Charles Honts | Boise State University (original) (raw)

Papers by Charles Honts

Weconducted a mock crime experiment with 250 paid participants (126 females, Mdn age=30 years) co... more Weconducted a mock crime experiment with 250 paid participants (126 females, Mdn age=30 years) contrasting
the validity of the probable-lie and the directed-lie variants of the comparison question test (CQT) for the detection
of deception. Subjects were assigned at random to one of eight conditions in a Guilt (Guilty/Innocent) × Test Type (Probable-Lie/Directed-Lie) × Stimulation (Between Repetition Stimulation/No Stimulation) factorial design. The data were scored by an experienced polygraph examinerwho was unaware of subject assignment to conditions and with a computer algorithm known as the Objective Scoring System Version 2
(OSS2). There were substantial main effects of guilt in both the OSS2 computer scores F(1, 241) = 143.82, p b .001, ηp2=0.371, and in the human scoring, F(1, 242)=98.92, p b .001, ηp
2=.29. Therewere no differences between the test types in the number of spontaneous countermeasure attempts made against them. Although under the controlled conditions of an experiment the probable-lie and the directed-lie variants of the CQT produced equivocal results in terms of detection accuracy, the directed-lie variant has much to recommend it as it
is inherently more standardized in its administration and construction.

Psychophysiology, 1996

The effects of a physical (pressing the toes to the floor) and a mental (counting backward by sev... more The effects of a physical (pressing the toes to the floor) and a mental (counting backward by sevens) countermeasure on the concealed knowledge test (CKT) were examined in a mock crime experiment with 40 subjects. Some knowledgeable subjects were informed about the nature of the CKT and were trained in the use of a countermeasure, whereas others remained uninformed. All subjects were offered a monetary reward if they could produce a truthful outcome. Subjects were tested using standard field techniques and instrumentation. The physical and, to a lesser extent, the mental countermeasures reduced the accuracy of the CKT. These results clearly demonstrate that the CKT has no special immunity to the effects of countermeasures.

Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2009

The authors provide a polygraph primer for police psychologists involved in law enforcement perso... more The authors provide a polygraph primer for police psychologists involved in law enforcement personnel selection. Law-enforcement pre-employment polygraph examinations are a decision-support tool intended to add incremental validity to the personnel selection process. Problems stemming from the use of the polygraph may be related to misunderstanding of the polygraph test and to field practices surrounding the use of polygraphy in the police selection process. Potential problems can result from ineffective selection of test issues, poorly constructed test questions and misguided policies surrounding the use of the polygraph. The authors review the history of polygraph screening, research, and field practices, and suggest that using polygraph results alone to disqualify a candidate from employment is a misguided field practice. Suggestions are offered for maximizing the decision-support value of the polygraph. Polygraph examination targets are discussed, with emphasis on selecting actuarially derived predictors associated with increased success in law enforcement training and job performance. The authors provide recommendations for field practice, and propose that police psychologists may be most suited to effectively integrate the polygraph results and information into the hiring recommendation process.

This study examined the presentation of psychophysiological detection of deception (PDD; polygrap... more This study examined the presentation of psychophysiological detection of deception (PDD; polygraph) testing in introductory psychology textbooks. We examined a sample of 37 introductory psychology textbooks published between 1987 and 1994 for content that discussed PDD testing. Excerpts concerning PDD were then checked for misdescriptions or inaccuracies and rated by two psychophysiologists and a social psychologist. The results showed that PDD received strongly negative treatment in the texts. Moreover, the treatments were often fraught with misdescriptions and inaccuracies. In addition, there was an over-reliance on reviews as opposed to empirical studies. We discuss the significance of the problems of bias, reliance on secondary sources, and inaccuracies, and elaborated on the importance of balanced and error free presentations in this medium that serves as a first introduction to the science of psychology for so many people.

ABSTRACT The use of the control question test for the physiological detection of deception contin... more ABSTRACT The use of the control question test for the physiological detection of deception continues to grow in the criminal j ustice and national security systems (Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), ' 1983). Although controversial, we1 1 conducted 1 aboratory studies frequently produce accuracies in excess of 90% (Oawson, 1980; Kircher & Raskin, 1982; Podtesny 8 Raskin, 1978; Raskin & Hare, 1978; Rovner, Raskin & Kircher, 1978). However, an error rate of even 52 in field applications may be a very serious problem when combined with low base rates of deception (Raskin, 1986). Therefqre, an understanding of the sources of such errors is important. The relhtionships between individual .difference variables and detection of deception tests may be important f or an - understanding of errors made by the control question test, but those relationshf ps have received little study. This experiment utilized a mock crime paradigm to explore the re1 ati onshi ps between di fferenti a1 physiological reactivity during the c ontrol question test and measures of individual differences that have been associated with physiologi cal reactivity in other settings. Method The subjects of this analysii were the Innocent and Guilty Control subjects from two previous experiments (Honts, Raslcin & Kircher, 1983; Honts, 1986). Ten males and 10 females were recrufted from introductory psychology classes and the remaining 19 males and 19 females were recrui tedfrom the the local community by means of a newspaper advert4 sement. A1 1 subjects were compensated for their participation, and all were offered a bonus of $15 if they produced a truthful outcome on their polygraph examination. Procedure and Results

Journal of General Psychology, 1996

A field study of the control question test (CQT) for the detection of deception was conducted. Da... more 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.

Legal and Criminological Psychology, 2009

Page 1. VOLUME 28 1999 NUMBER 1 Special Edition Chart Interpretation The Utah Nurnerical Scoring ... more Page 1. VOLUME 28 1999 NUMBER 1 Special Edition Chart Interpretation The Utah Nurnerical Scoring System Brian G. Bell, David С Raskin, Charles R. Honts, & John С Kircher 1 Manually Scoring Polygraph Charts Utilizing ...

International Journal of Psychophysiology, 1995

Journal of Applied Psychology, 1994

Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1994

Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, 2000

Psychophysiological Credibility Assessment (PCA), commonly known as polygraph testing, is one of ... more Psychophysiological Credibility Assessment (PCA), commonly known as polygraph testing, is one of the most misunderstood, misrepresented and maligned applications of psychology. In this article we review the two main approaches to PCA, knowledge-based and deception-based tests, and the techniques, scientific support and criticisms associated with each. Despite data indicating that the most commonly used polygraph techniques are highly valid discriminators of deceivers and truth tellers, there are several very vocal and high profile critics of psychophysiological credibility assessment. Unfortunately, since most psychologists appear to be poorly informed about the controversy, they may be misled by misinformation from persons believed to be high authority sources. We hope that the present article will help to inform the forensic community about this important and interesting area.

Psychophysiology, 1997

Comparison questions in physiological detection of deception were studied with 60 “guilty’ and 60... more Comparison questions in physiological detection of deception were studied with 60 “guilty’ and 60 “innocent’ participants in a mock crime experiment. Different types of comparison questions were used in four conditions: relevant–irrelevant (R-I) participants answered only relevant and neutral questions; trivial directed lie participants were instructed to lie to three of the six neutral questions; personal directed lie participants were instructed to lie to personally relevant questions; and probable lie participants received traditional probable lie comparison questions. Respiration, cardiovascular, vasomotor, and electrodermal activity were recorded. Manipulation of the comparison questions produced different patterns of physiological responses for innocent but not for guilty participants. The R-I test produced an unacceptable rate of false positive decisions.

Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 2009

We adapted and applied the Wells and Olson’s (2002) Information Gain Analyses to examine the rela... more We adapted and applied the Wells and Olson’s (2002) Information Gain Analyses to examine the relative usefulness of a common psycho-physiological deception detection (PDD) technique, the Comparison Question Test, in forensic and screening settings as compared to unassisted lay and professional persons. We found that in forensic settings PDD provided substantial improvements in information gain over unassisted laypersons across nearly the complete range of the base rate of guilt. This was true for accuracy estimates based on laboratory and field data. At p(guilt) = 0.9, a benchmark set by critics of PDD, PDD provided 27 times the information gain of credibility decisions made by unassisted lay persons. Analyses of a screening PDD indicated that only deceptive outcomes provide useful information gain at relevant low base rates of guilt. These results strongly support the use of PDD in forensic settings and have implications for how screening PDD results are used.

Small Group Research, 1994

ABSTRACT Small group investigators have been plagued by the problem of observational dependency. ... more ABSTRACT 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.

Law and Human Behavior, 1992

Polygraph tests are psychological tests that are widely applied in the criminal justice system, b... more Polygraph tests are psychological tests that are widely applied in the criminal justice system, but they are rarely administered or studied by psychologists. Two recent federal appeals court decisions may have opened the door to the admissibility of polygraph tests by displacing the long controllingFrye standard. However, these courts have also raised a number of challenges that must be overcome before polygraph tests will be regularly admitted into evidence. We examined the logic of these two recent decisions and the challenges they raise, and we found those challenges to be significant and perhaps daunting. Many of the challenges facing polygraph arise from poor training and a lack of standardization in the polygraph profession. We consider some potential, solutions, but the outlook for change in the polygraph community is dim unless it is forced by the courts or by legislation. Polygraph tests are also challenged by potentially effective countermeasures, and there presently are no easy solutions to those problems. Increased activity and interest are needed from the scientific community if the general situation is to improve.

Journal of General Psychology, 2004

In the present study, the authors examined the effects of outside issues on the validity of the C... more 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 $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.

Legal and Criminological Psychology, 2007

Purpose. Detailed information about the comparison question test (CQT) and possible countermeasur... more 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