Could someone trust the results of a lie detector test? It is not hard to control the responses that someone is looking for. It is hard to distinguish between nerves from the test or nerves from lying. Many people can respond differently to lying, there is no set reaction to deception. Can we really trust the results of a lie detector test, or is it something we have created to be able to put the blame on someone. Lie detector tests do not determine truthful statements. Heart rate, blood pressure, and skin conductivity are monitored during the lie detector test, those responses can be controlled. Steve Elias writes, “Some people are so divorced from morality or a guilty conscience that they may test honest – because they are really good …show more content…
George Maschke and Gino Scalabrini write, “But fear of being falsely accused may also entail physiological responses measurable by the polygraph and result in truthful persons being accused of deception” (p. 89). The America Psychology Association writes, “An honest person may be nervous when answering truthfully and a dishonest person may be non-anxious. (para. 7).Being nervous because of a test and being scared of being falsely accused could portray the idea of being guilty, when really that is not true. Someone just nervous because of the test could produce inaccurate results. All people act differently when lying. American Psychology Association states, “An underlying problem is theoretical: There is no evidence that any pattern of physiological reaction is unique to deception” (para. 7). There is not set reaction to deception. One person could respond differently that another person. One person’s heart rate could increase while the others drops, and that would alter the results. Not everyone is going to react the same way. Everyone’s reaction to lying is different, no one will know who is lying and who is telling the
If I was a police officer who was taking part in an interrogation I would create a lie to see if the person was the one
Author Allison Kornet in her article (1997) “The Truth about Lying: Has Lying Gotten a Bad Rap” states that deception or lying has become a part of everyone’s life. A person lies or deceives as often as he brushes his teeth or combs his hair. Many psychologists have neglected or ignored the concept of deception or lying and its effects on everyone’s life. Kornet explains that in the previous two to three decades, the psychologists started noticing or analyzing the effects of a person’s deception on others or why a person lies so many times in his day-to-day life. The person might learn lying from childhood
In “The Interview” by Douglas Starr, He talks about the different techniques they use when interrogating suspects to determine whether the suspect is lying. One technique they use is called the Reid Technique and that is when
One of the last types of ways investigators are coached to detect deception is in the behavioral attitudes of a person being interviewed such as being unconcerned or over anxious (Kassin, 2005). The success rate of looking for these cues are very successful in telling if an individual is being deceitful and has surpassed any laboratory tests conducted on the subject. The laboratory test however did reveal some interesting facts. The research showed that people who had training and experience did not score better than the control group who received no training. In fact all individuals scored at the chance level with the people who had training scored just above chance or at the chance level. To check if special training in the detection of deception was more accurate a study ...
22). People mindlessly respond to avoid their true emotions. Truthfully, I was not fine, but exploding inside with nervousness. However, I didn’t attempt to burden anyone with my lack of confidence, so I told this untruth. Even though white lies may be harmless, they can lead to other deceptive lies labeled by the authors as gray, red, blue and colorless lies. Why do we tell lies? Interestingly, according to the (Banaji and Greenwald, 2013), “evolutionary biologists have proposed that Homo sapiens is indeed hard-wired to tell lies,” (page 25). Furthermore, we want to appear favorable to our friends and family and this may pressure us to justify our lies. According to (Banaji and Greenwald, 2013) it is referred to as “impression management,” by social psychologists (p.27). Thus, lies allow others to see us as we want to be seen, such as I wanted the group to see me as a confident person who could handle obstacles and superbly interact with
When confronted with a problem, why does the human brain default to lying? Dishonesty is never a solution, although it may seem like the best option in the spur of a moment. My grandma always gave the example of her youth: she avoided and deceived her friend’s sister because the little girl riled everyone. Come to find out, the sister passed the following month due to an illness. I could never imagine the guilt she experienced. Nevertheless, everyone has been deceitful before and many characters were in the tragedy, The Crucible, by playwright Arthur Miller. Reasons for lying are understandable, but most people will admit that mendacity has only caused pain. Lying’s outcome is never positive: it may seem like a good option, for falsehood can save a person’s life, benefit someone, and it eases stress, but these are all transitory.
Depending on what study is read, the incidence of false confession is less than 35 per year, up to 600 per year. That is a significant variance in range, but no matter how it is evaluated or what numbers are calculated, the fact remains that false confessions are a reality. Why would an innocent person confess to a crime that she did not commit? Are personal factors, such as age, education, and mental state, the primary reason for a suspect to confess? Are law enforcement officers and their interrogation techniques to blame for eliciting false confessions? Regardless of the stimuli that lead to false confessions, society and the justice system need to find a solution to prevent the subsequent aftermath.
In Laurence Armand French Ph.D. and Thomas J. Young Ph.D.’s article The False Memory Syndrome: Clinical/Legal Issues for the Prosecution talks about memory recall being an unreliable form of evidence in the Criminal Justice System. French and Young state that hypnosis and lie detector tests are a misconception because “the cognitive interpretations of the emotional/autonomic aspects of the central nervous (CNS) and peripheral nervous systems are not true indicators of reality,” (p. 38).
The people who claim that they do not lie are probably lying when they say it. Whether it is to deceive authority or just to play a joke on a friend, it is part of human nature to lie. In the novel The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby takes on a character of wealth and luxury. Gatsby wants to win back his love interest from five years ago, so he secretly becomes wealthy through owning an illegal drug business, using his abundance of money to impress her. In contrast, in Tobias Wolff’s “The Liar,” he tells a story of teenage James as he lies about his life to appear more fascinating. He lies not because he wants to, but because it comes naturally to him. Both stories convey people struggling to find the purpose of their
The polygraph is a very controversial topic when comes to the introduction of the techniques into court. The polygraph technique has not changed since first developed in 1895. What the polygraph does is measures the blood pressure fluctuation, pulse rate and respiratory rate changes. The rate of the blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rate not only changes due to the body being stressed because the person is lying, but it also changes due to anxiety, anger and medical conditions. This will affect the accuracy on the technique and give inconsistent readings within the results (Gailus, C., 2008, November
Although alterations have been made to protect the validity an minimize the error of the polygraph, the results are still dependant of the subjects physiological response. Although research has shown that these alterations do in fact minimize the inaccuracy of the results, no matter what changes are made, there is still a minimal possibility that one can wittingly breach the barriers.
I agree when you state that some people can calm themselves. Pathological liars do exist. Lie detectors are not a 100 percent sufficient. Some claim that lie detectors could put an innocent man or woman in jail. There are many tests where an individual’s actually told the truth, but the lie detector results showed that they lied. There are even cases where the convicted claim that they were manipulated. Could that be possible? I’d say yes, it can be possible. However, most cases follow up more evidence to follow its claims. It is rare for someone to be arrested just because of lie detectors. However, failing a test would raise suspicion. In that case, the luck is not on your side if you fail. We always hear people say, “If did nothing wrong,
A polygraph test can record a person's breathing rate, pulse, blood pressure, perspiration and other significant physiological changes that suggest a person is lying, but it should not be used as evidence in a court of law because it does not provide reliable proof of a person's physical reaction to the stress of lying.
...l question") with his/her response to a question concerning the matter being investigated” (a relevant question) (Polygraph FAQ, 2006). “If reactions to the "control" question are greater, the subject is deemed truthful. If reactions to the question on which the polygrapher is attempting to determine truth or deception are greater, the subject fails. If reactions to both are approximately the same in size, the test is termed inconclusive.” (Polygraph FAQ, 2006).
Can you remember the last time someone lied to you? Or how about the last time you lied to someone else? Did you ever stop and ask yourself why? There are so many different reasons that a person might lie. Maybe a lie about something to keep oneself out of trouble, or even a lie to impress other people. But either way there are always going to be serious consequences or effects of lying.