The Handbook of Polygraph Testing examines the fundamental principles behind lie detector tests, and provides an up-to-date review of their validity. The editor presents current psychological theories, including an explanation of the cognitive processes central to polygraph testing. He describes the various methods of testing, the research in support of each method, and special issues in polygraph research. The Handbook helps readers interpret existing research studies, and learn how to improve the accuracy of polygraph testing and analysis. The dual focus on research and clinical applications makes this text appropriate for a broad range of readers, from polygraph examiners and law enforcement personnel to lawyers, scientists, and graduate students. The Handbook helps establish standards in the field by establishing a set of common terms, concepts, and processes for the people who administer and analyze the tests as well as for the researchers who test the underlying theories. Helps set standards in the field by establishing a set of common terms, concepts and processes

The polygraph, often portrayed as a magic mind-reading machine, is still controversial among experts, who continue heated debates about its validity as a lie-detecting device. As the nation takes a fresh look at ways to enhance its security, can the polygraph be considered a useful tool? The Polygraph and Lie Detection puts the polygraph itself to the test, reviewing and analyzing data about its use in criminal investigation, employment screening, and counter-intelligence. The book looks at: The theory of how the polygraph works and evidence about how deceptivenessâ€"and other psychological conditionsâ€"affect the physiological responses that the polygraph measures. Empirical evidence on the performance of the polygraph and the success of subjects' countermeasures. The actual use of the polygraph in the arena of national security, including its role in deterring threats to security. The book addresses the difficulties of measuring polygraph accuracy, the usefulness of the technique for aiding interrogation and for deterrence, and includes potential alternativesâ€"such as voice-stress analysis and brain measurement techniques.

A polygraph test provides useful information in many scenarios and can be a crucial component of a criminal investigation, even a required step for security screenings. No matter the purpose, daily practitioners must embrace a more personalized approach to testing to achieve the most credible results. Author Tuvya T. Amsel, PhD, has conducted tens of thousands of interviews and tests while working with law enforcement agencies and both small businesses and megacorporations across the globe, providing him with several decades' worth of knowledge. In this invaluable handbook, he explains how to deal with the practical issues and problems that polygraph examiners encounter on a regular basis and offers solutions to each that promote assessment accuracy. Topics covered range from resolving chart anomalies and contradictory responses to conducting confirmatory testing. He addresses contaminating factors, procedures for testing foreigners, and best practices for examiners traveling abroad to perform assessments. Aside from possessing basic procedural and statistical knowledge, the best examiners must be prepared to deal with unique situations-in the end, the tests are conducted on human beings who have a great deal at stake. Approaching each as an individual with a custom-designed test will ensure more accurate results-and produce effective outcomes.

For as long as human beings have deceived one another, people have tried to develop ways to detect lies and uncover the truth." This statement, by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, appeared in a recent (2002) report describing their survey and analysis of the published research on the polygraph and lie detection. The fact that such a prestigious body undertook an evaluation (Notwithstanding the quite large sum of money provided for the review!) shows, as the preceding quotation suggests, the importance of the field of "lie detection" to all human interactions, social, legal, political and other domains. Deceit and its detection, are a part of life. (Not just human life, of course.) But, is it really possible to detect human deception with the use of a polygraph instrument, a so-called, "lie detector?" The NAS report was not very encouraging in this regard, though it did restrict almost all of its conclusions to polygraph usage for "security screening" purposes. It did not focus on forensic applications, where polygraph testing commonly plays a role in helping to resolve criminal investigations. In fact, it may well be that such testing is more widely used in the U.S. for that purpose than almost all other forensic techniques. What do we know about such testing and how might we evaluate its effectiveness? This book is the most recent of the handful in polygraphy-a field in which there has been relatively little scholarly (writing and research) attention.

In 2001, the late Murray Kleiner and an array of experts contributed to the Handbook of Polygraph Testing, published by Elsevier, which examined the fundamental principles behind polygraph tests and reviewed the key tests and methods used at that time. In the intervening thirteen years, the field has moved beyond traditional polygraph testing to include a host of biometrics and behavioral observations. The new title reflects the breadth of methods now used. Credibility Assessment builds on the content provided in the Kleiner volume, with revised polygraph testing chapters and chapters on newer methodologies, such as CNS, Ocular-motor, and behavioral measures. Deception detection is a major field of interest in criminal investigation and prosecution, national security screening, and screening at ports of entry. Many of these methods have a long history, e.g., polygraph examinations, and some rely on relatively new technologies, e.g., fMRI and Ocular-motor measurements. Others rely on behavioral observations of persons in less restricted settings, e.g., airport screening. The authors, all of whom are internationally-recognized experts associated with major universities in the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe, review and analyze various methods for the detection of deception, their current applications, and major issues and controversies surrounding their uses. This volume will be of great interest among forensic psychologists, psychophysiologists, polygraph examiners, law enforcement, courts, attorneys, and government agencies. Provides a comprehensive review of all aspects of methods for deception detection Includes methods being used in credibility, such as autonomic, CNS, fMRI, and Ocular-motor measures and behavioral and facial observation Edited by leaders in the field with over 25+ years of experience Discusses theory and application