SOUTHWAY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

(SOCOTECH)

CRIMINOLOGY DEPARTMENT
Effective A.Y. 2021-2022

NOTES IN LIE DETECTION TECHNIQUES FOR ONLINE CLASS

Course Code: FORENSIC- 5

MODULE 1

WHAT IS POLYGRAPHY?

It is the scientific method of detecting deception with the use of a polygraph instrument. This
is the new name of LIE DETECTION.

WHAT IS POLYGRAPH?

The term “polygraph” means “many writings”. The name refers to the manner in which
selected physiological activities are simultaneously collected and recorded.

POLYGRAPH is a recorder of a psycho-physiological changes occurring within the

examinees body as the polygraph examiner asks a series of test questions.

It is also called “Truth Verifier”

WHAT IS A LIE DETECTOR?

It is the popular but misleading name of the Polygraph.

CONCEPTS OF POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION

1. Used to test an individual for the purpose of detecting deception or verifying the
truthfulness of his statements.

2. It is done by recording identifiable physiological reactions of the subject, such as: blood
pressure, pulse rate, respiration and skin resistance.

3. The effectiveness of the polygraph in recording symptoms of deception is based on the

theory that “ a conscious mental effort on the part of a normal person to deceive causes
involuntary physiological changes that are in effect a body’s reaction to an imminent danger
to its well-being.

WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES OF A POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION?

Polygraph examination is conducted in order to:

 1. Obtain additional investigation leads to the facts of the case/offenses.
2. Ascertain if a person is telling the truth.
3. Locate the fruits or tools of the crime and whereabouts of wanted persons.
4. Identify other persons involved (accomplices of crime).
5. Obtain valuable information from reluctant witnesses.
6. Eliminate the innocent suspects.

WHAT IS LIE?

A lie is any of the following: untruthful statement, falsehood, anything that deceives or
creates false impression, untrue statements especially with intent to deceive or to give an
erroneous or misleading impression. It is also synonymous to deceit, deception, fabrication,
falsehood and untruth.

WHAT IS MEANT BY DETECTION?

In this context, detection is the act of detecting, discovery, perceiving, finding, or

uncovering something obscure such as a lie.

WHY DO PEOPLE LIE?

There are many reasons why people lie .But commonly, it is due to fear of detection
that one has committed something undesirable or would like to preserve something valuable.
For instance, he may feel that detection would result to embarrassment, penalty and
punishment, thus, placing his whole life at stake.

A person’s fear, anxieties and apprehensions are channelled toward the situation
which reminds his instinct of self-preservation to struggle out from the consequences of the
wrong he had already done.

WHAT ARE THE GENERAL KINDS OF LIE

1. WHITE LIE OR BENIGN LIE –These are the kind of lies used to protect or maintain the
harmony of friendship or any relationship.
2. PATHOLOGICAL LIE –This is a lie made by persons who cannot distinguish right from
wrong.
3. RED LIE-This involves political interests and motives because this is a part of communist
propaganda strategy. This is prevalent in communist countries or communist infested
nations.
EXAMPLE: Propaganda-brain –washing and blackmail via espionage and treason.
4. BLACK LIE – A lie which accompanies pretensions and hypocrisies, intriguing to cause
dishonour or discredit ones good image.
5. MALICIOUS OR JUDICIAL LIE – this is very pure and unjustifiable kind of lie that is
intended purely to mislead or obstruct justice.
WHAT ARE OTHER KINDS OF LIE?

1. FABRICATION –a lie told when someone submits a statement as truth, without knowing
for certain whether or not it actually is true. Although the statement may be possible or
plausible, it is not based on fact. Rather, it is something made up, or it is a mispresentation
of the truth. Examples of the fabrication: “The dog ate my homework “or “ I did unplug the
iron’’.

2. BOLD-FACED LIE – is one which is told when it is obvious to all concerned that is a lie.
For example, a child who has chocolate all around his mouth and denies that he has eaten
any chocolate is a bold-faced- liar.

3. LYING BY OMISSION – One lies omission by omitting an important fact, deliberately

leaving another person with a misconception. Lying by omission includes failures to correct
pre-existing misconception. For example, a husband may tell his wife he was out at a store,
which is true, but lie by omitting the fact that he also visited his mistress ,although it is
disputable whether or not this is actually a lie.

4. LIE-TO-CHILDREN –often a platitude which may use euphemism, which is told to make
an adult subject acceptable to children.

5. NOBLE LIE – one which would normally cause discord if it were uncover, but which offers
some benefit to the liar and assists in an orderly society, therefore potential beneficial to
others. It is often told to maintain law, order and safety.

6. EMERGENCY LIE –is a strategic lie when the truth may not be told because it may harm
a third party .For example, a neighbour might lie to an enraged husband about the where
about of his unfaithful wife, because said husband might reasonably be expected to inflict
physical injury should he encounter his wife in person. Alternatively, an emergency lie could
denote a (temporary) lie told to a second person because of the presence of a third.

7. PERJURY –the act of lying or making verifiably false statement on a material under oath
or affirmation in a court of law, or in any of various sworn statements in writing. Perjury is a
crime, because the witness has sworn to tell the truth and, for the credibility of the court to
remain intact, witness testimony must be replied on has truthful.

8. BLUFFING – pretending to have a capability or intention which one does not actually
possess. It is an act of deception which is rarely seen as immoral, because it takes place in
the context of a game where this kind of deception is consented to in advance by the
players. For example, athlete indicates he will move left and then actually dodges right is not
considered to lying. In this situation, deception is accepted and can be expected as a tactic.

9. JOCOSE LIES – are those which are meant in jest, and are usually understood as such
by all present parties. Teasing and sarcasm are examples.

10. CONTEXTUAL LIES- One can state part of the truth out of context, knowing that without
complete information, it gives a false impression. Likewise ,one can actually state accurate
facts, yet deceive with them .To say “yeah that’s right ,I slept with your best friend “ utilizing a
sarcastic, offended tone may cause the listener to assume the speaker did not mean he
said ,when in fact he did.

11. PROMOTION LIES –Advertisement often contain statement which are incredible, such
as “We are always happy to give a refund’, or exaggerated predictions such as ‘’you will love
our new product’’.
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF LIARS?
1. Panic Liars – one who lies in order to avoid the consequences of a confession, they are
afraid of embarrassment and it is a serious blow to their ego. They believe that confession
will just make the matter worst.

2. Occupational Liars – Are practical liars and lies when it has a higher ‘’ pay off’’ than
telling the truth.

3. Tournament Liars – Are those who love to lie and are excited by the challenge of not
being detected. For them an interview is a contest and wants to win, these people realize
that they will probably be convicted but will not give anyone the satisfaction of hearing them
or her confesses, the want that people will believe that the law is punishing am innocent
person.

4. Psychopathic Liars – The most difficult type, these persons have no conscience and
shows no regret for dishonesty and no manifestation of guilt.

5. Ethnological Liars –Are those who taught not to be a squealer (squeal-to cry or to shrill
voice – used by underworld gang in order for their member not to reveal any secrets of their
organization).

6. Pathological Liars – Are persons who cannot distinguish right from wrong due to their
sick mind.)They are insane.

7. Black Liars –Are the persons who always pretend what he is and what he thinks of
himself.)

WHAT IS THE THEORY OF LIE DETECTION?

It must be recognized that there is no such instrument that could detect lies. The
popular name, ‘’LIE DETECTOR ‘’ given to a polygraph, is somewhat misleading .No
collection of inanimate objects including the very finest and complicated modern computers,
can detect deception on the part of any human being.

This so – called ‘’Lie Detector,’’ simply certain physiological activities of the body.
These physiological activities are constantly in operation as long as the person is alive. You
should be aware that the most common lie detection instrument records the breathing
pattern of inspiration and expiration, a continuous pattern of relative blood pressure and
pulse rate, and a pattern of electro-dermal responses.

It is well known that the body adapts itself as efficiently as possible to its environment
.If the environment changes; the body will rapidly adjust itself to any changes. This is done
by a complicated system of internal checks and balance primarily involving the automatic
nervous system. This ability to adjust is necessary changing world. That organisms that
cannot adjust rapidly die out.
WHAT IS THE THEORY OF THE LYING PERSON?

The polygraph technique uses the principles that the bodily functions of persons are
influenced by his mental state. The physiological changes accompanying deceptions are
capable of being recorded, measured and interpreted with reasonable certainty.

Telling a lie is usually an emotional experience. A conscious act of lying causes the
mind of a person, which produces an emotion of fear or anxiety manifested by fluctuations in
pulse rate, blood pressure, breathing and perspiration. The physiologic fluctuations that
come with the emotion are in nature automatic, self-regulating and beyond conscious control
because they effect the functioning of the internal structures that prepare the body for
emergency.

The underlying psychology here includes:

1. The lying person fears detection, causing physiological changes to take place in his
body.
2. Fear of detection must be experienced by the subject

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE ANS IN THE POLYGRAPGH EXAMINATION?

The physiological effectors in polygraph examination are the Autonomic Nervous System.

Autonomic Nervous System-it is the one responsible for regulating mechanism that corrects
the slightest deviation from a particular standard within very fine limits

WHAT ARE THE EXTERNAL OBSERVABLE SIGN S AND SYMPTOMS OF

LIES/DECEPTIONS?

1. Stammering and swearing to or before God that he did not commit the offense
2. Pointing his guilt to somebody else
3. Refuses to answer questions thru alibis and excuses.
4. All the time absent-minded.
5. Always requesting for repetition of questions
6. Often asks counter-questions and counter-queries
7. Blushing, paling g or profuse sweating of forehead.
8. Dilation of the eyes, protrusion of eyeballs and elevation of upper eyelids.
9. Squinting of the eyes (showing envy, distrust, etc.)
10. Twitching of the lips and or excessive winking of the eyes.
11. Failure to look the inquirer” straight into the eyes”
12. Excessive activity of the Adam’s apple and the vein at the temple due to dryness of
throat and mouth. Sometimes with shivering of nose or nostrils.
13. A peculiar monotone of the voice r a forced laugh
14. Rolling of eyeballs form the one direction to another
15. Often asks permission to go to comfort rooms, etc.
16. Fidgeting, tapping or drumming h of fingers on the chairs or the surfaces.
17. Swinging of legs or one leg over the other
18. Unnecessary movements of hands and feet (like scratching, nail biting, thumb or
finger sucking).
19. Pulsation of the artery in the neck.
20. Incoherence, trembling and sweating of the whole body.
WHAT IS THE NON-VERBAL BEHAVIOURAL ASSESSMENT?

In general, what is being evaluated is the body of natural, unintentional, often instinctual
physical responses to certain stimuli.

Sigmund Freud confirmed the significance of non-verbal behaviour in assessing the overall
psychological state and the subconscious effect of concealment:

“He that has no eyes to see, and ears to hear, may convince himself that no mortal can keep
a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal comes out of him from
every pore.”

WHAT ARE THE CATEGORIES OF NON-VERBAL BEHAVIORS?

1. EMBLEMS-these are non-verbal behaviour that expresses the entire communication.

No spoken words are necessary. Emblems are accurate clues of person’s true
feelings and statements. However, emblems cannot be seen as universal or they do
have the same meaning in all society. Interviewers must be very careful against
misreading emblems and must take into consideration that emblems are dependent
on an interviewee’s societal. And cultural background.

Example:

 Rising of a person’s hand standing alongside the road to “hitch” a ride, even though
he n ever said a word.
 Thumb rising he asked how he feels about being interviewed.

2. ILLUSTRATORS- are non-verbal behaviors which assist the listener better

understand the verbal communication. They indicate consistency between non-verbal
and verbal messages. Since the speaker is attempting to assist the listener in
understanding what is being said, as illustrator’s increases. As they decreases, or
suddenly stop, the possibility of deception increases.

Example:

 Speaker who uses his hand to demonstrate the beat of his words.
 A distasteful facial expression of a person as he tells you what he is eating is not
very good.
 Banging on the table by a person with his fist as he speaks angrily.

3. ADAPTERS- are non-verbal behaviors that serve no purpose in helping the verbal
communication, and often detract from it. They are indicators of deception. As with
illustrators, adapters often occur as hand gestures and body position and include any
type of rubbing, stroking, picking, massaging or touching of the body or face.
WHAT ARE THE AREAS TO NOTE WHEN ASSESSING NON-VERBAL
BEHAVIORS?

1. General posture- truthful people usually use body position as an illustrator and
have an open, settled, upright position. Often they will lean slightly forward,
indicating interest in what is being said. Shoulders tend to remain squared and
the body is aligned with the interviewers.

2. Head and face- face is the most common part of the body to observe; however,
it is also the most difficult to interpret. It has a very complex muscular structure
and can show more than one emotion at a time. In addition, people know that we
look at their faces when they speak, and false facial expressions are easy to
produce, which can automatic after time.

Thus masking or the attempt to conceal the truth through false expression is
common. While masking may be attempted to disguise any or all of the five
natural, basic emotions that the human face can display (sadness, happiness, l
anger, surprise, and disgust), the interviewer or interrogator can usually identify
the underlying emotion. This is possible because masking frequently occurs out
of the context (smiling at an inappropriate point), is often held too long, or
repeated too often. Moreover, masks are usually distorted- exaggerated or
incomplete.

Most often, all persons in an attempt to mask a genuine reaction, such as fear is
smiling. One of the differences between genuine, spontaneous reactions and
masking behaviour is illustrated by the false smile. These do not affect the
eyebrows, which normally are involved in a genuine expression. Other common
attempts used by subjects or suspects to mask include appearing to be surprised,
angry or disgusted.

To get beyond masking, it is important to analyse the face as a complex structure

and isolate the individual expressive elements to check for consistency among
them. When both eyebrows are raised, with the mouth partially open, it usually
suggests surprise. One eyebrow raised indicates confusion or scepticism. If the
eyebrows are squeezed together and lowered, it suggests anger, worry, and / or
confusion.

In observing the head and face, begin with noting the [position of the head. The
tilting of the head to the side is an illustrator and generally suggests cooperation;
interest a belief in what is being said. If the jaw extend forward, not slanted, it
indicates anger or aggression. If the chin is on the chest, it indicates defeat,
depression and / or boredom.

3. Eyes- eye behaviour provides an excellent source of non-verbal information.

Breaks in eye contact, which occur at the appropriate time, can be indicative of
deception. Exaggerated eye contact is likely to be masking behaviour an d should
be considered an indicator of the deceptive. People who maintain eye to eye
contact too long are trying to replicate sincerity , attempting to dominate you.

Most liars come into the interview with a preconceived idea of what adaptors
label suspects as liars. One of these preconceptions is that a “liar” cannot look
the interviewer directly in the eyes. Masking attempted; thus extended eye
contact does not mean the person is extremely truthful, but on the contrary,
deceptive.
 Occasionally, the interviewer may be caught in a “staring contest”: a contest of
psychological dominance. The suspect may be staring purposely in order to fake
truthfulness, but more likely to assert dominance over the interviewer. It is a good
practice to avoid becoming involved in a staring contest:; however it is important
that, if this does occur, the interviewer should not break eye contact first. Staring
can be ended appropriately, by pointing the attention of the person being
interviewed or interrogated to something else. For example, ask him or her to
look at a document or identify some object.

On the other hand, eye pupil dilation, although difficult to observe, is a good
indicator of emotional change. Theoretically eyes dilate when the individual is
aroused or excited. Aside from pupil dilation, there are other things that can be
derived from observing the eyes. This includes closing, blinking, and squinting
suggests to distrust, and can occur in times of emergency to help protect the eye
from being struck during a battle. Therefore, these three behaviors mean distress
or sympathetic arousal, and should be viewed as deceptive criterion.

4. Arms and hands -arms and hand movements give clearer non-verbal cues.
Most people do not pay attention to what their hands are doing during
conversation and, therefore, do not attempt to mask these subconscious
gestures. Moreover, hand movements are less fleeting that the facial
expressions, are easily observable and are the main non-verbal means of
recognizing illustrators and adapters. Take note that increased illustrators are
signs of truthfulness, and adaptors indicates deception.

A person or suspect whose elbows are close to the body may be under severe
tension. This can be associated with protecting one’s own body and providing a
self-comforting touch. When someone sits with his elbows away from the body, it
shows he is relaxed, less defensive and more likely to be truthful.
5. Sense arousal gestures- under times of stress the body’s senses are enhanced
by sympathetic arousal. A person’s olfactory (smelling), aural (hearing) visual
(sight) and tactile (touch and skin sensitivity) perceptions are noticeably
increased. These changes in the blood flow to the organs, causing increase
itching sensation resulting in subconscious scratching.
Touching or scratching the nose is a reliable indicator of deception when it is
done as the suspect answers a critical question, or is explaining something.

If the suspect holds his nose or touches it as he speaks, he does not believe
what he is saying. If he touches it while he listens, he is signalling that he does
not believe what the interviewer is saying.

A response to stress can often be felt as a change of sensation in the ear and ear
lobes due to slight blood pressure changes. Touching the ear during stress may
be due to his physiological process, or a psychological attempt to shut out
auditory stimuli. If the suspect covers his eyes and looks away, he is probably
trying to hide or escape from the predicament. Rubbing the eye is a sign of
disbelief. Like the nose squeeze, the suspect is telling the investigator he does
not believe what the investigator is saying if he is answering.
6. Feet and legs- the involuntary movement of feet and legs are also reliable
illustrators or adaptors. They move slowly, are easily observed, and
unconsciously, no one pays attention to them. Unfortunately, the legs and feet
are limited in the variety of movements compared to the arms and hands. Truthful
people generally use open and “settled“foot and legs positions.
 Every suspect, whether truthful or deceptive, will be at a heightened
emotional state, probably not normal for him. Thus, the interviewer must establish
the individuals situational norm by observing him before the interview begins, and
noting his verbal and nonverbal behaviour during the early stages of the interview
when conversing about something of mutual interest that has nothing to do with
the case under investigation.
As the interviewer, be lard on the many open gestures that suggest maintains
normal eye contact with the interviewer, sits with his arms open throughout the
interview, palms up and legs apart, he is probably truthful.
Interestingly, deceptive suspects often show similar qualities during an
interrogation when they are about to give up. If the suspect’s palm suddenly
become open, and he previously was tense and uncooperative, it is an indication
that he is about to confess.
Ideally speaking, seek non-verbal behavior that occurs in clusters. Clusters
are a host of non-verbal behavioural symptoms occurring in the suspect’s body at
the same time. For example, he touches his nose, crosses his legs and shifts in
his chair. If you observe a cluster, return to the same material later in the
interview and see if the clusters reoccur. If it does, chances of deception are very
high.

WHAT ARE THE USUAL PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY THE POLICE

INVESTIGATORS DURING INTERROGATION?

1. The determination whether subject is telling the truth regarding the crime
under investigation
2. 2. Obtaining admission or confession from a suspect after his guilt has been
established.
3. 3. Reluctance of fearful witnesses and informants who are in possession of
helpful information to disclose them to the interrogator.