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This paper provides examples of polygraph misuses; details the increasing use of the polygraph inside and outside of law enforcement; explains what a polygraph is, what a typical polygraph test might consist of and its weaknesses in the detection of truth; and analyzes the available research with specific reference to the validity and reliability of the polygraph as scientific evidence. The paper notes that the modern polygraph was invented in 1923 by psychologist Leonard Keeler at the University of California (Berkeley) for use in experimental psychology and not as a lie detector. It discusses the polygraph as a First Amendment issue and as a violation of privacy. (Contains 33 references.) (BT)

In an attempt to get an idea of students' perceptions of cheating and the frequency with which cheating occurs, a study examined 203 students currently enrolled in public speaking classes from two-year and four-year schools on the East Coast and in the Midwest. The survey was divided into four parts which: (1) gathered biographical information about the students; (2) provided a hypothetical situation and asked if it was cheating; (3) asked them to confess to various forms of cheating they may have committed in a speech class; and (4) asked if they knew anyone else who had cheated. Results indicated that only 95 of the 203 students reported that they had not cheated in some way. Findings suggest that roughly 78% of the students from four-year institutions cheated, while the number at two-year institutions was roughly 57%. (Contains a diagram, 3 tables of data, and 16 references.) (CR)

Analysis of the transcript of a social worker's interview with a five-and-a-half-year-old girl allegedly sexually abused by a man focuses on how the interview was conducted and elements that suggest it should not be used as testimony. First, inconsistencies in the transcript that cast doubt on the child's reliability are noted, and the truth of the accusation is called into question. Second, flaws in the manner in which the interview was conducted, which resulted in an inaccurate account of the events of the case, are analyzed. Types of questions asked by the social worker and the presuppositions they entailed are then examined, and instances that do lend support to the child's charge of being sexually abused are discussed. It is concluded that information crucial to making a strong case against the alleged molester was not elicited, because clear answers were not received for several questions. The testimony remained unclear, confused, or conflicting. Reconstruction of the events according to the interview suggests that while something happened to the child, the language of her testimony did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was guilty of molestation. Salient excerpts of the interview transcript are appended. (MSE)

To determine how often children falsely report being sexually abused, this study asked professionals to indicate the percentage of children with whom they had worked who had made false reports. In addition, this study examined the variables that might be associated with the percentage of false allegations reported by professionals. The factors examined were age of the child, profession of the interviewer (law enforcement versus mental health), expectation of the interviewer (whether they believe children generally do not lie about sexual abuse versus interview children neutrally), and sex of the interviewer. Boston-area professionals, including 74 law enforcement professionals and 127 mental health professionals, were interviewed by telephone. The results indicated that women reported a smaller percentage of false allegations than did men, and that all professionals reported fewer false allegations for children under 6 than they did for children age 6-9 or 10-12. An age-of-child X profession-of-interviewer interaction indicated that the law enforcement and mental health professionals were differentially affected by children ages 10-12. Mental health professionals reported a significantly higher percentage of false allegations than did law enforcement professionals. The results of this study indicated that professionals reported a small percentage of cases as having been false. The results also indicated that the percentage of false reports was related to the sex of the interviewer, age of the child, and profession of the interviewer. (BHK)

Examines the effectiveness of a standard parent-training program in reducing stealing and lying in two boys, and measures changes in their mothers' adjustment and perceptions of child and family functioning. Parent suspicions of stealing and lying by their sons decreased during the intervention and were absent at a 10-week follow-up. (Contains 30 references, 2 tables, and 1 figure.) (GCP)

The ability to detect lying is an important skill. While the polygraph is the most common mechanical method used for lie detection, other electronic-based methods have also been developed. One such method, the analysis of voice stress patterns, is based on the assumption that lying is a stressful activity which reduces involuntary frequency modulations in the human voice. One variation of voice analysis involves recording interviews and then transmitting the recordings through the telephone to a second location where the voice is re-recorded, charted, and evaluated. Voice stress analyses were performed on 15 tape-recorded pre-employment interviews in both their original form and after they had been transmitted via telephone and re-recorded. Four expert voice stress examiners, blind to the telephone condition, reported less stress in the telephone charts than in the original charts. There was little relationship between the stress rating for the same charts in their original and telephone forms. Reliability estimates were low for both the original and telephone stress ratings. Summing over the stress ratings from individual questions and advanced training on the part of the examiners both appeared to improve the reliability estimates. The continued use of telephone recorded tapes as substitutes for the original tapes is highly questionable. In addition, these results suggest that voice analysis ratings, as they are currently used, do not show sufficient reliability to warrant their continued use as a selection procedure for employment. (NB)

Tested E. E. Sweetser's (1987) model of lying, which emphasizes critical contribution of social factors to definitions of lie. Presented vignettes to 12-, 16-, and 19-year olds--half with prototypic lie-telling, half with truth-telling--and asked them to indicate degree of agreement that statement was a lie. Found that effects of age, help-harm condition, and setting were significant, supporting Sweetser's model. (EV)

Predicts violent offending at adolescence is part of a general pattern of high-rate antisocial behavior that emerges in childhood. Also predicts multiple arrestees with no arrests for violence would self-report as much violence as multiple arrestees with arrests for violence. Findings generally support the contention that violent offenders show the same background as frequent but nonviolent offenders. (KW)

Investigates whether personality tests could differentiate between alcohol and drug users among juvenile offenders. Subjects were 108 juvenile offenders given conditional discharge. Results indicate that frequent drug and/or alcohol abusers scored lower on the Gough Socialization Scale and higher on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire lie scale. (JPS)

The incidence of cheating and lying on an experimental measure was examined from a sample of high school students who attended either a religious (Catholic) or a secular (public) school. Student surveys indicated that the groups were similar in moral reasoning level and in lying and cheating behavior. Level of moral reasoning was not correlated with behavior. (SM)

Presents statistics and research findings concerning student academic dishonesty and discuss useful processes and sanctions in adjudicating cases. Prevention strategies and ways to implement proactive campus initiatives are also presented. (Author/KW)

Explores the use of quantitative EEG in the detection of lies employing a special electrode cap and specialized video recording and audio equipment. The method offers the ability to decide when it can predict accurately and when it can predict with 100% accuracy. (JPS)

A 2-phase study (n=330 students, n=90 students) in 3 colleges developed a self-report survey to measure characteristics of students involved in academic misconduct. Five misconduct constructs were identified: cheating on tests and assignments; inappropriate use of resources; quasi-misconduct; subtle manipulation of faculty; and bold manipulation of faculty. Students could also be clustered by characteristics. (Author/MSE)

Reports on a study in which subjects judged the veracity of truthful and deceptive communicators after viewing no, one, two, or four case-relevant baseline exposures (familiarity) of truthful communication. Finds a positive linear relationship between detection accuracy and amount of baseline familiarity. (SR)

Finds that subjects primarily used a communicator's verbal plausibility, nervousness, and nonverbal expectancies violation to guide veracity judgments. Shows that accuracy was higher for participants judging truthful communicators than for subjects judging deceptive communicators. Discusses a truth bias and the use of global heuristics as possible explanations for why lie detection failed. (SR)

A 10-step scale for assessing development of understanding relationships between honesty and kindness was developed and administered to 113 youths. Results indicated that development moved through 3 stages, as youths age 9-12 demonstrated abstract concepts of honesty and kindness; age 13-15 demonstrated simple abstract relations; and age 16-20 demonstrated complex abstract relations. (MDM)

Eighty-eight pairs of children were interviewed about a contrived interaction with an adult under one of four conditions: no cues, context cues, relevant cues, and irrelevant cues. Although relevant cues facilitated recall, accuracy did not differ across cue conditions. Younger children were less likely to report an accident they were asked to keep secret than were older children. (MDM)

Finds that naive human lie detectors follow content-related heuristics (like infrequency of reported events or falsifiability) but can flexibly change their strategy as they learn about authentic nonverbal cues that discriminate lies from truthful communications. (SR)