Use of antianxiety drugs as countermeasures in the detection of guilty knowledge.

To evaluate whether antianxiety drugs enable guilty Ss to appear innocent on polygraph tests, the authors compared the effects of diazepam, meprobamate, and propranolol on the outcome of a guilty knowledge test (GKT). 75 undergraduate students were evenly divided among 1 innocent and 4 guilty groups. Ss in each of the guilty groups received either 1 of the drugs or a placebo prior to the administration of the GKT and after viewing a videotape that depicted a burglary as seen from the perspective of the burglar. The results showed that drug status had no influence on the outcome of the GKT. Innocent Ss who coincidentally obtained high scores on a recognition memory test covering details of the mock crime tended to obtain higher guilt scores on the GKT. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity of the guilty knowledge technique in a prisoner's sample.

Evaluated the guilty knowledge technique as a detector of knowledge held by 30 prisoners in a maximum security prison in Israel. In an initial interview, Ss responded to 20 questions designed to elicit personal responses or items. During a later interrogation, Ss were presented verbally with (a) the same 20 questions and (b) 5 alternative responses including their own personal response and 4 neutral control responses. During the interrogation, Ss listened quietly while their GSRs were monitored. On the basis of the GSR data, a significant proportion (p     

The validity of the guilty knowledge technique: The effects of faking.

In developing an alternative to the lie detector, a questionnaire was given 20 Ss with the GSR. 1 response in each multiple-choice item was a guilty response known to the examiner. Ss were bribed to defeat the GSR after being trained to do so. They failed. Although conventional methods may be used in more instances, this objectively scored, guilt knowledge test offers a valuable alternative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of diazepam and methylphenidate on the electrodermal detection of guilty knowledge.

60 19–28 yr old male undergraduates were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups in an investigation of the effects of antianxiety (diazepam) and stimulant (methylphenidate) drugs on polygraphic interrogation. Ss assigned to the 3 guilty groups watched a videotape depicting the burglary of an apartment through the eyes of the thief. Each S was asked to imagine that it was he who was committing the crime and was given instructions to encourage his becoming absorbed in the videotape. Ss were given either diazepam, methylphenidate, or placebo capsules before a polygraph examination. Control Ss viewed a videotape depicting scenes from the interior of another apartment (no crime was committed) before being given a polygraph examination. Results show that drug status did not affect the validity of the polygraph examination. Ss who remembered more facts scored significantly more in the guilt direction. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of altered outcome expectancies stemming from placebo and feedback treatments on the validity of the guilty knowledge technique.

Examined the effect of using placebo and feedback treatments to alter outcome expectancies on the detection efficiency of the guilty knowledge polygraph technique. 270 undergraduates each committed a mock murder, after which the investigator administered a series of 5 lie detector tests to ascertain the facts involved in the simulated murder. Prior to testing, an equal number of male and female Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 9 treatment groups. The groups consisted of the different treatment combinations produced by pairing 1 of 3 placebo conditions (pass, control, fail) with 1 of 3 feedback conditions (pass, control, fail). Although highly significant sex and feedback effects on outcome expectancies were found, there were no significant main or interaction effects produced by the sex, feedback, or placebo conditions with respect to detection efficiency as measured by a standard guilty knowledge scoring procedure. Results support the detection of deception theories that stress the importance of differential arousal and/or habituation effects associated with relevant and irrelevant stimuli. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deception and nondeception in guilty knowledge and guilty actions polygraph tests.

Two polygraph tests, the Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT) and the Guilty Actions Test (GAT), were compared in a laboratory setting. Men (N?=?120) who committed or witnessed a mock crime were required to answer "no"", to repeat items, or to remain silent in response to items on the GKT or the GAT. A monetary reward was promised for appearing innocent on the test. An interaction with scores based on skin resistance responses showed that innocent witnesses tested on the GKT and guilty participants tested with either the GKT or the GAT scored more in the guilt direction than did innocent witnesses tested on the GAT. Furthermore, participants who were required to say "no"" were more reactive to key items than were participants in the silent group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Guilty knowledge technique: Application of signal detection measures.

Applied procedures for the computation of optimal cutoff points suggested by signal detection theory to an information detection situation with 60 undergraduates. The use of different payoff matrices relevant to a security screening situation and to a criminal court case produces different cutoff points to be used to classify the GSRs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Detection of guilty knowledge in real-life criminal investigations.

The present study provides a first attempt to estimate the validity of the Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT) in real-life criminal investigations. Skin resistance responses in GKT records of 50 innocent and 48 guilty Ss, for whom actual truth was established by confession, were analyzed by two methods. On the basis of an a priori decision rule, 98% of the innocent and 42% of the guilty Ss were correctly classified. Signal detection measures based on various possible decision rules indicated that the distribution of guilty Ss was highly differentiated from the distribution of innocent Ss. An optimal decision rule yielded correct classifications for 94% of the innocent Ss and 65% of the guilty Ss. These results suggest that the GKT could be a useful investigative tool that protects innocent suspects from being falsely classified as guilty. The false-negative identifications were accounted for in terms of the realistic conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of feedback of physiological information on responses to innocent associations and guilty knowledge.

Investigated the effects of providing Ss with feedback concerning their physiological responding while they were questioned about (a) innocent associations varying in degree of personal involvement and (b) innocent associations vs guilty knowledge. In Exp I, 48 undergraduates were divided into 3 groups—electrodermal, heart-rate, or no feedback. Ss were then questioned separately about a list of geometric figures, containing one that they had chosen beforehand, and about a list of Social Security numbers, which included their own. Results, based on the relative amplitude of electrodermal responses, indicate that feedback significantly augmented responses to the relevant item as did personal involvement. In Exp II, 26 undergraduates were provided with guilty knowledge about a mock crime while another 26 Ss received innocent associations. Half of each group received electrodermal feedback and half no feedback. Results show significant differences in the responding of guilty and innocent Ss. Feedback increased responding to relevant items in both groups. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Detection measures in real-life criminal guilty knowledge tests.

Provides a 1st attempt to compare the validity of the respiration line length (RLL) and skin resistance response (SRR) amplitude in real-life criminal guilty knowledge tests (GKTs). GKT records of 40 innocent and 40 guilty Ss, for whom actual truth was established by confession, were assessed for their accuracy. When a predefined decision rule was used and inconclusive decisions were excluded, 97.4% of the innocent Ss and 53.3% of the guilty Ss were correctly classified with the SRR measure. For the RLL measure, the respective results were 97.2% and 53.1%. The combination of both measures improved detection of guilty Ss to 75.8% and decreased detection of innocent Ss to 94.1%. The combined measure seems to be a more useful means of identifying guilty suspects than each physiological measure alone. The results elaborate and extend those obtained in a previous field study (E. Elaad, 1990). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Amnesia, feelings of knowing, and the guilty knowledge test.

A rating technique measuring feelings of knowing and a guilty knowledge polygraph test were used to distinguish between laboratory Ss who were either simulating amnesia or were genuinely amnesic to information contained in an account of a rape. Ss were 40 university students. Each S denying knowledge of an item rated from 1 to 7 the likelihood of recalling the item if given more time, a hint, or the item amongst similar items. In a 2nd interview with the polygraph, questions of which that S had denied memory were asked. Analyses revealed no differences between the feeling-of-knowing ratings given by genuine or simulating amnesics but found that skin resistance changes occurred more frequently to critical items on the guilty knowledge test with simulators than with those who were genuinely amnesic. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychophysiological reactivity to mental arithmetic stress in Black and White normotensive men.

34 Black and 42 White male normotensives 34–55 yrs old performed a mental arithmetic task while blood pressure, heart rate, and skin conductance were recorded. Compared with Whites, Blacks had significantly higher baseline diastolic blood pressure and lower skin conductance levels. These effects persisted during performance of the mental arithmetic task. When baseline differences were covaried, there were no significant physiological effects associated with the task. There were no significant race or family history effects, and task performance did not influence the outcome. Failure to demonstrate greater cardiovascular reactivity in Blacks and all men with a positive family history of hypertension is discussed with regard to possible survivor effects and methodologic limitations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Healing through art: The self-portrait technique.

Describes the historical use and interpretation of art in child therapy. A case study with a 6-yr-old boy examines the use of the self-portrait technique in the process of healing. The case study, including self-portraits and accompanying narratives, demonstrates that positive change in self-concept occurs over time within a therapeutic, client-centered environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of physical countermeasures on the physiological detection of deception.

In Exp I, 48 undergraduates were divided into 4 groups, 3 of which enacted a mock crime. Two of these guilty groups were trained in the use of a countermeasure, either biting the tongue (pain countermeasure) or pressing the toes against the floor (muscle countermeasure) during the control question zones of the control question test (CQT). All countermeasure Ss were given extensive information about the nature of the CQT. Results show that no significant effects for countermeasures were found. In Exp II, 57 Ss were divided into 3 groups, 2 of which enacted a mock crime, to assess the effects of additional training and concurrent use of both countermeasures. Results show that countermeasure Ss produced 47% false negative outcomes as compared to no false negatives for guilty control Ss. False negative outcomes occurred when Ss were able to produce physiological responses that were larger to control questions than to relevant questions. Findings should be qualified by the possibility that the countermeasure task would be more difficult if the relevant questions dealt with a real crime in an actual investigation. It is concluded that a substantial number of Ss can be trained to defeat a CQT in a laboratory paradigm. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Angry, guilty, and conflicted: Injustice toward coworkers heightens emotional labor through cognitive and emotional mechanisms.

This study drew on fairness theory and affective events theory to explain why individuals' emotional labor is impacted by injustice extended toward coworkers by their customers. Pairs of participants worked side by side as customer-service representatives for a simulated organization. They interacted with fair/unfair customers as well as observed face-to-face service encounters between their coworker and fair/unfair customers. Results indicated that participants' emotional labor increased both as a result of unfairness directed toward themselves as well as toward their coworkers. These effects were mediated by both discrete emotions and fairness-related counterfactual thinking and were significant even when the participants themselves had been treated fairly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Real-time training: Transfer of knowledge through computer-mediated, real-time feedback.

In this article, the author describes an interactive, computer-mediated method/technology for promoting transfer of knowledge, theoretically grounded in cognitive science, that responds specifically to needs outlined by Binder (1993; 1999) and Berger (2004) for integrating cognitive psychology principles and interactive, computer-mediated methods with psychotherapy training. The article provides a context for understanding the process known as Real-Time Training (RTT; Rosenberg, 2000a) by reviewing expertise research literature as applied to clinical training, describing the conceptual framework underlying the development of RTT, reviewing live and computer-mediated supervision methods for clinical training, providing preliminary research validation of RTT, and discussing clinical training and supervision implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Television formats, mastery of mental skills, and the acquisition of knowledge.

Conducted a study to demonstrate that when TV formats are varied, with content held constant, they differentially affect the use of mental skills and the acquisition of knowledge. Four groups of 44 5th graders were pretested on a battery of mental skill tests; then each group was shown 1 of 4 TV film versions of a story and posttested on 2 types of knowledge acquisition tests. All films had the same content, but their dominant format of presentation differed, with fragmentation of spaces, logical gaps, close-ups, and zoomings in and out. Results show differential patterns of correlations between initial skill mastery and knowledge acquisition within each format, depending on whether the format called upon a skill or supplanted it. Also, correlational patterns varied as a function of the requirements of the knowledge acquisition task. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

My friend is embarrassing me: Exploring the guilty by association effect.

It is contended that people (known here as associates) erroneously believe that their social standing suffers when people with whom they are associated (offenders) act in socially inappropriate ways. Accordingly, the anticipated evaluations of associates and observers were contrasted in 6 studies. Study 1 participants read a second-person scenario from the perspective of an associate or an observer. Associates anticipated that observers would give them less positive ratings when the offender picked his or her nose (versus control), but observers' ratings were unaffected. In Study 2, associates erroneously anticipated that observers' ratings of them would vary systematically as a function of whether or not they were introduced as friends of an offender who had/had not committed academic misconduct. In Study 3, anticipated ratings of associates were negatively affected by the actions of an offender whom they did not know previously. Study 4 showed that perspective-taking is the key to attenuating the effect and reducing feelings of embarrassment. The last 2 studies clarified the role of physical proximity and felt closeness. Consistent with results of a scenario study (Study 5), Study 6 participants' anticipated ratings were negatively affected by a combination of increased physical proximity and felt closeness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Imagining stereotypes away: The moderation of implicit stereotypes through mental imagery.

Research on implicit stereotypes has raised important questions about an individual's ability to moderate and control stereotypic responses. With few strategies shown to be effective in moderating implicit effects, the present research investigates a new strategy based on focused mental imagery. Across 5 experiments, participants who engaged in counterstereotypic mental imagery produced substantially weaker implicit stereotypes compared with participants who engaged in neutral, stereotypic, or no mental imagery. This reduction was demonstrated with a variety of measures, eliminating explanations based on response suppression or shifts in response criterion. Instead, the results suggest that implicit stereotypes are malleable, and that controlled processes, such as mental imagery, may influence the stereotyping process at its early as well as later stages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)