Psychological and Legal Aspects of Verification and Detection of Lies during Polygraph Examination

Abstract

The article examines the features of verification and detection of lies and the definition of their features in the process of polygraph examination. Detection of lies is associated with the experience of certain emotions, the mechanisms of functioning of which ensure the organization of the relationship between true and false answers during testing using the technical means of computer polygraph and are accompanied by physiological reactions. In a computerized polygraph test, a test taker analyzes and evaluates the risks of concealing false information or the possibility of confirming it and exposing it as false. The effectiveness of information concealment depends on its ability to reveal and control a specific picture of one’s own physiological reactions when answering the questions, which are then evaluated by a polygraph examiner. Instrumental detection during polygraph testing should aim to obtain information, avoiding ambiguity, doubt, assumptions, and subjective association with an adequate reflection of reality. Undoubtedly, there is information that characterizes certain actions performed by a person, which he/she interprets and submits in the form of a true or false answer to a question evaluated by a polygraph examiner. The effectiveness of methods of detection and verification of lies depends on the qualification of the polygraph specialist, taking into account the individual characteristics of each test case, as well as the subtleties and details of the event being studied, features of psychophysiological reactions of the person being examined, namely the type of nervous system, external and internal factors that significantly influence the result of the examination. The conducted empirical research made it possible to describe the features of the group of people in whom lies were detected during polygraph testing. Such individuals showed high rates of adaptability, but low rates of neuropsychological stability. Among the personal qualities a high level of manifestation on such scales as "reactive aggression", "spontaneous aggression", "irritability", "shyness", "openness", "extraversion-introversion" can be distinguished.