Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

methodological means for detecting intentional deception by individuals are
inadequate.
Given this need and a century of effort, why has no effective solution been
found to the problem of detecting deception Myriad opinions have been put forth
to answer this question, but it is clear that this is an exceedingly difficult problem,
in part because of the difficulty of defining the general concept of deception
(Happel, 2005).
Psychophysiological Mechanisms
Psychophysiology is a branch of science that studies subtle physiological
changes (such as respiration and skin surface temperature) that are not readily
evident to either an outside observer or the individual. Researchers study these
changes in autonomic (involuntary) and somatic (somewhat more controllable)
responses to understand the psychological processes of the organism as a whole.
These physiological changes are then used to indicate and differentiate among
these psychological processes.
Needless to say, there is much debate in the scientific community as to the
validity of the assumption that autonomic and somatic responses reflect cognitive
and/or emotional processing. Some evidence supports the link between specific
emotional states and certain physiological responses, such as startle/surprise and
increased periorbital temperature (Pavlidis and Levine, 2002). However, there
is no evidence supporting the assumption that autonomic and somatic responses
reflect intentional deception. Although some of these measurements have been
correlated, to varying degrees, with intentional deception (or, at least, with the
emotional response that generally accompanies such deceptive strategies), there
is no widely accepted scientific theory that demonstrates a causal link between
the cognitive processes involved in deception and the autonomic and somatic
responses measured by mechanisms such as the polygraph. Unanswered questions
remain with regard to individual differences in deception that result from the
impact of individual life experiences on underlying emotional, cognitive, and
social processes. These unanswered questions extend to differences in cultural
and ethnic-based beliefs, attitudes, and practices regarding truth and deception.
These questions must be addressed before significant progress can be made in
using psychophysiological means to detect deception by individuals.
This section discusses several technologies that measure autonomic
and somatic responses to detect deception. These include the polygraph,
electrogastrogram, radar vital signs monitor, facial expressions, eye blinks,
saccades, and fixations, voice stress analysis, thermal imaging, and truth serums/
narcoanalysis. It should be noted that the Department of Defense Polygraph
Institute (DoDPI) is researching several emerging technologies, including laser
Doppler vibrometry (LDV) and Eye Movement Memory Assessment (EMMA).
LDV is a method of remotely measuring and assessing individual physiological
responses to emotional stress. Changes in respiration, cardiovascular activity,
muscle contraction, and body tremor can be measured from a distance of hundreds
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