Deck 3: Section 3: Lie Detection

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a limitation of the fMRI technology as it currently exists?

A) It is expensive.
B) It is highly portable.
C) It requires a person to lie motionless inside the fMRI machine.
D) It requires a person to stay silent inside the fMRI machine.

Answer 1

It is highly portable.

Question 2

Considering substantial state differences in the admissibility of polygraph evidence in court, the results of polygraph examination may be especially crucial:

A) before trial.
B) during cross-examination.
C) during trial if addressed in expert testimony.
D) after trial but before appeal.

Answer 2

before trial.

Question 3

Police investigators who were surveyed believed they detect lies _____, whereas their actual lie-detecting ability compared with that of students was _____.

A) much better than average; worse
B) no better than average; higher
C) worse than most people; higher
D) at an average level; much worse

Answer 3

much better than average; worse

Question 4

Bond and DePaulo (2006) analyzed the results from 384 studies that tested the lie-detecting ability of more than 24,000 people and found that:

A) most people can rather accurately guess whether they are told the truth or a lie.
B) the accuracy rate of most people is barely above the 50% guessing level.
C) about 50% of people are especially clairvoyant and able to discern truths from lies.
D) training people can substantially increase their lie-detecting ability.

Question 5

Experimental research has demonstrated that when actual interrogation training videos are used, training _____ the ability to detect deception and makes people _____ confident about their judgments.

A) improves; less
B) does not improve; more
C) improves; more
D) does not improve; less

Question 6

The method of guilty knowledge test (GKT) was developed by David Lykken to remedy some of the problems with the earlier methods of polygraph examination. Which of the following is NOT one of these problems?

A) Some people are emotionally nonreactive.
B) Innocent people may react strongly to crime-related questions.
C) People who do not have faith in the validity of the polygraph may not respond in the way examiners think they would.
D) Different makes and models of the polygraph machine may produce different results.

Question 7

According to several studies available on the effect of polygraph evidence on jurors, they tend to:

A) disregard this evidence.
B) take this evidence seriously.
C) only trust this evidence if backed up by expert testimony.
D) only trust this evidence if two of more polygraph tests are in agreement.

Question 8

The 1993 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals:

A) ruled the polygraph inadmissible in all federal cases.
B) ruled the polygraph admissible in all federal cases.
C) ruled that polygraph admissibility could be determined on a case-by-case basis.
D) refused to hear arguments on the admissibility of the polygraph all together.

Question 9

The theory behind the polygraph test is based on the assumption that:

A) the act of lying will cause increased brain activity.
B) telling the truth will cause increased gastrointestinal activity.
C) the act of lying will cause physiological arousal.
D) telling the truth will cause a decrease in neural impulse activity.

Question 10

All of the following are described in the text as promising lie-detection technologies being developed currently EXCEPT:

A) criteria-based content analysis (CBCA).
B) hand micromovement tracing.
C) electroencephalogram (EEG).
D) high-definition infrared thermal imaging.

Question 11

Which of the following is an example of a comparison or control question?

A) "Did you kill Ms. Smith?"
B) "Were you at the bank on Thursday?"
C) "Have you ever taken something that did not belong to you?"
D) "Did you see Wendy Jones in the schoolyard yesterday morning?"

Question 12

Lucas is very worried that somebody may find out about his activities in drug trade. When asked questions about drug selling, he would deny any involvement and likely experience the following physiological changes detected by the polygraph:

A) lower blood pressure, fatigue, and constipation.
B) changes in breathing, eye movements, and body temperature.
C) decrease in skin moisture, coughing, and dry mouth.
D) changes in blood pressure, breathing, and skin conductance.

Question 13

Liar's stereotype is a very common but mistaken belief that when lying, people tend to:

A) squirm, stutter, and avoid eye contact.
B) talk a lot and be generally chatty.
C) be shy and use very few words.
D) move very little and try to stay still.

Question 14

What type of error is committed when a guilty suspect is misclassified as innocent?

A) false negative
B) false positive
C) true negative
D) true positive

Question 15

In the comparison question test (formerly, control question test) of polygraph examination, comparison questions are designed to be _____ and compel people to _____ when answering them.

A) directly related to crime in question; tell the truth
B) uncomfortable but unrelated to crime in question; lie
C) outrageous and insulting; lose their temper
D) innocent-sounding but highly coercive; admit to committing the crime