NCJ Number
231791
Journal
Polygraph Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Dated: 2010 Pages: 109-117
Date Published
2010
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the concept of "Differential Salience" in describing the Comparison Question Technique (CQT) used in polygraph testing.
Abstract
What is now known as the Comparison Question Technique (CQT) is based on the assumption that truthful persons will be more physiologically responsive to comparison questions than to relevant (incident-related) test questions whereas for deceptive persons the opposite will be true. Years of research have confirmed this expectation. While the term "Psychological Set" has been accepted in the field to refer to this difference in responsiveness, the term has very limited value. It does not accommodate non-CQT procedures and it is neither understood nor applied in the scientific literature as it is by polygraph examiners. In this paper it is proposed that the CQT phenomenon is better described by the concept of "Differential Salience," a term which has a stronger scientific foundation. Moreover, the concept of differential salience describes what is observed physiologically in common polygraph testing methodologies aside from the CQT. Figure and references (Published Abstract)