Detection Deception Using Psychophysiological and Neural Measures

The use of physiological signals to detect deception can be traced back almost a century. Historically, the polygraph has been used—and debated. This chapter discusses the merits of polygraph testing, and to what extent the introduction of measures of brain activity—most notably functional magnetic imaging (fMRI)—have solved the problems associated with polygraph testing. It discusses the different question formats used with polygraph and brain activity measures, and argues that these formats are the main factor contributing to the tests’ validity. Moreover, the authors argue that erroneous test outcomes are caused by errors in logical inferences, and that these errors will not be remedied by new technology. The biggest challenge for the field is to find a question format that isolates deception, and to corroborate laboratory data with methodologically sound field studies.