Memory distortions, particularly confabulation, present significant challenges to the accuracy and reliability of polygraph examinations in forensic and clinical settings. This paper investigates how confabulation—the unintentional production of false memories without deliberate intent to deceive—affects credibility assessments and polygraph outcomes. Unlike purposeful deception, confabulation involves individuals genuinely believing their false memories to be accurate, creating a complex interpretative challenge for traditional polygraph methodologies that rely primarily on physiological response patterns. Through a comprehensive review and analytical approach drawing on existing research in memory science, cognitive psychology, and polygraph examination practices, this study reveals that confabulated memories can trigger autonomic responses similar to those elicited by genuine memories, leading to false-positive results. The reconstructive nature of episodic memory processes means that confabulation can occur across all populations—not only in individuals with neurological conditions—and can be influenced by stress, anxiety, suggestive questioning, and cognitive load during examinations. Key findings demonstrate that confabulating individuals often present their false memories with rich sensory–perceptual detail and emotional coherence, making them appear authentic even to experienced professionals. Traditional polygraph methods struggle to distinguish confabulation from intentional deception because contemporary instrumentation and evaluation techniques have remained largely unchanged for decades, relying on approaches that fail to account for the complexity of memory distortions. To address these challenges, the paper proposes several critical improvements: enhanced training for polygraph examiners to recognise confabulation and understand neurological conditions affecting memory-monitoring systems; methodological refinements including pre-test thematic assessments, careful question construction to avoid leading language, and strategic question ordering to reduce associative interference; and the integration of objective multimodal physiological measurements with cognitive interviewing and reality-monitoring techniques. The study concludes that addressing the impact of confabulation on credibility assessment requires an interdisciplinary approach that combines psychophysio-logical measurement with insights from cognitive science and ethical considerations. Such integration is essential for improving the reliability and fairness of polygraph examinations while preventing wrongful accusations based on genuinely believed but false information, thereby maintaining public trust in the justice system.
The Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) technique represents a method of scientific interrogation** that entails the strategic management of case information and evidence. The technique offers guidance to interrogators on the utilization of available information, encompassing pre-interrogation planning, the formulation of strategic questions based on the evidence and the strategic disclosure of evidence***. The primary objective of this technique is to enhance the likelihood of discerning deceit by detecting inconsistencies in the statements or comments made by suspects****. Numerous studies have shown that the SUE technique enhances the precision of deception detection in various contexts, such as police investigations, employment interviews, and security screening. Police trainees who received SUE training were able to detect deception with an accuracy rate of 85.4%, compared to 56.1% for untrained trainees. The Strategic Use of Evidence technique is designed to highlight discrepancies between a suspect’s statement and the available evidence, exploiting the differing cognitive processes of truth-tellers and liars. This technique is predicated on the assumption that individuals who engage in deception are prone to offering contradictory statements when confronted with evidence that challenges their narrative. This phenomenon occurs when suspects who are deemed to be guilty are compelled to modify their narrative, which often results in discrepancies. Conversely, suspects who are innocent and truthful maintain consistency in their explanations, which align with both the evidence and their original account. The SUE technique has the potential to detect deceit and has been widely employed by law enforcement agencies and other organizations worldwide. Some of the essential advantages that SUE offers are: – Surpasses conventional deception detection methods, such as relying on body language cues, in terms of effectiveness. – – With appropriate training, this technique is user-friendly and straightforward to learn and implement. – Has versatile applications, suitable for a wide range of settings.
Lithuania is one of the very few countries where the use of the polygraph is regulated by a dedicated law adopted by the highest legislative authority: the Lithuanian Parliament. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Law on Using Polygraph. This article provides a brief overview of the latest developments concerning the Law on Using Polygraph and the newest draft, as well as its potential impact on the use of the polygraph in Lithuania.
This article provides a critical review of existing research on the use of priming in investigative interviewing, including its influence on secure attachment, openness, and helpfulness motivations. The potential benefits of priming are discussed as well as the methodological challenges and ethical considerations associated with its use. This technique has intuitive appeal, yet empirical evidence supporting its effectiveness is, at present, limited. The implications of these findings are discussed, as well as possible future directions for research in this field.
The Concealed Information Test (CIT), a well-established tool in forensic investigations, has thus far been utilised to measure autonomic nervous system (ANS) changes associated with concealed information. While previous studies have explored the integration of eye-tracking technology in face recognition, the specific application of CIT within a mock crime scenario remains relatively uncharted territory. In this study, we aim to broaden the scope of eye-tracking applications using a mock crime scenario, as well as a machine learning classification method to detect hidden crime-related information. Of the four faces displayed as stimuli, the ‘guilty’ group volunteers in the test were able to recognise one as they had previously seen it in the context of the mock crime, whereas the ‘innocent’ group volunteers were all unfamiliar with all four faces. We chose heatmaps depicting the fixation count and fixation durations as the input data for classification. The results obtained with features extracted using ResNet50 and the Support Vector Machine algorithm yielded promising outcomes, achieving an accuracy level of 84.62% for heat maps created using fixation count. These findings suggest the potential development of an innovative tool capable of objectively determining whether an examined person recognises individuals presented in photos, even when denying familiarity with those individuals. The integration of eye-tracking technology and machine learning holds promise for enhancing the accuracy and efficacy of concealed information detection in forensic contexts.
Abstract The use of the polygraph in German court proceedings has been made almost impossible by a large number of decisions over the last few decades. In contrast to developments in some neighbouring European countries, the German judiciary does not think much of the measuring device and it has been successfully banned from German courtrooms over the years for various reasons. This legal development is described in this article. On closer inspection, it becomes clear that underlying the rejection of the polygraph is the opinion that it cannot itself provide results that have a sufficiently scientifically based foundation for court proceedings. At the same time, this criticism also makes it possible to establish access for the polygraph to German courtrooms through targeted scientific research.
Contrary to the past when in addition to chart analysis out of chart information such as: case data, examinees behavior clues, and alike, were factored into the decision-making process of a polygraph test conclusion, today’s approach render the decision based ONLY on numerical scoring analysis i.e., quantifying numerically the differences in the physiological responses between the relevant question and the comparison question. This article suggests that due to test’s complexity along with the numerical analysis inherent weaknesses, that affect the decisions outcomes examiners should engage their intuition, which was found to be an accumulated subconscious information gained over life experience, as a quality observer mean in their decision-making process.
FaceReader is a software package designed by the Dutch company Noldus (established and managed by Professor Lucas Noldus) for the automatic recognition and analysis of facial expression. The package was described in European Polygraph in 2022 with respect to its potential applicability for the detection of deception (see Widacki et al. 2022: 37–51). This article discusses the results of a pilot study aimed at testing whether the analysis of facial expression can be successfully used for the detection of deception, discovering what emotions are triggered by critical questions in tests during polygraph examinations, and what physiological reactions to these emotions can be observed and recorded in such an examination. The latter question is of particular importance for a better understanding of the psychophysiological essence of detection of deception and necessary for refining its methodology, especially with respect to improving the detection of attempts to manipulate or distort the recordings and counteracting them effectively. This pilot study allowed a number of cautious conclusions to be drawn that nonetheless require further investigation, primarily by testing with a larger sample. It has also allowed us to gain experience that will help improve the protocol for organising such experiments.
This article explores the historical development of polygraphy in the Soviet Union, with particular attention to the activities of KGB’s Laboratory No. 30. Drawing on declassified materials, eyewitness accounts, and professional reflections by former KGB personnel, the study reconstructs the evolution of Soviet polygraph practices from the late 1960s to the 1980s. It examines early scientific contributions, the influence of American methodologies, the adaptation of foreign technologies, and the creation of Soviet testing procedures such as the Mixed-Type Test. The article also highlights how Soviet ideological constraints shaped both the official discourse and cinematic portrayals of polygraphy. Special attention is given to the field practices of Laboratory No. 30, including unconventional assignments related to paranormal phenomena. The study concludes that, despite efforts to replicate or adapt Western polygraph techniques, Soviet developments did not result in uniquely innovative methods or technologies. These findings provide a contextual foundation for understanding contemporary polygraph practices in the post-Soviet space, particularly in Ukraine and russia.
Abstract Contrary to the past in where polygraph examiners practiced an “intuitive-based practice” grounded on several industry leaders experience, consequently having various schools of thoughts, modern polygraph examiners follow a test protocol based and rooted in research. As effective as the “evidence- based- practice” is, it does not cover all ranges of cases, examinees, situations, and contaminations** which may carry a misleading affect. The purpose of this paper is to draw examiners attention to the existing potential hazards surrounding a protocoled standard of practice and suggest solutions in order to alter the test to the examinee (“tailor made” style test) rather than alter the examinee to the test (“one size fits all” style test).
Abstract Polygraph has had more than 30 years of extensive history in Lithuania. This paper offers an overview rather than in-depth research into how polygraph developed in Lithuania in last three decades. There are similar articles about legal and practical aspects of using polygraph in Lithuania published in Lithuanian, with one of them having been published in European Polygraph in 2007 (Kraujalis et al 2007) nevertheless, the author evaluates current situation of the polygraph in Lithuania.
I find it appropriate to commence by recalling that the realisation that one of the defining characteristics of a science (or its field) that allows for its recognition as distinct and mature, alongside its subject of study and methods of research, is its language dates back to
Abstract Throughout history, different methods and instrumental designs have been used to identify and obtain the truth. Some of the methods described in this work are based on myths that have remained over time, but due to this legacy are unlikely to be applied, such as the Osiris judgment. In this study, we analyzed the characteristics of these methods, such as the period in which they were used, their scientific validation, and their passive or active approach according to the literature. Some approaches have established the theoretical foundations for the development of more precise technologies that are currently used, such as the Bisha Bedouin Court System (ordeal by fire), which is based on arousal theory (response). This work also includes innovative applications such as the use of interview techniques to detect deception, which stands out for their wide spectrum of use in different contexts. Finally, we mention elements of investigative interview models and highlight the benefits of using verbal approaches to detect deception.
The research problem addressed by Marcin Gołaszewski has been considered previously, but until now, no single publication has addressed the problem of expert subjectivity in polygraph examinations in a comprehensive manner.
