Emotions in the polygraph test: Possible contributions of emotion studies to the field CIT

Abstract

This paper discusses the possible contributions of emotions to the concealed information test (CIT), which is a polygraph test method. Comparing physiological activities between laboratory and field CITs suggests that examinees’ negative affect, including anxieties, might heighten tonic basal physiological activities while having little effect on phasic physiological responses to relevant items. The identical phasic physiological response patterns to relevant items in field CITs and laboratory CITs suggest that basic laboratory studies of emotions can contribute to elucidate underlying mechanisms relevant to the CIT. We have discussed how current empirical studies and approaches to emotion studies, including emotion regulation, cognitive appraisal theory, and psychological constructivism, contribute to understanding the psychological and neuroscientific mechanisms of the CIT. However, specific challenges to applying psychological findings to social use partly result from how psychologists conceive and perform empirical studies.