2020 Volume 91 Issue 5 Pages 303-311
The present study focused on temporal changes of physiological activities within trials during the concealed information test (CIT). Participants were assigned to two groups with an inter-stimulus interval (ISI) of 50 or 25 seconds in the CIT. A relevant item was a piece of jewelry that a participant stole in the preceding mock theft task. Measures were skin conductance level (SCL), skin conductance response (SCR), heart rate (HR), normalized pulse volume (NPV), and self-reported arousal and surprise. The results showed that physiological changes in response to irrelevant items tended to return to pre-stimulus levels within 25 seconds. Physiological recoveries were slower for SCL and HR but faster for NPV for the relevant item than for irrelevant items. Pre-stimulus physiological levels were maintained until the relevant item was presented and then declined, which was similar to the peak of tension effect. Results in the self-reported measures were in line with the physiological measures. Practical and theoretical implications were discussed.
