amount of blood forced with each pulsation into a
limb in cased in the apparatus.

Hypnosis - alteration of consciousness and concentration, subject

manifest heightened suggestability, not admissible in court.

Hypothalamus - That portion of the brain which contains centers for

the regulation of body temperatures, sleep and water balance. It
also appears to be the center for the integration of emotions,
visceral activity and neural impulses which trigger the sympathetic
division of the autonomic nervous system.

Irrelevant Question - is intended to be an innocuous. harmless

question, having no particular relationship to the issue being
resolved and which can unequivocally be answered truthfully.

      Primary Relevant Question - The key question regarding the direct

      act of committing an offense.

      Secondary Relevant Question - A question pertaining to pertinent

      aspects of the issue. to which a guilty or knowledgeable person
      would be expected to respond significantly.

Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval (June 8,1851–December 31,1940) was a French

physician, physicist, and inventor of the moving-coil D'Arsonval
galvanometer and the thermocouple ammeter. D'Arsonval was an important
contributor to the emerging field of electrophysiology, the study of
the effects of electricity on biological organisms, in the
19th century.

John Augustus Larson - was a Police Officer for Berkeley, California,

United States, and famous for his invention of modern polygraph used
in forensic investigations. He was the first American police officer
having an academic doctorate and to use polygraph in criminal
investigations.

John E. Reid - a lawyer from Chicago, Illinois, developed the Control

Question Technique (CQT) in 1947. Also called the "father of Controls".

      Reid Control Question Technique - inserted a surprise control

      question in the relevant/irrelevant technique.

Keeler Polygraph - It became the most widely used polygraph in the

world for the next three decades.

Known Peak of Tension Test - This is a series of similar type questions

containing only one relevant question. known to the polygraphist.

      Searching Peak of Tension Test - A series of questions wherein

      the relevant questions are not known to the polygraphist.

Kymograph - An instrument for recording variations in pressure, as

of the blood, or in tension, as of a muscle, by means of a pen or
stylus that marks a rotating drum at a constant speed.

Lafayette Instrument Company - founded in 1947 by Max Wastl

(1915-1990), located in Lafayette, Indiana, USA, dominates the
international polygraph market. It is the unconditional global leader
in the manufacture and sale of lie detectors.
Leonarde Keeler - in 1926, modified the polygraph instrument designed
by John Larson by adding a device that measured electrical skin
conductivity or electrodermal response. He also  founded the world's
first polygraph school, the Keeler Polygraph Institute in Chicago,
Illinois in 1948. Considered the father of modern polygraph.

Lie - is an intentionally false statement to a person or group made

by another person or group who knows it is not wholly the truth.

      Kinds of Lie
      1. White or Benign Lie - lie to preserve harmony of relationship.
      2. Pathological Lie - can not tell right from wrong.
      3. Red Lie - communist propaganda
      4. Black Lie - lie to dishonor or to discredit
      5. Malicious/Judicial Lie -misleading or lie to obstruct justice.
      6. Fabrication - misrepresentation of truth
      7. Bold-Face Lie - obviously lying
      8. Lying by Omission - omission of important facts
      9. Lie to Children - to gain acceptance to children
      10.Noble Lie - to maintain law and order
      11.Emergency Lie - to prevent harm to third party
      12.Perjury - false testimony under oath
      13.Bluffing - pretense of capability/intention one does not possess
      14.Jocose Lie - meant to be jest, teasing and sarcasm
      15.Contextual lie - stating part of truth out of context
      16.Promotion lie - incredible advertisements

      Type of Liars
      1. Panic Liars
      2. Occupational Liars
      3. Tournament Liars
      4. Psychopathic Liars
      5. Ethological Liars
      6. Pathological Liars
      7. Black Liars

Luigi Galvani - an Italian Physician and Physiologist who in 1791,

accidentally discovered that a dissected frog leg would twitch and
contract at the touch of a scalpel charged with electricity. He
discovered that current or galvanic electricity flowed through animal
tissue.

Mechanical Adjustment - The manual centering of the ink pens on a

polygraph instrument in order to maintain the individual component
tracings within their appropriate physical parameters.

Medula Oblongata - The lowest or hindmost part of the brain continuous

with the spinal cord. Contains centers of respiratory, cardio inhibitory,
cardio acceleratory, vasoconstrictor, vasodilator, swallowing, salivary
and vomiting.

Midbrain - The middle segment of the brain containing the centers for
certain visual and auditory reflexes.

Middle Ages - a suspect's pulse rate readings were collected for

determining his or her guilt. This method was employed for exposing
unfaithful wives and their lovers. The testing technique was very
simple. A trained individual placed a finger on a wrist of a woman
suspected of infidelity, while mentioning names of the men, who could
have had an intimate relationship with her. The examinee's pulse
accelerated when she heard and, consequently, reacted to the name
of her lover.

Name Test - A controlled peak of tension test utilized to establish

an examinee’s response capability to a known lie in which the name
of a person upon whom the examinee places emotional significance is
used as a known peak of tension.

Nerves - Those strands of tissue which specialize in the transmission

of impulses to and from the brain and spinal cord and all parts of
the body.

Neuron - A single nerve cell.

Neutral Question - A question which does not pertain to the issue under
investigation the answer to which recognized as universally correct
by both the examinee and the polygraphist. A neutral question is
intended to elicit a minimal response from the examinee and provide
the polygraphist with a valid graphic representation of the
examinee’s non-stress response patterns.

Numerical Evaluation - A valid and reliable system of numerical

evaluation which employs a consistent set of values to describe the
observable physiological responses graphically represented on a
polygraph chart.

Opinion - The expert conclusion expressed by a qualified polygraphist

concerning the veracity of the statements made by examinee.

Otto Veraguth - was a Swiss neurologist. In the 1900s he published a

study of a phenomenon he called "psychogalvanic reflex" associated
with observed changes in the electrical properties of the skin. In
his research he noticed that emotional stimuli caused greater
deflections (higher readings) on a galvanometer that was connected
to the skin via electrodes than did neutral stimuli. He used the
galvanomenter in conjunction with word-association tests.
      Psychogalvanic Reflex - also called galvanic skin response, a
      change in the electrical properties of the body following noxious
      stimulation, stimulation that produces emotional reaction and to
      some extent, stimulation that attracts the subject's attention
      and leads to an aroused alertness.

Outside Issue - A circumstance unrelated to the primary issue which

poses a greater threat to the immediate well-being of the examinee
than does the primary relevant issue.

Padding Questions - Those questions placed before and after the known
relevant question in a known peak of tension test. Padding questions
are similar in nature to the known relevant question and fall within
the realm of possibility of the information being sought.

Parasysmpathetic Nervous System -  That part of the autonomic nervous

system which tends to induce secretion, to increase the tone and
contractibility of smooth muscle and to channel the dilation of
blood vessels. That division of the autonomic nervous system
responsible for the normal “house keeping functions of the body;
i.e. digestion and body temperature.

Peripheral Nervous System - That portion of the nervous system lying

outside the central nervous system.

Plethsysmograph - The tracing on a polygraph chart made by a pen moved

by a photo-optical system controlled by an examinee’s
psychophysiological responses to controlled stimuli.

Pneumograph — breathing/recording, from the Greek word "Pneuma" - air

or breath and "Grapho" - write or record, a device that recorded a
subject's breathing patterns.

Polygram - One or more polygraph charts. The cumulative recorded

representations of an examinee’s psychophysiological responses to a
set of controlled stimuli presented to him in the form of a properly
constructed question technique upon which an expert opinion is formed.

Polygraph - a machine designed to detect and record changes in

physiological characteristics, such as a person's pulse and breathing
rates, used especially as a lie detector.

      Polygraph Machine Measure and Record the ff:

      1. Blood Pressure
      2. Heart Rate
      3. Respiration
      4. Skin Conductivity

Polygraphist - An individual who, by virtue of his education, training

and experience, is capable of conducting a valid and reliable
polygraph examination for the purpose of determining whether or not
an examinee honestly believes that his own statements and answers
concerning a questioned issue are in fact truthful.

Polygraph Examination - The entire environment within which a

qualified polygraphist renders an expert opinion as to the veracity
of an examinee’s statements concerning the primary issue of the
matter under investigation.

Polygraph Examiner - interpret the charts generated by the polygraph

machine. Polygraph came from the Greek word "polys" - many writings
and "grapho" write.
Polygraph Chart - is one continuous set of test questions recorded on
paper by the polygraph instrument.

PolyScore - a software program which used a sophisticated mathematical

algorithm to analyze the polygraph data and to estimate a probability
or degree of deception or truthfulness in a subject.
      - is a computerized polygraph chart scoring algorithm that uses
statistical probability to arrive at truthfulness or deception. It
has been shown that validated algorithms have exceeded 98 percent
in their accuracy to quantify, analyze and evaluate the physiological
data collected from polygraph examinations administered in real
criminal cases.

      Dr. Dale E. Olsen and John C. Harris - statisticians at Johns

      Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, in Maryland,
      completed a software program called PolyScore in 1993.

Pons - A band of nerve fibers in the brain connecting the lobes of the
cerebellum, the medulla and the cerebrum.

Pre-Employment Examination - An examination in which an individual is

tested regarding the truthfulness and accuracy of an employment
application. along with other background areas, which aids the
employer in selecting the most qualified individual for a position
within the organization.

Pre-Examination Interview - That portion of a polygraph examination

during which information is obtained by the polygraphist from the
examinee regarding the facts and circumstances which from the basis
of the examination and from which the polygraphist develops
appropriate questions for the polygraph technique to be employed.
Psychogalvanic Skin Response - The recordable changes of body tissue
polarization (neural discharge), sweat gland activity or circulatory
variations which occur as the result of work, emotion or a combination
of either. In polygraphy, these changes are recorded on a polygraph
chart by a pen attached to a galvanometer driven by the variations
of electrical conductivity introduced into a Wheatstone Bridge by
the body tissues of an examinee.
   
Psychogalvanometer — a component that measured changes in a subject's
galvanic skin resistance during questioning, and in doing so, thus
signaling the birth of the polygraph as we know it today.

Psychological Set - The theory which holds that a person’s fears,

anxieties and apprehensions will be directed toward that situation
which presents the greatest immediate threat to his self-preservation
or general well-being; generally to the exclusion of all other less
threatening circumstances within his environment.

Psychosis - A form of sever personality disorder involving loss of

contact with reality, generally characterized by delusions and
hallucinations.

Question Spacing - The elapsed time (not less than 15 seconds) between
an answer given by an examinee and the following question asked by
the polygraphist during a polygraph test.

Receptors - Those specialized cells sensitive to incoming stimuli.

Reflex Action - The cumulative product of stimulus, receptor, afferent

nerve, connecting neuron, efferent nerve and effector action. A simple
reflex arc.
Refractory Period - That period of time in which a neuron is unable
to conduct an impulse.

Reid Polygraph - was the first instrument to use a movement sensor to

detect subject movement during the examination. Besides recording
blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and GSR, this new polygraph
recorded muscular activity in the forearms, thighs, and feet thanks
to metal bellows placed under the arms and seat of the polygraph
chair.

Relevant Question - That question within a structured polygraph test

which pertains directly to the matter under investigation.

      Irrelevant Question - is intended to be an innocuous, harmless

      question, having no particular relationship to the issue being
      resolved. and which can unequivocally be answered truthfully.

      Primary Relevant Question - The key question regarding the direct

      act of committing an offense.

      Secondary Relevant Question - A question pertaining to pertinent

      aspects of the issue. to which a guilty or knowledgeable person
      would be expected to respond significantly.

      Control Question - A question to which the examinee’s answer will

      be a known lie or a probable lie. This question is similar in
      nature but not related to the issue being resolved, and should
      be of slightly less weight than the relevant questions.

      Guilt Complex Question - A question about a fictitious incident

      of individual. and of a similar nature and weight as the issue
      being resolved.
Relevant/Irrelevant (R/I) questioning - a mixture of questions relevant
to the crime (for example, Do you own a knife?) and irrelevant questions
are asked (for example, Are you twenty years old?).  The basis for this
type of questioning was that an innocent person has a similar physiological
response to both types of questions, but a guilty person would react
more strongly to the crime-relevant questions.

Residual Air - That volume of air which remains in the lungs after the
deepest possible exhalation.

Sacrifice Relevant Question - A question used in the Zone comparison

Test designed for the intended to dissipate initial tension
anticipated by an examinee in response to the target issue.

Searching Peak Of Tension Test - a polygraph test in which a series

of questions, usually similar in nature and scope, are asked and in
which the answer to only one of them may evoke a response from the
examinee.

Screening Examination - is one in which, without any specific

allegation, an individual is examined to verify his/her honesty,
integrity and conduct as an employee.

Specific Examination - is one in which there is one specific issue to

be resolved, ex. theft, burglary, robbery murder, etc.

Sensor - Any attachment made to the human body for the purpose of
measuring and/or recording a psychophysiological response during a
polygraph test.

Specific Response - A deviation from an examinee’s normal state of

homeostasia as evidenced by the tracings on a polygraph chart.
Consideration must be given to overall chart interpretation with
emphasis on the nature of the questions asked, the sequential
position of the question within the structure used and the manner in
which the question was presented to the examinee.

Sphygmomanometer - or blood pressure meter (also referred to as a

sphygmometer) is a device used to measure blood pressure, composed of
an inflatable cuff to restrict blood flow, and a mercury or mechanical
manometer to measure the pressure.

Spot Analysis Technique - A system of chart interpretation whereby

analysis of response capability may be made at each location on a
polygraph chart wherein a relevant question is either preceded by
or followed by a control question.

Super Dampening - The principle of psychological focus which holds

that if a person considers an outside issue to be a greater threat
to his well-being than the main relevant issue, and that if he
anticipates an unreviewed question concerning this outside issue,
he may tune out all relevant and control questions by forcing his
psychological set on the outside issue. The presence of an outside
issue usually results in poor responses or no responses.

Stimulation Test - Verifies for the examiner that the examinee is

testable. and aids in convincing the examinee that the polygraph
instrument works, and will work on him.

Suppression - An involuntary reduction in the amplitude of the

pneumograph and cardiograph tracings in response to a stressful
stimulus.
Sympathetic Nervous System - That part of the autonomic nervous
system which tends to depress secretion, decrease the tone and
contractibility of muscle not under direct voluntary control, and
cause the contraction of blood vessels.

Symptomatic Question - A question contained within a structured

question technique which is designed to identify the presence of
an outside issue upon which a person may be focusing during the
course of a polygraph examination.

      Symptomatic Question - A question use to determine it some

      outside issue is of such concern to the examinee that it
      tends to damage expected responses to relevant questions.

Synapsis - The chemical junctions where nerve impulses pass from one
neuron to another.

System - A group of body organs which combine to form a whole and to

cooperate for the purpose of carrying on some vital function.

Test Technique - A valid and reliable question structure employed

by a qualified polygraphist for the purpose of verifying an
examinee’s statements or answers during a polygraph examination.
The sequential order in which questions are asked during a polygraph
examination. The foundation of expert opinion.

Thalamus - The middle part of the brain through which sensory

impulses pass to reach the cerebral cortex.

Tidal Volume -  The volume of air moved in or out of the lungs with
each respiratory cycle.
Veraguth - was one of the first to make word-association tests with
the galvanometer.

Vittorio Benussi - an Italian Psychologist who in 1914 discovered a

method for calculating the quotient of the inhalation to exhalation
time as a means of verifying the truth and detecting deception in
a subject. Benussi measured and recorded breathing by means of an
instrument known as the Pneumograph. He concluded that lying caused
an emotional change within a subject that resulted in detectable
respiratory changes that were indicative of deception.

West Africa - persons suspected of a crime were made to hold and pass
a bird's egg to one another. The person breaking the egg was considered
guilty, based on the notion that his or her tremor-eliciting
nervousness was to blame.

Wheatstone Bridge - A specially devised electronic circuit for the

measurement of electrical resistance in a conductor. The conductor
of unknown resistance is included in the circuit with three known
resistances. when the unknown resistance (RX) is balanced with three
known resistances (R1, R2, R3) it can be calculated mathematically
since it becomes one term in a proportion.

William Moulton Marston - was an American psychologist and the creator

of the systolic blood pressure test, which became one component of
the modern polygraph invented by John Augustus Larson in Berkeley,
California.
      - an American attorney and psychologist, is credited with
inventing an early form of the lie detector when, in 1915, he
developed the discontinuous systolic blood pressure test which would
later become one component of the modern polygraph.
Word Association Test  - questions answerable by yes or no, concerned
with time of response. Quick answer, no relation to investigation.
Delayed answer, has relation to investigation. 

S H A R E     

Bigwas
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