NCJ Number
220381
Journal
Legal and Criminological Psychology Volume: 12 Issue: Part2 Dated: September 2007 Pages: 311-320
Date Published
September 2007
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether the provision of detailed information about the comparison question test (CQT) and possible countermeasures now available on the Internet would affect the validity of the Test for Espionage and Sabotage which is a directed lie variant of the CQT.
Abstract
Study results yielded no significant effects of providing information on the validity of the comparison question test (CQT). However, the reported use of countermeasures was associated with a lower probability of truthfulness. Results of the debriefing questionnaire were found to support predictions made by the theory of the CQT. In summary, concerns that readily available information will enable guilty individuals to produce false-negative errors seem unfounded. The most commonly used test for psychophysiological deception detection (PDD) in most countries is the CQT. CQTs operate on the premise that guilty and innocent participants will react differently to relevant and comparison questions. The Test for Espionage and Sabotage (TES) is a variation of the CQT and a relatively new polygraph testing format developed for use in national security. Previous research indicates that CQTs that use directed-lie comparison questions have equivalent or higher accuracy than CQTs that use the traditional probable-lie comparison questions. This study examined the effects of providing detailed information on the CQT and CQT-oriented countermeasures on the validity of the TES. Participants in the study consisted of 21 males and 19 females aged 18 to 44 years. Tables, figure, references