Detection of Guilty Knowledge with Event-Related Potentials
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1991
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.76.6.788
Abstract
The N400 component of the event-related potential (ERP) is elicited by words that complete sentences falsely. The utility of the N400 in discriminating subjects who have knowledge about a crime from those who do not was examined in this study. Subjects viewed a videotape of either an enacted burglary (guilty condition) or scenes from the city of New York (innocent condition). They then read crime-relevant phrases that had true or false completions but were not required to make any overt response as to the statements' truth. Post hoc analyses indicated that 78% of subjects could be correctly classified as guilty or innocent. Applying the same classifier to two other samples resulted in a correct classification rate of 73.2%. With further development, ERPs may become useful auxiliaries to current lie-detection techniques.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Journal of Applied Psychology, v. 76, issue 6, p. 788-795
Scholar Commons Citation
Boaz, Timothy L.; Perry, Nathan W.; Raney, Gary; and Fischler, Ira S., "Detection of Guilty Knowledge with Event-Related Potentials" (1991). Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications. 91.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/mhlp_facpub/91
