LIE DETECTION; HISTORY

LIE DETECTION:

The system or practice of determining whether or not somebody is telling the

truth during questioning. (a.k.a Deception Detection).

POLYGRAPHY:

It is the scientific method of detecting deception with the use of polygraph

instrument.

DOES LIE DETECTION TECHNIQUE AND POLYGRAPHY THE SAME?

Lie detection commonly involves the polygraph, and is used to test both
styles of deception. It detects autonomic reactions, such as micro-
expressions, breathing rate, skin conductivity, and heart rate. POLYGRAPHY
is the new name LIE DETECTION.

TRIVIA ABOUT POLYGRAPHY

The first polygraph machines were not designed to track lies – they were
originally intended for medical purposes.

It wasn’t long before police departments started to see the value of

polygraph equipment since it was measuring the same physiological
markers that show someone is lying.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

ADMISSION – is a statement of facts, partial acknowledgement of

guilt and usually given with some justification or exemplification in
admitting.

CONFESSION – direct acknowledgement of guilt or a statement of

guilt.

DECEPTION – is the act of deceiving or misleading usually

accompanied by lying.

DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE – refers to the downward blood

pressure representing the low pressure to the closing of the valves and
heart relaxed.

DICROTIC NOTCH – refers to the short horizontal notch in a cardio-

tracing located at the middle of the diastolic stem.
 ELECTRODERMAL RESPONSE – it refers to human body phenomenon
in which the skin changes resistance electrically upon the application
of certain external stimuli. Also referred to a Psycho galvanic skin reflex
or galvanic skin response.

EMOTION – it refers to an emotional response to specific danger that

appears to be beyond a persons defensive power.

ENVIRONMENT – is the sum total of the dissimulation that a person

acquired from the time he was conceived and his exposure to his
surroundings.

HEREDITY – is the transmission of physical and mental traits of the

parents to their offspring through the genes.

INTERVIEW – simple questioning of one who is willing and

cooperative.

INTERROGATION – forceful questioning of a person who is reluctant to

divulge information.

LYING – is the act of uttering or conveying falsehood or creating a

false or misleading impression with the intention of affecting
wrongfully.

ORDEAL – refers to the oldest form of crime detection done by

subjecting a subject to an obstacle or trial and sometimes even
involving third degree.

SPECIFIC RESPONSE – refers to the response given by the subject

which considered a deviation from the normal tracing or norms of the
subject.

STIMULUS – refers to any force or motion coming from the

environment and which reach an organism has the tendency to arouse.

SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE – the upward blood pressure as the

apex of the curve caused by the contraction of the heart, valves are
open and blood is rushing into the arteries.

EARLY METHODS OF LIE DETECTION

The issue of lie detection is as old as man himself. Back in the ancient times,
rulers and their justice courts used various techniques to catch a liar and
establish the truth. Historical chronicles and ancient written records carry
evidence about complex rituals and sophisticated ordeals otherwise known
as ‘ divine justice’ developed to this end.

EARLY FORMS OF TRIAL

 Trial by Combat (resolving issue by use of human strength)

 Trial by Ordeal (by means of pain)
 Trial by Jury (fact finders)
 Trial by Torture (witch hunt)

PRE- SCIENTIFIC METHODS OF DETECTING DECEPTION

1. TRIAL BY COMBAT
The aggrieved party claimed the right to fight the alleged offender or
to pay a champion to fight for him. The victor is said to win not by his
own strength but because of supernatural powers that had intervened
on the side of the right, as in the duel in the European Ages in which
the “judgment of God was thought to determine the winner”. If still
alive after the combat, the loser might be hanged or burned for a
criminal offense or have a hand cut off and property confiscated in civil
actions.

2. TRIAL BY ORDEAL
A judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused is
determined by subjecting them to a painful task. If either the task is
completed without injury, or the injuries sustained are healed quickly,
the accused is considered innocent. In medieval Europe, like trial by
combat, it was considered as Judicium Dei: a procedure based on the
premise that God would help the innocent by performing a miracle on
their behalf. The word “ordeal” was derived from the Medieval Latin
word “Dei Indicum” which means “a miraculous decision”.
a. RED HOT IRON ORDEAL
Practiced in the hill tribe of Rajhmal in North Bengal. The accused
had to carry a bar of redhot iron in his hands while he walked 9
marked paces. In the unlikely event of no burns appearing on his
hands, he was adjudged innocent. Otherwise, he was promptly
hanged. A variation of licking the rod-hot iron sometimes, the
suspect had to run barefoot over nine red-hot plowshares. The hand
or foot was bound up and inspected 3 days afterwards. If the
 accused had escaped unhurt, the person was pronounced innocent,
if hurt the person is guilty.
b. ORDEAL OF BALANCE
Practiced in the institute of Vishnu, India. A scale of balance is used,
in one end of the scale, the accused is placed and in the other end a
counter balance. The person will step out of the scale and listen to a
judge to deliver an exhortation on the balance and get back in. If he
was found lighter than before then he should be acquitted.
c. ORDEAL OF WATER
In this type of ordeal, the water was symbolic of the flood of the Old
Testament, washing sin from the face of the earth, allowing only the
righteous minority to survive. There are two kinds of ordeal by
water the boiling water and of cold water. Ordeal of water was the
usual mode of trial allowed to members of the lower classes.
❖ Boiling Water Ordeal
According to the laws of Athelstan, the first King of England, the
ordeal consisted of lifting a stone out of the boiling water with the
hand plunged as deep as the wrist. More serious offences
demanded that arm was submerged up to the elbows. The burn was
bandaged for 3 days before fateful examination. One place in
Cordillera still practice boiling water ordeal but it is performed by
various rituals. This ordeal is administered to the accused of being a
thief.
❖ Cold Water Ordeal
The usual mode of trial for witchcraft. In this ordeal, the accused
was tied at the feet and hands and was lowered to cold water by
rope.
d. ORDEAL BY RICE CHEWING
Indians practiced this ordeal. It was formed with a kind of rice called
sathee, prepared with various incantations. The person on trial eats
the sathee, with the face to the east and then spits upon a pea leaf.
If saliva is mixed with blood or the corner of his mouth swells or he
trembles, he is declared to be a liar.
e. ORDEAL OF THE RED WATER
In a wide region of Eastern Africa, the ordeal of the sassy bark or red
water is used. The accused is made to fast for twelve hours, and
then swallows a small amount of rice. Then he will be imbedded in
dark colored water. The water is actually emetic and if the suspect
ejects all rice, he is considered innocent of the charge. Otherwise,
the accused is guilty.
f. ORDEAL OF THE CORSNEAD/ ORDEAL OF THE BLESSED
BREAD
A priest puts the corsnaed or hallowed bread in the mouth of the
accused, with various imprecations. If the accused swallowed it he
was freed from punishment.
g. TEST OF THE EUCHARIST
This was applied chiefly among the clergy and monks. When they
took the host it was believed that God would smite the guilty with
sickness or death. Others believed that if the accused is innocent,
when given a poisonous drink for him to take in, Angel Gabriel will
descend from heaven to prevent the accused from taking in the
poisonous drink.
h. ORDEAL OF THE BIER
It was an ancient belief that the slain dead could point out the killer.
In England, it was usual for the accused to approached the bier on
the which the corpse lays. In view of the witness, the wounds of the
victim were observed to see if they began to bleed again.
i. ORDEAL OF THE NEEDLE
A red-hot needle was drawn through the lips of the alleged criminal
and if blood flowed from the wound, he was deemed guilty, but if
none, he is innocent. Wanaka in Eastern Africa practiced this ordeal.
j. ORDEAL BY HEAT AND FIRE
The accused walked barefooted over coals of fire, or was made to
walk through fire. If he was unharmed by fire he was considered
innocent.
k. TRIAL OF THE CROSS
The accuser and the accused were placed under the cross with their
arms extended or crosswise and the first to move his hands or
suffer them to fall was held guilty.
l. TRIAL OF THE WAXEN SHIRT
The accused was dressed in a cloth covered with wax and walked
barefoot over coals of fire. If he was hurt by the fire and the wax did
not melt, he was considered innocent.
m.HEREDITARY SIEVE METHOD
Hans Gross “Father of Criminalistics”, wrote in his famous book in
Criminal Investigation in which beans were thrown into a sieve as
the name of the suspect was called, mentioned this ordeal. If the
beans jumped out of the sieve, the owner of the sieve is innocent. If
the beans remained in the sieve the person named is a thief.
n. THE SACRED ASS/DONKEY’S TAIL ORDEAL
 A donkey was placed in a dimly lit tent or room. Its tail had been
covered with lampblack. All suspects of an offense were instructed
to pass through the enclosure and while going through they were to
grasp the donkey’s tail. They were also told that the donkey would
bray when touched by the guilty person.
o. ORDEAL OF THE TIGER
Practiced in Siam, the accused and accuser are placed on a cage of
a tiger: if the tiger spare one of them he is considered innocent.

OTHER COUNTRIES PRACTICING ORDEAL

Burma

The Ordeal of Divination is being practiced in this country, whereby it

involves 2 parties being furnished with candles of equal size and lighted
simultaneously the owner of the candle that outlast the other is adjudged to
have won his causes.

Madagascar

Legal authorities practiced trial by ordeal. The supposed criminal was made
to drink a decoction, a poisonous fruit called “tangena”, a small dose is fatal.

Borneo

The accuser and accused were presented with shellfish placed on a plate. An
irritating fluid was then poured on the shellfish and the litigant whose
shellfish moved first was adjudged the winner.

Greece

A suspended axe was spun at the center of a group of suspects. When the
axe stopped, whoever was in the line with the blade as supposed to be guilty
out by the Divine Providence.

Nigeria

The priest greased a cock’s feather and pierced the tongue of the accused. If
the feather passed through the tongue easily, the accused was deemed
innocent. If not, the accused is guilty. Another method practiced into the
same country is the pouring of corrosive liquid into the eyes of the accused
who was supposed to be unharmed if innocent. Pouring of boiling oil over the
hand of the accused with the usual requisites for guilt or innocence is also
practiced.
Ayur Veda - “Hindu book of health and science” the earliest known
reference of the methods for detecting deception.

IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES IN POLYGRAPHY AND THEIR GREAT

CONTRIBUTIONS

The polygraph or most commonly known as lie detector, has been in

existence in police science many years ago. Tracing back its beginning, one
may find out that there are several persons instrumental in the development
of the polygraph instrument as we know it today- recording changes in
respiration, galvanic skin response (GSR) or electro dermal activity (EDA) and
cardiovascular activity.

1. Daniel Defoe
He wrote an essay entitled “An effectual Scheme for the Immediate
Preventing of the Street Robberies and Suppressing All Other Disorders
of the Night” where he suggested the use of the pulse to detect
deception.
2. Angelo Mosso
He studied fear and its influence on the heart. In his observation
subsequently formed the basis for detecting technique.
(Plethysmograph) He devised a “scientific cradle”, which was designed
to measure the flow of blood while a person lay on his back in a prone
position as it became concentrated on one part of the body and then in
the other.
3. Cesare Lombroso
Employed the first scientific instrument to detect deception. This
instrument is known as Hydrosphygmograph, which measures changes
in pulse and blood pressure when suspects were asked about their
involvement on or knowledge of specific response.

He was accorded the distinction of being the first person to utilize an

instrument for the purpose of detecting lies.
4. William James Mackenzie
A famous English heart specialist who first describe the polygraph
machine as the “ink polygraph”
5. William Moulton Marston (1915)
The self proclaimed “father of the polygraph” conducted more
numerous tests for detecting deception utilizing the changes of systolic
deception and develops his own method of reading systolic blood
 pressure. He also recorded the respiration and noted the time of
subject’s verbal responses. He also experimented with galvanometer
to record skin resistance changes and gripping device to record
tension. (Troville 2009).
6. John A. Larson 1921
Developed an instrument capable of simultaneously and continuously
recording blood pressure, pulse rate and respiration. His invention was
designated as the “ The Bread Lie Detector”. He was credited as
forerunner of modern polygraph. (Father of Scientific Lie
Detection) (Father of Polygraphy)
7. Vittorio Benussi (1914)
Discovered a method for calculating the quotient of the inhalation to
exhalation as means of verifying the truth and detecting deception of
the subject.

He demonstrated the changes in systolic blood pressure were of

greater value in determining deception than in changes in respiration.
8. Harold Burt (1918)
Determined that the respiratory changes were signs of deception and
concluded that systolic pressure changes are valuable in determining
deception.
9. Luigi Galvani (1791)
An Italian psychologist who developed the galvanic skin reflex. The
GSR reflected emotional changes by measuring changes in person’s
skin resistance to electricity.
10. Sticker (1895)
He made the first galvanograph for detecting deception based from the
work of his predecessor and introduced the method of detecting from
the galvanic impression on the chart tracing. He worked on the
influence and relation of the sweat glands to skin resistance.
11. Veraguth (1907)
He was the first one to use the term “psycho galvanic reflex”. He
believes that that the electrical phenomenon is due to the activity of
sweat glands.
12. . Richard O. Arther
He developed an improvised polygraph machine with two galvanic skin
resistance.
13. Cleve Backster (1960)
 He created the numerical scoring on the polygraph chart and
standardizing quantitive polygraph technique. He developed the
Backster Zone Comparison Test.
14. Leonard Keeler (1925)
An American Psychologist invented a more satisfactory instrument
than the one used by Larson. Later on Keeler made additional changes
in the instrument, and at the time of his death in 1949 the Keeler
Polygraph included, in addition to units for recordings blood
pressurepulse and respiration changes, a galvanometer for recording
what is known as the galvanic skin reflex or electrodermal responses
generally referred to as the GSR. He also introduced the “card test and
the peak of tension test.” (Father of Modern Polygraphy).
15. John E. Reid (1947)
He developed improvement with the conventional polygraph by
incorporating muscular resistance his device was known as the Reid
polygraph. In 1950, he developed the Control Question which consisted
of a known lie and incorporated it into the relevant- irrelevant
technique (Father of Controls).

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS FOR THE EVOLUTION OF POLYGRAPHY

American Polygraph Association

In 1966, the American Polygraph Association (APA) was established. At

present it consists of over 2500 members dedicated to providing a valid and
reliable means to verify truth and establish the highest standard of moral,
ethical, and professional conduct in the polygraph field.

The APA continues to be the leading polygraph professional association,

establishing standards of ethical practices, techniques, instrumentation,
research, and advanced training and continuing educational programs

University of Utah Research

The University of Utah researchers introduced computer assisted polygraph

techniques in the early 1980’s , and they remain at the forefront of
developments in instrumentation and analytic methods for computerized
polygraph system. The methods for quantification of physiological reaction
are based on more than 30 years of scientific and field experiences by Dr.
David C. Raskin and Dr. John C. Kircher. In 1998 they developed the
Computer Assisted Polygraph System (CAPS) which incorporated the first
algorithm to be used for evaluating physiological data collected for
diagnostic purposes.

PolyScore and Objective Scoring System

In 1993, statisticians Dr. Dale E. Olsen and John Harris of John Hopskins
University Applied Physics Laboratory, Maryland completed a software
program called the Polyscore which used sophisticated mathematical
algorithm to analyze the polygraph data and to estimate a probability or
degree of deception or truthfulness in a subject.

Department of Energy

In 2003, the U. S Department of Energy commissioned a review committee of

the National Academy of Science to study the scientific evidence on the
polygraph.

Withstanding more than a century of research, development and widespread

use, the polygraph examination remains the most effective means of
verifying the truth and detecting deception.

Dr. Joseph F. Kurbis (1970) – of Furdham University in New York City is the
first researcher who used potential computer applications for the purpose of
polygraph chart analysis..