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Ancient Method of Detecting Prelim Crimtic 5

Ancient methods for detecting deception included trial by combat, trials by ordeal, and trials by torture. Trials by ordeal involved tests like carrying hot iron, chewing rice, or diving into water to determine guilt or innocence. Early scientific methods included word association tests, hypnosis, and truth serums, but these were found to be unreliable. Modern scientific approaches analyze statements for criteria like detail and consistency, examine pronoun usage, and measure physiological responses like respiration and sweat during polygraph tests.

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4K views6 pages

Ancient Method of Detecting Prelim Crimtic 5

Ancient methods for detecting deception included trial by combat, trials by ordeal, and trials by torture. Trials by ordeal involved tests like carrying hot iron, chewing rice, or diving into water to determine guilt or innocence. Early scientific methods included word association tests, hypnosis, and truth serums, but these were found to be unreliable. Modern scientific approaches analyze statements for criteria like detail and consistency, examine pronoun usage, and measure physiological responses like respiration and sweat during polygraph tests.

Uploaded by

Belinda Viernes
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Ancient Method of detecting

Deception

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE POLYGRAPH

Since the dawn of civilization, mankind has sought ways to


distinguish truthfulness from deception in those individuals suspected of
criminal wrongdoing.

Various inventive techniques for the verification of truth and the


detection of deception have been tried over the centuries, many of
these being ridiculous and barbaric.

Despite their primitiveness, each technique was based on the


assumption that some form of physiological reaction occurred within a
person when confronted with certain stimuli regarding an event under
investigation, and that this physiological reaction would, in turn, be
manifested in certain recognizable external symptoms that were
indicative of honesty or deception.

ANCIENT JUDICIAL METHODS FOR


THE DETECTION OF DECEPTION

Ancient judicial methods for the detection of deception were based on


religious faith and superstition. These methods consisted of trial by combat,
trial by ordeal, or trial by torture.

Trial by combat

It was based on the adoption of divine judgment, and contestants let


the outcomes of the battle decide who is truthful and who is not. Such a
belief assumes that the adversaries should defend their claims themselves.

However, in cases where the accused was unfit to fight, for example when
a woman was accused, she was allowed to employ a champion to fight for
her. At first, the champion was some member of the family.

Later, it became the custom to substitute the contestant with a skilled


champion, and professional champions sold their skill to the highest bidder.
Champions had an interest not to inflict injuries, and they agreed on rules
such as not to use teeth and hands in the fight. In medieval Italy,
champions were recognized as a class with an established institution
consisting of selected individuals. To enhance fairness, efforts were made
to select champions who were equal in age, size and strength.

Ordeal

It is another way by which people cast their doubts on a higher


power. It was based on the belief that God will protect the innocent
and punish the guilty person. For example, in 592 a bishop, who was
accused of a crime, took an oath on the relics of St. Peter.

It was evident that the accused exposed himself to immediate


danger, if guilty. However, he performed the ceremony unharmed
and this was a proof of his innocence. The literature refers to the
ordeal of boiling water, the ordeal of cold water, the fire ordeal, the
ordeal of balance, the ordeal of rice chewing, and a variety of other
ordeals.

In a trial by ordeal, it was believed once again that God would intervene
and protect the innocent by performing a miracle on their behalf. The
following are some examples of a trial by ordeal.

Red Hot Iron Ordeal

the accused had to carry a piece of red hot iron for a


certain distance, bare-handed naturally.

Typically, the ordeal of fire required the


accused to walk barefoot a certain distance
(approximately 10 feet) over red-hot
ploughshares or to hold a red-hot iron bar,
after which the feet or the hands were
bandaged and re-examined three days later by
a priest. If God had intervened to heal the
burns, the innocence of the accused was
established. If the injury was festering, the
accused was judged to be guilty and was either
exiled or executed.
Rice chewing ordeal

the suspect was made to chew on a handful of dry rice while


being questioned and then told to spit it out after a certain
amount of time. ... It was believed that stress caused by fear of
detection slowed down the flow of saliva, thus causing the
suspect to have a dry mouth.

Ordeal of Balance

mostly given to women, minors and old or disabled people.


The person performing the ordeal was twice weighed on a
balance. If the person weighed lighter than the previous
weight they were considered innocent; if they were heavier
the second time they were considered guilty.

Water ordeal

The person had to dive into a river and keep themselves under
water, while at the same time an arrow was also shot into the
water and was brought back by a fleet runner. If the person
stayed under water till that time and no body part was visible
then the person was considered innocent. If the person floated
back up again before the arrow was retrieved or a body part
other than the top of the head became visible the person was
found guilty.

Ordeal of Poison

the person had to take a certain quantity of poison and was


monitored for any reactions for a certain time period. If there
was no visible effect of the poison the person was considered
innocent.

Sacred Ass Ordeal

Donkey's Tail Ordeal was used in India around 500 BC. A


person suspected of theft is subjected to a test to determine
his/her guilt.
The suspect is required to enter a dark tent and inside the tent is
a donkey. The tail of this donkey is covered with soot.

The suspect is told to pull the tail of the donkey. When the
suspect comes out with a dirty hand, he is not guilty as he is not
afraid to pull the donkeys tail because he did not commit any
wrong.

A person who comes out of the tent with a clean hand is


presumed guilty as he is afraid to pull the donkey's tail, a
manifestation of guilt at that time.

Scientific Method of
Detecting Deception

Word Association Test

IT was introduced by Francis Galton

a test in which the participant responds to a stimulus word with the


first word that comes to mind.

Hypnotism

It was introduced by Franz Anton Mesmer

it was thought that the use of hypnosis would assist in detecting


deception. There are two major views to hypnosis. One believes
that hypnosis represents a special form of consciousness which
permits access to hidden parts of the mind.

The other major view explains hypnosis by social psychological


mechanisms and suggests that the hypnotized individual is
affected by the social situation. Both views agree that hypnosis
has no truth-compelling capacity. The person under hypnosis
retains control and is able to judge events, and therefore can lie.

Truth Serum test


It was introduced by Dr. Eduard Mandel House

Narcoanalysis was first used in psychiatric proceedings to facilitate


communication with the emotionally disturbed patient. Drugs such as
sodium amytal, and sodium pentothal induced relaxation, ease,
confidence, and a marked verbal release.

It seemed that the patient under the influence of the drug did not stop
talking. The relief from inhibitions and the decreased self-protective
censorship of speech led to the idea that using drugs would reveal
the hidden truth. However, it soon turned out that guilt-ridden people
confessed under narcoanalysis to offenses they had imagined but
had not committed, and others denied crimes that objective signs
indicated they had committed.

Statement Analysis

‘Statement Validity Analysis’ (SVA).

The SVA consists of two components: (1) a criteria-based


content analysis (CBCA) in which 19criteria have been
proposed to reflect qualitative and quantitative differences
between truthful and untruthful reports; and (2) examination of
other evidence in the case. It is thought, for example, that a
detailed report, which contains the exact description of the
place, vivid description of people, and a step by step description
of the events would suggest that the statement reflects the
truth.

Scientific Content Analysis (SCAN).

The SCAN assumes that deceptive suspects will use more


deviations in pronoun usage such as replacing I with you.
Furthermore, deceptive suspects will present long introductions
or omit the introduction altogether. Deceivers will also use many
unnecessary connectors, such as ‘after I left’, and ‘and then’.
Intuitively, the SCAN may work but to date there is no scientific
evidence on the validity of the SCAN.

Polygraph test
The polygraph is a device that continuously measures and records
physiological responses from an examinee who answers a series of
questions.

Recordings are made of respiration, palmar sweating and relative


blood pressure.

Changes in respiration are obtained from two pneumatic rubber tubes


positioned around the thoracic area and abdomen. The palmar
sweating, or electrodermal skin response, is obtained from
stainless-steel electrodes attached to the volar side of the index and
fourth fingers of the examinee’s hand.

Blood pressure is obtained from an inflated pressure cuff positioned


around the upper portion of the examinee’s contralateral arm (Fig. 1).
Another measurement that is used less frequently is the peripheral
blood flow obtained from a photoelectric plethysmograph placed on a
finger.

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