Charles R. Honts

The Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale Convergent Validity and Diagnostic Discrimination

This study examined the concurrent validity of the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) in relation to the Depression (D) scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI-2) and addressed a gap in the literature with respect to diagnostic discrimination. The participants were persons on probation or parole. Although women were more depressed than men on the SDS, gender did not interact with SDS as a predictor in a logistic regression analysis. The SDS was found to be the primary discriminating variable in distinguishing depressed from nondepressed participants. In addition, the SDS contributed significant incremental validity over the D scale and showed greater accuracy in identifying nondepressed individuals.

Analysis of variance versus bootstrap procedures for analyzing dependent observations in small group research.

Small group investigators have been plagued by the problem of observational dependency. This problem exists when data collectedfrom members of the same group are more similar to each other than they are to data collected from another small group receiving identical treatment. Observational dependency can result in inflated Type I error rates. This study demonstrates the effect of different levels of observational dependency on Type I error rates for ANOVA and introduces an alternative statistical procedure to address the problem. Bootstrapping is shown to be superior to ANOVA in minimizing the effect of Type I error rates due to observational dependency.

Criterion Development and Validity of the CQT in Field Application

Abstract A field study of the control question test (CQT) for the detection of deception was conducted. Data from the files of 41 criminal cases were examined for confirming information and were rated by two evaluators on the strength of the confirming information. Those ratings were found to be highly reliable, r = .94. Thirty-two of the cases were found to have some independent confirmation. Numerical scores and decisions from the original examiners and an independent evaluation were analyzed. The results indicated that the CQT was a highly valid discriminator. Excluding inconclusives, the decisions of the original examiners were correct 96% of the time, and the independent evaluations were 93% correct. These results suggest that criteria other than confession can be developed and used reliably. In addition, the validity of the CQT in real-world settings was supported.

Effectiveness of Pupil Diameter in a Probable-Lie Comparison Question Test for Deception

Purpose. There were three objectives of this study: (1) To assess the possibility of using pupil diameter as an index of deception in the context of a comparison question polygraph test. (2) To determine if pupil diameter would make a significant contribution to an optimal multivariate classification equation in combination with the traditional predictor variables used in field polygraph practice. (3) We explored the possibility of replacing one or more of the traditional predictor variables with pupil diameter. Methods. We used a laboratory mock crime experiment with 24 participants, half of whom stole

Information Does Not Affect the Validity of a Comparison Question Test

20 (US) from a secretarys purse. Participants were tested with a comparison question test modelled after standard field practice. Physiological measures were taken with laboratory quality instrumentation. Features were extracted from the physiological measures. Those features were subjected to a number of different statistical analyses. Results. Innocent participants showed larger increases in pupil diameter in response to probable-lie questions than to relevant questions. Guilty participants did not show differential responding to the question types. The additional of pupil diameter to a multivariate classification model approached, but did not reach significance. Subsequent analyses suggest that pupil diameter might be used to replace the traditional relative blood pressure measure. Conclusions. Pupil diameter was found to be a significant predictor variable for deception. Pupil diameter may be a possible replacement for the traditional relative blood pressure measure. Additional research to explore that possibility would seem to be warranted.

Effects of outside issues on the Comparison Question Test

Purpose. Detailed information about the comparison question test (CQT) and possible countermeasures are now available on the Internet. This study examined whether the provision of such information would affect the validity of the Test for Espionage and Sabotage, a directed lie variant of the CQT. Method. Forty participants were divided into four equal groups: guilty, guilty informed, innocent, and innocent informed. During a first appointment, participants either did or did not commit a mock crime: then some were provided with a book containing detailed information on the CQT, including possible countermeasures. After 1 week with the book, all participants were administered a CQT during their second appointment. Following the polygraph, participants responded to a questionnaire that asked them about their behaviour and perceptions during their examination. Results. There were no significant effects of providing information on the validity of the CQT. However, the reported use of countermeasures was associated with a lower probability of truthfulness. Results of the debriefing questionnaire were found to support predictions made by the theory of the CQT. Conclusions. Concerns that readily available information will enable guilty individuals to produce false-negative errors seem unfounded. Moreover, the results actually indicate that the use of countermeasures was associated with a lower probability of truthfulness, which was exactly the opposite outcome predicted by the CQT critics.

Countermeasures and Credibility Assessment

In the present study, the authors examined the effects of outside issues on the validity of the Comparison Question Test in a laboratory mock-crime paradigm. In a 2 × 2 X 2 factorial design, 192 participants either did or did not commit (a) a mock theft of a dollar (about which they were tested), or (b) a mock theft of

Automation of a Screening Polygraph Test Increases Accuracy

20 (the outside issue); and they either were or were not asked questions about an outside issue. The presence of the outside issue had a strong differential impact on the participants who were innocent of the tested issue, and it dramatically moved their scores toward deception. The impact of an outside issue on the guilty was minimal. Test questions about possible outside issues were ineffective in detecting the presence of the outside issue, but they did function as comparison questions. The results have implications for understanding the high rate of false positive outcomes in some studies.

The Comparison Question Polygraph Test: A Contrast of Methods and Scoring

This chapter addresses the use of countermeasures against credibility assessment tests. Countermeasures are anything that a person might do to defeat or distort a test. Credibility assessment tests, like all tests in which the subject has a self-interest, are subject to manipulation and distortion by the test-taker. This chapter focuses on polygraph tests as those tests have wide application and a relatively large scientific literature concerning countermeasures. Initially, a taxonomy of polygraph countermeasures is provided and that taxonomy is used to organize the scientific literature. Although published studies show that some countermeasures are effective in laboratory studies, it appears that hands-on training is needed for effectiveness. Current efforts to deter or detect polygraph countermeasures appear to be inadequate. The chapter concludes with a proposed theoretical model to explain the mechanism of effective countermeasures. Hopefully, theory-based research may advance research to deter and/or detect countermeasures.

Credibility Assessment at Portals

Abstract The present study examined the effects of automating the Relevant–Irrelevant (RI) psychophysiological detection of deception test within a mock-screening paradigm. Eighty participants, recruited from the local community, took part in the study. Experimental design was a 2 (truthful/deceptive) by 2 (human/automation) factorial. Participants in the deceptive conditions attempted deception on two items of an employment application. Examinations conducted with the automated polygraph examination were significantly more accurate than examinations conducted by the human polygraph examiner. Statistical analyses revealed different patterns of physiological responses to deceptive items depending upon the automation condition. Those results have potentially interesting theoretical implications. The results of the present study are clearly supportive of additional efforts to develop a field application of an automated polygraph examination.