MODULE IV

OTHER SCIENTIFIC METHODS IN DETECTING

DECEPTION

 INTRODUCTI
Lie detection is a part of numerous criminal, medical or legal
professions. Police officers are challenged by deception especially in the
determination of facts in crimes that have been committed. Judges and
lawyers seek justice in legal disputes and medical specialist demand the
truth for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment of patients. The
following part of this module is an overview of the most commonly used
methods of lie detection aside from polygraphy.

After studying the module, you should be able to:

1. Recall how to use WAT and PSE in detecting deception.
2. Recall how to use drugs in detecting deception
3. Recall how to use –hypnosis, scientific interrogation, and confession
in detecting deception
4. Recite the different rrequirements for the Admissibility of Evidence
Obtained through investigation

 DIRECTIONS/ MODULE ORGANIZER

There are four lessons in the module. Read each lesson carefully
then answer the exercises/activities to find out how much you have
benefited from it. Work on these exercises carefully and submit your
output to your instructor or to the ICJE office
In case you encounter difficulty, discuss this with your instructor
during the face-to-face meeting. If not contact your instructor at the ICJE
office.
 Good luck and happy reading!!!
Lesson 1

InhibitorUse of Word Association

Test and Use of Psychological
Word Association Test
Stress Evaluator
The examiner prepares a list of stimulus and non-stimulus
words that to be read to the subject. The answer to the questions
could be a “yes” or “no”. The subject should answer the questions
as quickly as possible. in this test, the time interval between the
words uttered by the examiner and the answer of the subjects is
recorded. this procedure is not being observed in the lie detector
test. The test is not concerned with the answer, be it “yes” or “no”.
The important factor is the time of response in relation to stimulus
or non-stimulus words.
The subject has the tendency to answer immediately when
the questions being asked are not related to the subject matter of
the investigation such as his name, address, civil status, etc. but
once that the questions contain some words that has something to
do with the subject matter of the investigation like instruments used
in the killing (gun, bolo, piece of wood), tendency is the subject
takes time to answer. the examiner cannot compel the subject to
the test without his consent.
WAT is a test assessing personality traits and conflicts.
 It was first developed as a research instrument by Sir Francis
Galton and was later developed by Carl Jung as a clinical
diagnostic tool.
 This test usually consist of a hundred stimulus that were read
out singly to a subject who was to answer as quickly as
possible with the first word that occurs to you.
Administration of WAT
 Administering a WAT is relatively uncomplicated
  A subject is asked to respond with first word or idea that
comes to mind.
 A table is prepared and has three columns: Test Word,
Reaction Time and Patient’s/Suspect’s Response

Carl Jung’s WAT
 Uses 100 words
 Identify abnormal response as a means to identify
psychological complexes, along with what he calls
“intellectual and emotional deficiencies”
METHODS
1. PATIENT’S/SUSPECT’S INSTRUCTION
We’re now going to do a word association test. This test contains
100 words. After I say each word, I’ll be expecting you to respond
with a word. I want you to answer as quickly as possible with the
first word that occurs to your mind.
2. RECORDING THE RESULTS
The table has three columns, test word, reaction time and
response.
Record the number of seconds of the delayed response.
3. REPRODUCTION
The reproduction method was invented by Jung to “fine-tune”,
the accuracy of examiner identified complexes.
TYPES OF REPRODUCTION DISTURBANCE
a. False Unrelated Recall
b. False Related Recall
c. No Recall
d. Delay in Recall
e. Partial Recall
f. Spontaneously Corrected False Record
4. INTERPRETATION
5. REWRITING
6. FINAL THOUGHTS
KINDS OF ASSOCIATIVE DISTURBANCES

a. Blocking. Shows its greatest incidence in deteriorated

unclassified schizophrenics and in inhibited pre-
schizophrenics.
b. Object naming. Occur occasionally in depressive psychotics
and inhibited schizophrenics.
c. Definitions and attempted definitions. Occur with a very
high incidence in depressives and deteriorated unclassified
schizophrenics.
d. Repetitions and partial repetitions. Occur most frequently
in acute or deteriorated unclassified schizophrenics and in
inhibited pre-schizophrenics.
e. Clang association. Present in schizophrenics and pre-
schizophrenics, and most in ideational are pre-schizophrenics
and least acute in schizophrenia.
f. Phrase completion. Occurs most in chronic unclassified
schizophrenia, acute paranoid schizophrenia, and over
ideational pre-schizophrenia.
g. Closed reaction proper. Outstandingly often encountered in
simple schizophrenia.
h. Attributes
i. Images and suspected images. Occurs most often in
schizophrenics and obsessive compulsives.
j. Self references. Occurs at times in chronic and deteriorated
unclassified schizophrenics and depressive neurotics.
k. Perseverations. Crop in chronic schizophrenics, acute
paranoid schizophrenics, and simple schizophrenics, also in
over ideational pre-schizophrenics and mixed neurotics.\
l. Attributes. Appear at maximum in chronic and deteriorated
schizophrenics and are also paranoid in conditions.
[Link] reactions. Most common in deteriorated
classified schizophrenics.
 n. Distant reactions. They are usually present in chronic
unclassified schizophrenics records and those of over
ideational pre-schizophrenics and simple schizophrenics.
o. Mildly distant reactions. Occur most often in simple
schizophrenics, but also in depressive psychotics.
p. Multiword reactions. Have by far the highest frequency
deteriorated unclassified schizophrenics followed by acute
unclassified schizophrenics.
q. Emotional reactions. They turn up most frequently in the
test of over ideational pre-schizophrenics and acute
unclassified schizophrenics.
r. Alternate reactions. Are not often given except by some
schizophrenics.
s. Vulgar responses. Are most prevalent in men of relatively
little education and limited cultural background.
t. Subtotal of close reactions. characterized by depression
with some incidence of schizophrenia also.
The Use of Psychological Stress Evaluator (PSE)

Allen D. Bell Jr. and Charles R Mc Quiston, Army Intelligence

officers at the time developed what they called Psychological Stress
Evaluator (PSE) in 1970. Its purposes were “to detect levels of
significant emotional stress from human voices utterances”, as Bell
put it. Like the polygraph, it measures physiological manifestations
of psychological stress. Both need a procedure to differentiate
between stress caused by lying and stress caused for any other
reason.
Unlike the polygraph, the PSE signal-processes the raw input
of a voice. Vocalization can be voiced in person, recorded and
played back or taken off the radio or television. Yes, it is possible to
stress analyze a voice without the subject being present or even
knowing about it. But not all lies are the same. The key to a
successful examination is the subject’s level of jeopardy.
 Read: [Link]
article=3466&context=ilj

Lesson 2

 Use of Drug that Try to Inhibit the

A. Administration of Truth Serum

Truth serum refers to various drugs that have been used in attempts to
extract truthful statements from people. Wine was the basic method for
extraction during ancient times; however, the first documented use of a
truth serum to solve a criminal case occurred in New York in 1903. Ether,
the truth-inducing drug, prompted a confession from a police officer who
had murdered his wife. But the first drug ever approved as a truth
inducing drug was scopolamine.

This drug was first “discovered” by Dr. Robert House, an obstetrician.

When he administered scopolamine, a popular obstetric anaesthetic drug,
his patients would fall into “twilight sleep,” a state in which they would
automatically deliver information. After numerous experiments Dr. House
concluded that he could easily force the truth from his patients through
the use of scopolamine. This hypothesis was put to a test in 1922 when
two convicts from a Dallas jail volunteered to be test subjects in order to
prove their innocence. Under the influence of the “truth-inducing drug”'
their claims of innocence appeared genuine. In addition, after being put
under the influence of scopolamine, one of the prisoner's claimed: “After I
had regained consciousness I began to realize that at times during the
experiment I had a desire to answer any question that I could hear, and it
seemed that when a question was asked my mind would center upon the
true facts of the answer and I would speak voluntarily, without any
strength of will to manufacture an answer.” The results of this experiment
coupled with the prisoner's statement verified Dr. House's hypothesis.
Furthermore, Dr. House reasoned that subjects under the influence of
scopolamine would be unable to lie because the drug temporarily destroys
the brain's power of reasoning.

New substances pharmacologically similar to scopolamine were

explored. Barbiturates, like sodium amytal and sodium pentothal, were
used extensively during World War II for psychiatric purposes. A small
dose of the drug caused the patient's heart rate to decrease, relieved
tension and anxiety. This state of complete relaxation would enable the
soldiers to calmly speak of their experiences in order to lessen their
trauma. Consequently, observing the advantages that could be obtained
from using truth-inducing drugs, the Nazis experimented with mescaline
in the Dachau concentration camp while the CIA and the U.S. Army
explored alternatives such as LSD and cannabis. Their effectiveness made
them an essential component in interrogations. Rumours speak of the
most effective truth drug code-named SP-17, used by the KGB in
interrogations and to periodically confirm their agents' loyalty. SP-17 was
extremely effective due its lack of scent and taste when added
surreptitiously to a target's beverage. Additionally, SP-17 had the ability to
loosen tongues and to erase all of the victim's memories during the time
of the interrogation.

Although these drugs have never been officially proven to be

completely effective, they are commonly used in various parts of the
world. Truth-inducing drugs are considered unconstitutional and unethical
under international law, and are classified as a form of torture. Still, in
2008 it was publicly announced that Indian police interrogators
administered an unidentified drug in order to capture the gunman
responsible for the Mumbai attacks, demonstrating the continual
exploitation of these truth-inducing drugs.
 Hyoscine hydrobromide is the drug that is being administered to the
subject hypodermically in repetitive doses until a state of delirium is
brought on. When the proper point is attained, the examiner will ask the
question and because of the drug, the subject feels an obligation to
answer the questions truthfully, forgets his alibi, and may even give
information of his acts or even others involve to the crime.
B. Narcoanalysis or Narcosynthesis
Psychiatric Sodium Amytal or Sodium Pentothal is administered to
the subject. It is claimed that the drug causes depression of the inhibitory
mechanism of the brain and the subject talks freely. Questioning starts
when the effects appear. A psychiatrist must do the administration of the
drug and subsequent interrogation with a long experience on the line. Like
the use of truth serum, the result of the test is not admissible in court.

Narcoanalysis as an investigative tool has been a controversial

topic for decades. The test presumes to place its subject into a ‘hypnotic
state’ by injecting anaesthetic drugs of specific dosages. It is assumed
that in this state, the person’s imagination is neutralised and that she will
then divulge information that she believes to be true to her knowledge.
It’s seen as a means of obtaining information in circumstances that
require an urgent response from the person.

The test is usually conducted by a team comprising “an

anesthesiologist, a psychiatrist, a clinical/forensic psychologist, an
audio/videographer and supporting nursing staff”. They monitor the
patient’s vitals, including blood pressure and pulse rate, throughout the
session and the entire procedure is documented for the record. And
before beginning the test, it is mandatory that the person being tested
has consented to it and knows and understands the entire procedure.

Those who conduct these tests have been known to prefer

thiopental sodium as the narcotic agent since it is also frequently used as
a general anaesthetic. It is a fast-acting drug: a person who receives an
intravenous dose (of suitable quantity) typically loses consciousness
within seconds.

It’s important to maintain an appropriate dosage of the drug to

ensure the person remains at a particular stage of anaesthesia.

There are four stages of anaesthesia. In the first stage, the person
begins ‘going under’ and to feel the drug’s effects. In the second, the
person becomes semiconscious and enters a trance-like state. If the drug
is being administered continuously, the person will subsequently enter the
third stage – complete unconsciousness. If the dose is increased beyond
this point, the fourth stage begins, of coma and eventually death.

During narcoanalysis tests, the person is to be maintained in the

second stage – a hypnotic state. Researchers have hypothesised that, in
this state, thiopental sodium produces an effect akin to hypnosis as well
as, through certain neurological processes, makes it harder for the person
to lie. The interview begins when the person’s speech begins to slur.

Thiopental sodium belongs to a class of drugs called barbiturates,

which depress the central nervous system and slow down brain activity.
They have these effects because they imitate one of the chemicals that
the human brain produces naturally when it wants to calm the body:
gamma-aminobutyric acid

(GABA). The barbiturates bind to the GABA cell receptors and

induce the person into a trance-like state by dialling down their fear and
anxiety. At this point, the idea is that it will be hard for the brain to carry
out complex thought processes, including deciding which question to
answer and lying.

Although members of the criminal justice system, and other others,

have been excited by the prospect of a drug that can prevent people from
lying, there is a more considerable body of literature that encourages
skepticism about the method’s efficacy.
 Several critics have expressed concerns that the test isn’t 100%
accurate. For example, a person addicted to drugs or alcohol is expected
to also have a high tolerance of thiopental sodium, may pretend to be in a
semiconscious state and could retain the ability to deceive. It is also quite
complicated to maintain an exact dose of the drug according to an
individual’s will-power or attitude. Finally, innocent subjects could become
suggestible and even share information they are not required to.

In addition, many medical professionals deem thiopental sodium to

be dangerous if not administered in judicious amounts. An inappropriate
dose or use of the drug could suddenly lower blood pressure and cease
respiration, so narcoanalysis is very risky for people with respiratory
ailments like asthma.

Narcoanalysis tests also pose several legal, ethical and medical

questions. As a result, they have also received considerable attention for
straddling two distinct worlds and distinct goals: efficient investigative
practices and the preservation of individual liberties.

C. Intoxication with Alcohol

The apparent stimulation effect of alcohol is really the result of
control mechanism of the brain. The ability of alcohol to reveal the person
behind the mask which of all of us are said to wear (mask of sanity) is
reflected in the age-old maxim “In vino veritas” (in wine there is truth).
Whatever confessions made by the subject while under the
influence of alcohol may be admissible if he is physically capable to
recollect the facts that he has uttered after the effects of alcohol have
disappeared. But in most instances, the subject cannot recall everything
that he had mentioned or he may refuse to admit the truth of the
statement given.
Lesson 3

 Hypnosis, Scientific
Interrogation, and Confession

A. Hypnosis
It is a fantastic condition that may be physically induced by another
person, characterized by loss of consciousness and a greater or lesser
degree of responsiveness to the suggestions of hypnotist. It is the
alteration of consciousness and concentration in which the subject
manifests a heightened suggestibility while awareness is maintained.
 Confession while under hypnotic spell is not admissible as evidence
because such “psychiatric treatment” is involuntary and mentally
coercive. Although it is not admissible in court but serve as discovery
procedure during investigation
History of Hypnosis
The earliest references to hypnosis date back to ancient Egypt and
Greece. Indeed, ‘hypnos’ refers to the god pictured and is the Greek word
for sleep , although the actual state of Hypnosis is very different from that
of sleep. Both cultures had religious centres where people came for help
with their problems. Hypnosis was used to induce dreams, which were
then analysed to get to the root of the trouble. There are many references
to trance and hypnosis in early writings. In 2600 BC the father of Chinese
medicine,Wong Tai, wrote about techniques that involved incantations
and passes of the hands. the Hindu Vedas written around 1500 BC
mention hypnotic procedures. Trance-like states occur in many
shamanistic, druidic, voodoo, yogic and religious practices.
Hypnotic Pioneers
The modern father of Hypnosis was an Austrian physician, Franz
Mesmer (1734 – 1815), from whose name the word ‘mesmerism’ is
derived. Though much maligned by the medical world of his day, Mesmer
was nevertheless a brilliant man. He developed the theory of ‘animal
magnetism’ – the idea that diseases are the result of blockages in the flow
of magnetic forces in the body. He believed he could store his animal
magnetism in baths of iron filings and transfer it to patients with rods or
by ‘mesmeric passes’.
The mesmeric pass must surely go down in history as one of the
most interesting, and undoubtedly the most long-winded, ways of putting
someone into a trance. Mesmer would stand his subjects quite still while
he swept his arms across their body, sometimes for hours on end. I
suspect that this probably had the effect of boring patients into a trance,
but it was certainly quite effective. Mesmer himself was very much a
showman, conveying by his manner that something was going to happen
to the patient. In itself this form of indirect suggestion was very powerful.
Mesmer was also responsible for the popular image of the hypnotist as a
man with magnetic eyes, a cape and goatee beard. His success fuelled
jealousy among many of his colleagues and this eventually led to his
public humiliation. looking back, it is quite incredible that hypnosis
survived in these early years, because the medical world was so dead set
against it.
Another forward thinker was John Elliotson (1791 – 1868), a professor at
London University, who is famous for introducing the stethoscope into
England. He also tried to champion the use of mesmerism, but was forced
to resign. He continued to give demonstrations of mesmerism in his own
home to any interested parties, and this led to a steady increase in
literature on the subject.
The next real pioneer of Hypnosis in Britain appeared in the mid-
nineteenth century with James Braid (1795 – 1860). Primarily a Scottish
eye doctor, he developed an interest in mesmerism quite by chance. One
day, when he was late for an appointment, he found his patient in the
waiting room staring into an old lamp, his eyes glazed. Fascinated, Braid
gave the patient some commands, telling him to close his eyes and go to
sleep. The patient complied and Braid’s interest grew. He discovered that
getting a patient to fixate upon something was one of the most important
components of putting them into a trance.
The swinging watch, which many people associate with hypnosis,
was popular in the early days as an object of fixation. Following his
discovery that it was not necessary to go through all the palaver of
mesmeric passes, Braid published a book in which he proposed that the
phenomenon now be called hypnotism.
Meanwhile, a British surgeon in India, James Esdaile (1808 – 59),
recognised the enormous benefits of hypnotism for pain relief and
performed hundreds of major operations using hypnotism as his only
anaesthetic. When he returned to England he tried to convince the
medical establishment of his findings, but they laughed at him and
declared that pain was character-building (although they were biased in
favour of the new chemical anaesthetics, which they could control and, of
course, charge more money for). So hypnosis became, and remains to this
day, an ‘alternative’ form of medicine.
The French were also taking an interest in the subject of Hypnosis,
and many breakthroughs were made by such men as Ambrose Liébeault
(1823 – 1904), J.M. Charcot (1825 – 93) and Charles Richet (1850 – 1935).
The work of another Frenchman, Emile Coué (1857 – 1926), was
very interesting. He moved away from conventional approaches and
pioneered the use of auto-suggestion. He is most famous for the phrase,
‘Day by day in every way I am getting better and better.’ His technique
was one of affirmation and it has been championed in countless modern
books.
A man of enormous compassion, Coué believed that he did not heal
people himself but merely facilitated their own self-healing. He
understood the importance of the subject’s participation in hypnosis, and
was a forerunner of those modern practitioners who claim, ‘There is no
such thing as hypnosis, only self-hypnosis.’ Perhaps his most famous idea
was that the imagination is always more powerful than the will. For
example, if you ask someone to walk across a plank of wood on the floor,
they can usually do it without wobbling. However, if you tell them to close
their eyes and imagine the plank is suspended between two buildings
hundreds of feet above the ground, they will start to sway.
In a sense Coué also anticipated the placebo effect – treatment of
no intrinsic value the power of which lies in suggestion: patients are told
that they are being given a drug that will cure them. Recent research on
placebos is quite startling. In some cases statistics indicate that placebos
can work better that many of modern medicine’s most popular drugs. It
seems that while drugs are not always necessary for recovery from illness
belief in recovery is!
Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) was also interested in hypnosis,
initially using it extensively in his work. He eventually abandoned the
practice – for several reasons, not least that he wasn’t very good at it! He
favoured psychoanalysis, which involves the patient lying on a couch and
the analyst doing a lot of listening. He believed that the evolution of the
self was a difficult process of working through stages of sexual
development, with repressed memories of traumatic incidents the main
cause of psychological problems. This is an interesting idea that has yet to
be proved.
Freud’s early rejection of Hypnosis delayed the development of
hypnotherapy, turning the focus of psychology away from hypnosis and
towards psychoanalysis. However, things picked up in 1930s in America
with the publication of Clark Hull’s book, Hypnosis and Suggestibility.
In more recent times, the recognised leading authority on clinical
hypnosis was Milton H. Erickson, MD (1901-80), a remarkable man and a
highly effective psychotherapist. As a teenager he was stricken with polio
and paralysed, but he remobilized himself. It was while paralysed that he
had an unusual opportunity to observe people, and he noticed that what
people said and what they did were often very different. He became
fascinated by human psychology and devised countless innovative and
creative ways to heal people. He healed through metaphor, surprise,
confusion and humour, as well as hypnosis. A master of ‘indirect
hypnosis’, he was able to put a person into a trance without even
mentioning the word hypnosis.
It is becoming more and more accepted that an understanding of
Hypnosis is essential for the efficient practice of every type of
psychotherapy. Erickson’s approach and its derivatives are without
question the most effective techniques.
Over the years hypnosis has gained ground and respectability within
the medical profession. Although hypnosis and medicine are not the
same, they are now acknowledged as being related, and it is only a
matter of time before hypnosis becomes a mainstream practice, as
acceptable to the general public as a visit to the dentist.
B. Scientific Interrogation
It is the questioning of a person suspected of having committed an
offense or of a person who is reluctant to make a full disclosure or
information in his possession that is pertinent to the investigation. It is the
elicitation of information from an individual who refuses to provide
information. The goals of it is to:
a. Find out the truth about the crime;
b. Obtain an admission or confession of guilt from the suspect;
c. Gail all facts in order to determine the methods of operation
or modus operandi and the circumstances of the crime in question; and
d. Collect information that guides investigators to arrive at
logical conclusion
C. Confession
It is an expressed acknowledgment by the accused in a
criminal case of the truth of his guilt as to the crime charges, or of some
essential thereof.
Confession is a statement of guilt while admission is usually a
statement of fact by the accused, which does not directly involve an
acknowledgment of guilt of the accused.
Kinds of Confession
1. Extra-judicial confession – this is a confession made
outside of the court prior to the trial of the case.
Section 3, Rule 133, Rules of Court – it is not sufficient ground for
conviction unless corroborated by evidence of corpus delicti (body of the
crime)
The reason of the above rule is to guard the accused against
conviction based upon false confession of guilt. It is possible that a person
might have confessed his guilt regarding an offense which someone has
committed and when asked of his victim of the nature of the injuries
inflicted by him, it does not coincide with the identity or nature of the
injuries received by the victim.
Kinds of Extra-Judicial Confession
1) Voluntary extra-judicial confession – the confession is
voluntary when the accused speaks of his free will and accord, without
inducement of any kind and with a full and complete knowledge of the
nature and consequence of confession and when the speaking is so free
from influences affecting the will of the accused at hetime the confession
was made that it renders it admissible in evidence against him.
2) Involuntary extra-judicial confession – confessions
obtained through forced, threat, intimidation, duress or anything
influencing the voluntary act of the confessor.
Confession obtained from the defendant by means of force and
violence is null and void and cannot be used against him at the trial.
A confession made under the influence of spiritual advice or
exhortation is not admissible.
A confession made under the influence of paternal sentiment is not
admissible.
3) Judicial confession – this is a confession of accused in court.
It is conclusive upon the court and may be considered to be a mitigating
circumstance to criminal liability.
A plea of guilty when formally entered on arraignment is sufficient
to sustain a conviction of any offense, even a capital one, without further
proof.
Section 2, Rule 129, Rules of Court – admissions made by the
parties in the pleadings, or in the course of the trial or other proceedings
do not require proof and cannot be contradicted unless previously sown to
have been made through the palpable mistake.
Section 20, Article III, Bill of Rights, Philippine Constitution:
No person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.
Any person under investigation for the commission of the offense shall
have the right to remain silent and to counsel and be informed of such
right. No force, intimidation or any other means that vitiates the free will
shall be used against him. Any confession obtained in violation of this
section shall be inadmissible in court.
After such warning and in order to secure a waiver, the
following questions should be asked. An affirmative answer to each
question constitutes a waiver to the rights.
A. Do you understand each of these rights I have explained to
you?
 B. Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to as now?
Some Technique in Interrogation
1. Emotional appeal
2. Mutt and Jeff technique
3. Bluff on split-pair technique
4. Stern Approach
5. The subject is given the opportunity to make a long, wordy
and time-consuming narration
Basis of the investigator’s inference that the subject is
telling a lie
1) The statement of the subject has many improbabilities and
gaps on its substantial parts
2) The statement of the subject is inconsistent with the material
facts
3) The statement of the subject is incoherent, conflicting with
one another

Congratulations! You have just studied Module IV. now you are
ready to evaluate how much you have benefited from your reading by
answering the summative test. Good Luck!!!