Galvanic skin response and human polygraphy ("lie detection")

Recommended tasks:It is extremely important during all tasks:

• To wait at least 10 sec after the stimulus in order to see the effect on the registration (thus: ask the question, get the answer and wait 10 sec before asking the next quest ion)

• the subject should not see the registration• Silence should be kept in the classroom! In order t o avoid

influencing the Subject's responses, there should b e no change of emotions on the observers' face!

• Insert a mark with the F9 button in the registratio n at the time of each question (Q) and answer (A)!

Tasks:

1. Subject should say his/her name quietly, in a low tone.

2. Subject should quietly count backwards from 10 to 1.

3. Subject should count backward from 30 by subtracting increasing odd numbers (e.g. 30, (-1=)29, (-3=)26,

(-5=)21, (-7=)14, etc)

4. The investigator (preferably from the opposite sex) should lightly touch the subject's hand, then face.

After observing the subject's reaction, you can try to carry out "lie detection ".

6. Subject should take one card out of 10, showing numbers between 1 to 10, without showing it to the others. The card should be put back, shuffled, then the investigator should raisethe cards up one after the other in a random fashion and ask e.g."was the number you saw 5?" The subject should say NO in all cases, and Observers should try to figure out the false answer based on the recording.

7. Ask 10 questions from the Subject, who should lie 2 times out of 10 answers. Try to find the incorrect answers!

5. Read out 10 words, keeping at least 10 sec between them. Choose words that should not evoke emotional reactions (like table, spoon, etc) and those which are expected to generate increased activity (like orgasm, mother, subject's name, kiss, etc). The associative (Jung) test is carried out similarly, investigating reactions to those words which might have some "deeper" meaning (like father, death, flower, fire, etc). The subject's reaction profile might be used as a diagnostic tool.

• Print out the recordings from each session!

• Explain the most characteristic changes in the Subject 's responses (no detailed numerical analysis is needed)

• Under which circumstances were the sympathic activity increased to the most extent? Why?

• Give some reasons why polygraph testing of a person’s sincerity and honesty may yield inconclusive results