Why is a lie detector created? How does a polygraph work? The moral aspect of using a polygraph

The first lie detection device was called a hydrosphygmometer. It was used by the Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso. In the 1890s, it was used by a criminologist to measure the blood pressure of suspects while they were being questioned by police. Lombroso claimed that he could tell when criminals were lying. Showing photographs related or unrelated to the crime, he simultaneously recorded the pulse and blood rates of the suspects.

The polygraph became famous after an investigation in 1902. Then Lombroso was involved in the investigation of a criminal case of rape and murder of a girl. During the interrogation of the suspect, the scientist used his unusual device. Although initially all the facts spoke against the suspect, Lombroso came to the conclusion that he was innocent.

He detected slight changes in the subject's pulse as he did various things in his mind. mathematical calculations. When the suspect was presented with images of injured children, the recorded pulse recording did not show any sudden changes, including when viewing photographs of the murdered girl. The results of the subsequent investigation convincingly proved that this suspect was innocent of this crime.

The prototype of the modern polygraph was developed in the 1920s by John Larson, a California police officer. The device he created provided simultaneous recording of blood pressure, pulse and respiration. With the help of this device, a large number of checks were carried out on persons suspected of criminal offenses.

Larson called his instrument the "polygraph", borrowing the name from John Hawkins, who coined the term in 1804. This was the name of the machine he invented for creating exact copies of handwritten texts. The name "polygraph" comes from two Greek words - "poly" (many) and "grapho" (write). This machine was used by many in the 19th century, including Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence, but it was John Larson who first applied the word “polygraph” to a lie detection device. Subsequently, this term became firmly established.

Where is the polygraph used?

Many reputable domestic companies, focusing on the experience of foreign colleagues, practice testing applicants with a lie detector, also known as a polygraph. About ten years ago, such “truth sessions” seemed like something out of the realm of spy detectives, but now it is an everyday thing in structures that have nothing to do with state security. The lie detector is used in many ways, but the main ones are the interrogation of offenders and the screening of applicants when applying for a job.

How does a lie detector work?

Anyone who has already passed a lie detector test knows that the polygraph operator alternates significant issues(for example: “Have you ever been accused of embezzlement? corporate funds?”) with controls that are not related to the direct purpose of the test (for example: “Have you ever cheated on your spouse?”). At the same time, the printer monitors the readings of several sensors (galvanic skin reflexes, cardiovascular activity, thoracic and abdominal breathing, etc.).

The basic principle of the polygraph is as follows: the physiological reactions are stronger, the more important and significant the question asked is for you. As a rule, a person who is not involved in a case that interests interrogators reacts approximately the same way to all questions: those that are significant for the case and those that are not significant. And for those involved, significant questions cause uncontrollable tension.

Usually, before the actual lie detector test, all the questions that will be asked are discussed with the test taker. The topic of the test is discussed in advance to avoid an uncertain reaction to an unexpected question. If you ask a person directly without preparation something like “Did you sleep with your boss’s wife?”, he simply may not understand what is happening. He will start to get nervous or hesitate to answer, even if he has never done so. Or he will be very surprised - and the polygraph shows approximately the same reaction to lies and surprise.

During the preliminary discussion, you can already decide how you will answer. Knowing the topic and an approximate range of questions, you can take advantage of this. Banish the real picture from your consciousness and create a “legend” that is beneficial to you: a bright, emotionally charged image that will displace the real one. With developed imagination and self-hypnosis skills, this can help you outwit the polygraph. The key here is to force yourself to believe in this alternative reality, and not just imagine it in detail.

And the main difficulty is “not to think about the white rhinoceros”, to forget for a while about how everything really happened. Otherwise, the real picture in your mind will overlap with the imagined one. Two mutually exclusive images will simultaneously evoke the psychic. You will begin to demonstrate delayed reactions to questions and other artifacts. They will show that you are constructing an imaginary event (or, more simply put, lying) and this will be recorded by a polygraph as evidence of your lies.

Before the main test, the so-called tuning (pre-test) interview to “calibrate” your answers. Your psychophysiological indicators in a normal state are studied. Sensors record upper (chest) and lower (abdominal) breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure, tremor (shaking) and electrical reaction of the skin. Next, the tests find out how the indicators “jump” when the test taker is asked questions that are significant to him. Usually they are quite simple: “Is your name so-and-so?”, “Do you have a family?”, “Do you intend to deceive the polygraph?”

Your reaction to a deliberate lie is also studied. The polygraph examiner calls several names, including yours. You must lie, that is, say that the name being spoken is not yours. This way it checks how you react to a lie and how the detector records it. For a similar purpose, you may be asked to write down a number from several suggested ones, choose a playing card, put some kind of figure in your pocket, etc. The polygraph operator then “guesses” the subject by analyzing your reactions.

A funny detail: in many instructions for polygraph operators, when “guessing” they advise not to limit themselves to the analysis of psychophysiological reactions, but to be safe, to resort to cheating techniques - marked cards, hidden video cameras... Such petty cheating is considered acceptable. After all, among other things, preparatory stage must break the test taker’s will to resist, convince him of the futility of trying to deceive the polygraph. Therefore, during the preliminary demonstration, they strive to completely eliminate the possibility of a “puncture”.

The main test can take several hours. The questions are read out, you are asked to listen carefully and answer honestly “yes” or “no.” After each question there is a pause (15-20 seconds) during which the psychophysiological reaction to it is recorded. The polygraph records when your “heart skipped a beat,” where you held your breath, what question was followed by a “sigh of relief,” and where your hands trembled and your knees vibrated. Here are some signs of emotional tension in response to the presentation of a significant question.

They may not be in your favor:

the magnitude of the skin reaction increases;
the pulse slows down, followed by a compensatory increase in heart rate;
holding the breath and slowing down its rhythm, followed by a compensatory increase in the rhythm and depth of breathing;
changes in inhalation/exhalation time, inhalation pause and exhalation pause;
increased muscle tremors

To disorient the interviewee and break down his protective barriers, conditions and wording may change. The same question may be presented many times. Questions on the same topic can be formulated differently. You may be asked to answer “yes” to all questions, even if you have previously answered “no” to them, to see how you will react if you answer yes. Or vice versa - give only negative answers. There is also a “silent answer” - the test taker is asked only to think about the answer to the question, but not to say it out loud.

During the survey, “filler questions” are used on neutral topics that, in theory, should not cause excitement (“Is it Monday?” “Are you sitting on a chair?”). Experts suggest including more questions in the test that require a known truthful answer. After them, it will be more difficult for a person to lie, and the corresponding physiological manifestations will become more noticeable.

There are also trap questions regarding the details of what happened (for example, theft). They are unknown to the innocent, but will cause a strong reaction to those involved in the crime. Often the question lists keywords and facts. “What did you take from the safe? Mobile phone? Gun? A pack of condoms? A bunch of keys? “How long has it been since you last used drugs? A week? Month? Year? Five years?". “Do you like to drink alone? In company? In the morning? In the evenings? For days on end? “What bribe did you receive? One hundred? Two hundred? Three hundred? Five hundred thousand?". As you approach the correct answer, signs of anxiety increase, and then relax as you move away from it. Although outwardly it may not be noticeable to a person.

To distract the test taker's attention, significant questions are made more difficult. The unknown is presented to the test taker as the known: “Did you hide the package you stole there?” A person, by inertia, can “get carried away” and answer “yes” or “no”. And any unambiguous answer to such questions already contains indirect recognition.

Also present Control questions, which should excite even the innocent (“Have you ever taken something that didn’t belong to you?”). Everyone has committed such acts at least once in their lives, so it is assumed that for innocent people, control questions should cause more excitement than questions directly related to the essence of the case. A negative answer to a control test question indicates that the person being tested is lying.

Methods of deception

Today there are several ways to deceive a lie detector. Some of them depend on the preliminary professional training of the test taker. So, for example, employees or former employees of special services who are well acquainted with the principles of the polygraph or have repeatedly used it in practice will be able to deceive a lie detector. In addition, during their professional training, they undergo a special course on countering polygraph testing, because their work involves the need to maintain professional secrets. Systematic training brings their reactions to the level of unconscious automatism.

Acting

If a person is a professional actor, well acquainted with the technique of implanting himself in the image of another person, absolute transformation, up to complete identification with him, including physiological reactions, he will also be able to deceive the polygraph. After all, the main thing is to convince yourself of the truthfulness of your lies, since the lie detector evaluates reactions, and not the actual truthfulness of the answers.

Drugs

In addition, there is a so-called pharmacological way to fool a polygraph. This is the use of specially selected sedatives, medications that affect blood pressure, and alcohol. The point is to prevent the polygraph from assessing your true reactions to the questions asked and to increase the number of errors. By the way, after a hangover or lack of sleep for several days, the body’s reactions will also affect the level of objectivity of the polygraph.

Let's use our brains

If you gesticulate excessively, shake your head, or tense your diaphragm or abdominal muscles during a lie detector test, your answers can also be falsified. You can, on the contrary, resort to psychological tricks: form a parallel focus of attention, concentrate on mental activity not related to the questions asked, for example, remembering the multiplication table.

Secret way

If the above options for deceiving the polygraph do not work out, you can even resort to the so-called chemical method of deception. Since the sensors that record the electrical conductivity of the skin are worn on the fingers, their tips can be treated with agents that block the sweat glands. This can be alcohol or salicylic-zinc ointment, sold in any pharmacy. The main thing is that the polygraph examiner does not notice traces of processing, and then main channel the detector will be blocked from receiving information.

How to behave during the test?

Do not forget that the operator who is sitting in front of you is a simple person and, like everyone else, he also sometimes has emotions. Simply, he is obliged to hide them from us, because... man is at work. But we know that. Show him that you are also a simple and, most importantly, adequate person.

If you - beautiful girl, then it’s hardly worth trying to evoke sympathy from the operator. The main thing is to show your adequacy and positive attitude towards this procedure. The operator should not think that something is annoying you or that you are afraid of something.
Be calm. Do not make sudden movements with your hands or head, do not roll your eyes, do not look around the room, do not ask questions. All this can provoke additional questions from the operator and increase your arterial pressure and pulse. This is of no use to us at all!
After a trial set of questions, the actual testing session begins, which is recorded on a video camera. Keep calm. Look straight ahead. Focus your gaze on a neutral object: a wall or curtain. Oh, by the way, don’t wear anything bright to your session. Even a small red scarf can greatly affect your heart rate if it enters your field of vision.
Everything should be neutral. Preferred colors: gray, beige, pale green. Imagine yourself in an environment where you would be as calm and comfortable as possible.
You answer, without thinking, what you need and again enjoy the sun in the clearing. It’s a pity that you can’t close your eyes during the session. It would be much easier to indulge in such auto-training.

What parts does a polygraph consist of?

First of all, it is worth understanding that there are two types of lie detectors. The first is analog and the second is digital. The latter is connected to the computer, and all necessary information displayed on the monitor or printed through a regular printer. The second type is analog. These are usually portable detectors, although recently digital technologies are especially actively used.

It is impossible to say unequivocally about the functional composition of a lie detector, because each model has its own characteristics. We will list only those details that are really necessary for the person who is testing for lies.

Touch block. This is usually the end of the polygraph to which the sensors are connected. In a digital polygraph, the sensor unit is responsible for recording and transmitting information to the computer.
Sensors This is a separate part of the polygraph, which includes several types of these devices. There are sensors that record chest and diaphragmatic breathing, electrical resistance skin, indicators of the cardiovascular system, motor activity (for example, trembling of the limbs), as well as a voice analyzer, which registers excessive vibration of the ligaments (in other words, tremors in the voice).

As a rule, when a person cheats, he becomes nervous, and the objective indicators of his body change. This can be seen on the graphs.

We figured out what the composition of the polygraph is. Despite the fact that it is very simple to understand, the effectiveness of this device is becoming more and more effective every year.

When and in what situations is it used?

A polygraph is a device that is used in different areas life. In particular, they like to use it in military affairs when interrogating spies, collaborators, and so on. The polygraph is often used in police stations, although it is not the only reliable source data. It is usually used as an additional measure, and not the only true way to determine lies.

Nowadays, you can increasingly find private lie detector “specialists” who offer to find out the whole truth about your soulmate. And although many jealous wives or husbands are tempted to use such services, it is still not recommended to do so. If there really is treason, then it will be revealed. It won’t work to lead your loved one by the nose all the time, because the more often we lie, the better our close friends see it. You yourself probably have situations where you caught a person lying who does this quite often.

But if your loved one is not guilty of anything, then yes, you will begin to trust him more. But he is not for you. Such radical measures are advisable only in cases where you are 100% sure that your spouse is cheating. But it’s better not to test your son or daughter with a lie detector. If they did something illegal, then there will be people who will do it without you. And try to build with children trusting relationship to such an extent that even without your intervention they talk about all their sins.

What are the pros and cons of this method?

Polygraph testing has its advantages and disadvantages.

Let's start with the advantages:

This is a fairly quick way to detect lies, and its use does not require long training. In any case, it is easier than analyzing non-verbal signals.
Objective indicators are used that indicate a change in the mental state of the subject. Therefore, the information, with certain amendments, is reliable.

However, lie detector testing has a number of disadvantages.:

He is easy to deceive. If a person knows how to control his emotions and lie so much that he even believes himself (and this is real skill), then his emotional state does not change at all, and therefore even the device will not consider that the person is lying. More on this a little later.
Inability to use in field conditions. Despite the availability portable versions, it is not always possible to use a lie detector.
In any case, you will have to use alternative ways definitions of lies. However, they also have their share of bias. Therefore, it is important to combine.

The results of the study may be influenced by the relationship between the subject and the specialist, the use of certain drugs (alcohol, strong psychotropic substances and even large quantity caffeine). All this suggests that a lie detector does not detect lies in 100% of cases.

How to pass a polygraph without problems?

This device only seems scary, but in reality it is easy to deceive if you use the tips below. They must be used together. What can be done to deceive this simple machine?

Develop acting skills. In particular, it is important to develop emotional intelligence, which helps to monitor the feelings that arise (if they ignore you, you will become susceptible to measuring objective indicators of the body), as well as manage them.
Eloquence. In fact, the polygraph is not used by itself. Usually the specialist asks tricky questions like “why did you get worried when I started talking about the evidence?” In this case, in addition to the ability to manage emotions, it is important to be able to choose the right words to touch the inspector. Sometimes even fear can be used against a specialist.
Take alcohol. Under the influence of a large dose of alcohol, reflexes slow down, and therefore the reactions required for a polygraph may not be evoked.
Don't sleep the night before. In this case, the effect will be the same as after drinking a fair amount of alcohol. It’s not just what they say: a drunken state corresponds to three days of insomnia.

But it’s better not to lie, but to learn to take responsibility for your actions. Of course, it’s easier to tell a lie, but maybe it’s better to think before you do?

Lies and truth- mutually exclusive social concepts, the emergence of which was due to the need for collective communication between people.

At the dawn of the primitive communal system, when each member of the community had to perform certain useful work for the tribe, the “effectiveness” of its activities was determined by three factors: skill and physical training, personal desire (level of motivation), and in extreme conditions - elements of courage (cowardice).

The integrity of the activities of individual members of the tribe was determined by the leader. Elements of cowardice that led to the death of members of the community were punishable by death or expulsion from the tribe, which ultimately amounted to the same thing. The cruelty of the punishment forced the offender to use all means to protect himself, including lies. It was probably then that the fundamental need arose to separate lies from truth. Thus, the need for a “lie detector” arose when collective activity became a reality, when the fate of one person began to depend on the conscientiousness of another.

The problem of detecting lies or detecting insincerity in human behavior has a fairly long history, because this test is based on a firmly established and long-standing known fact that our physical state is connected very closely and directly with mental experiences.

In ancient India, for example, when suspects were being interrogated, they were asked to strike a gong simultaneously with the answer to the question posed. It was noticed that when the question caused difficulty, internal confusion because the topic was too significant for the suspect, then he could not answer this question “easily”, completely sincerely, which led to failures in striking the gong.

African countries used their own method to determine the culprit. The head of the tribe performed his dance around the suspects, carefully sniffing them. Based on the intensity of the smell of sweat, a conclusion was made which of the suspects was guilty of committing the crime under investigation.

In ancient China, suspects were given dry rice flour and asked to chew it while talking to them; if a person was unable to do this, he was condemned, considering it an attempt to hide the truth. This method was based on many years of observations by an ancient man who noticed that during periods of severe fear, the secretion of saliva in the mouth stops. This “technical tool” was more advanced for detecting “lies” than subjective assessment tribal leader. At the same time, dry mouth can be caused not only by the fear of retribution for the crime committed, but simply by fear caused by the fear of the procedure itself.

In the Middle East, even in ancient times, the pulse of a suspect was used as a lie detector. The famous ancient physician Avicenna determined by pulse meaningful information. Changes in pulse rate and features of the blood supply to blood vessels were taken as informative signs. The method was often used to determine a wife's infidelity and to determine the identity of her lover. The verification method was extremely simple. A specially trained person placed a finger on the artery, and then the suspected subject was asked questions with the names of men who could theoretically enter into an intimate relationship with the suspected person. As a result of strong emotional stress, in response to her lover’s name, the suspect’s pulse rate and arterial blood flow changed sharply. Later, this method was used to solve other problems, if necessary, to determine the degree of sincerity of a person.

More “informative” was a lie detector using a donkey. Over the millennium of its existence, this stubborn animal never imagined that man would assign it the role of determining the truth. The “testing” procedure was as follows. A donkey was tied up in a semi-dark room, after having smeared its tail with paint. The suspect was given the task: to go into the room and stroke the donkey’s tail. If the donkey screams, then the “examined” person is guilty. The creators of this “lie detector” were convinced that a person who committed a crime would be afraid to pet a donkey in case it screamed. Therefore, your hands will remain clean.

A more harsh method of revealing the truth was used in ancient Sparta. Spartan youths, before entering special schools, went through a certain selection. The young man was placed on a rock above a cliff and asked if he was afraid. The answer was always negative. But whether the subject told the truth or a lie was determined by his complexion. If the young man was pale, then he was lying. This type reaction, according to the Spartans, said that a young man in battle could not be dexterous and quick-witted and was thrown off a cliff. Many years of observations helped the Spartans draw a fair conclusion: a person who turns pale with fear cannot be a good warrior.

In ancient Rome, bodyguards were selected using the same method. The candidate was asked provocative questions. If he blushed, he was taken into custody. It was believed that if a person blushes when presented with provocative questions, he will not participate in conspiracies.

There has been experience using tremor to determine the involvement of criminal suspects. The subjects were given a very fragile bird egg in their hands and interrogated about whether they had committed an illegal act. Whoever's shell burst was considered involved in the commission of the crime under investigation.

In the 11th century in Rus', a test with iron or water was used to resolve the issue of a suspect’s involvement in a crime. To do this, the accused took a ring from a boiling vessel or took a hot iron in his hand. Proof of innocence was the absence of an ulcer from the burn after 3 days.

Examples show that indeed, if we are alarmed, worried, excited, we are scared, then we experience emotional tension. This emotional stress manifests itself in various physiological indicators: the pulse rate increases or decreases, the breathing rhythm changes, the static conductivity of the skin changes, the body temperature changes, the nature of the biocurrents of the brain changes.

In short, the body reacts to the difficulties that have arisen, trying to get out of the current situation, occupying a state of increased mobilization. It is possible to record such an emotional reaction of a person, accompanied by physiological changes that arise due to the difficulties created.

Emotions are a person’s immediate reaction to an external or internal influence, expressing his readiness to act. in a certain way. Emotions are manifested in indicators and, characteristically, these indicators appear involuntarily, against the will and desire of a person. Of course, a person can regulate some reactions physiologically, but not all of them, and even more so when he is in a state of tension, in a state of intellectual search for how to say correctly, how to react correctly, how to behave correctly. Much is left out of control, but the polygraph records them objectively.

During the period covering the primitive communal system and the later Stone and Bronze Ages, low level civilization could not contribute to the creation of "powerful technical means" to determine the participation of a suspect in committing a crime. The level of civilization, the era in which it existed, left its mark on the systems for obtaining information about the “truth” and “lies” of a person.

Only at the end of the 18th century were conditions created for the development of technical means, which later became known as the lie detector, variograph, polygraph, lie exposer, truth serum, and psychological stress meter. The latter name more objectively reflected the essence of the method and gradually won the right to wide use in literature of the late 20th century.

Impetus for development instrumental lie detection was inspired by the work of the Italian physiologist A. Mosso (1875). In his studies, he showed that depending on the magnitude of emotional stress, a number of physiological indicators also change. He found that blood pressure in human vessels and pulse rate change when the emotional state of the subject changes.

In 1985, Italian psychiatrist C. Lombroso used the first lie detection device - a hydrosphygomometer, which recorded changes in a person's blood pressure. Seven years later, in 1902, with the help of instrumental techniques it was possible for the first time to prove in court the non-involvement of the accused in committing a crime.

In 1914, the Italian Benussi used a device to record breathing during interrogations of crime suspects. The frequency and depth of breathing recorded using a pneumograph device were used as information indicators. Later, with the help of this device, they began to determine the duration of inhalation and exhalation, and the holding of breath during inhalation and exhalation.

At the same time, American psychologist William Martson, who conducted research at the Institute of Psychology at Harvard University, began his research in the field of instrumental lie detection. The polygraph test he carried out was first accepted as evidence in 1923 in an American court.

The first polygraph suitable for crime investigation was created by John Larsen in 1921. This device recorded pulse, blood pressure and respiration on a moving paper tape. Despite its progressiveness, it was still far from modern polygraphs.

The introduction of the skin resistance channel by L. Keeler in 1926 significantly increased the accuracy of the forecast when conducting polygraph examinations. He was the first to introduce the “tremor” registration channel. L. Keeler's polygraph was used in the Chicago Crime Laboratory, which he created. By 1935, he had examined approximately 2,000 crime suspects. He was the first to introduce 5-channel tremor recording.

If Lombroso is considered the creator of the first polygraph, then Keeler is the creator of the modern polygraph.

First mention of commercial use lie detector technology dates back to 1923. American polygraph examiner Berkeley Larson interviewed 38 people about theft from a store, at the request of the owners of a chain of stores. After the interview, suspicions fell on one girl, who subsequently admitted to theft in the amount of $500.

In 1932, Darrow improved this technique, increasing the information content of motor reactions. But this technique was not further developed. The polygraph created by L. Keeler began to confidently enter real life.

In 1938, the first case was described when a lie detector was used to examine a product when advertising Gillette razor blades. The emotional description of the procedure read: Hooked up to a lie detector, hundreds of men took part in a stunning study that exposed the slander and revealed the real truth about razor blades. These men shaved one cheek with a Gillette blade and the other with a replacement brand blade. And then graphics were drawn characterizing the emotional stress caused various types blades (Maston 1938).

At the end of World War II, at an American military camp in New Jersey, the polygraph was used to examine 274 German prisoners of war from whom it was necessary to select candidates for senior police positions in the government of post-war Germany. A team consisting of seven experienced polygraph operators, using the method of relevant and irrelevant questions, found out sympathies for the Nazi Party, the Communists, the mood for sabotage and subversion, connections with the Gestapo, SD, SA, as well as involvement in the commission of serious crimes.

According to the results of the survey, 156 people (57%) were found to be quite suitable for police positions, 3% of cases were doubtful, and 110 people (57%) were rated as undesirable. 24 members of the Nazi Party, two employees, were identified.

The success of using the polygraph served as the impetus for the creation of a department in the US Central Intelligence Agency specializing in polygraph examinations. A few years later, the US government decided to polygraph test all CIA employees at least once every 5 years. Subsequently, similar units were created in the Ministry of Defense. In the process of becoming mass checks In the USA, the ideology of this direction has changed significantly. In 1985, mistakes made during polygraph tests received great public attention. This led to the adoption of a corresponding law limiting the use of the polygraph in government agencies and its almost complete prohibition in the private sector. But the doubling of thefts in the private sector forced the government in 1988 to allow the use of the polygraph in private firms. Now the number of inspections in the United States has exceeded 8 million per year.

In the USSR, psychologist Alexander Romanovich Luria (later - academician of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the USSR) improved the associative method, which was very popular in experimental psychology of those years, and, working in a special laboratory at the Moscow Provincial Prosecutor's Office, used the method to identify hidden information from persons who had committed serious crimes.

In the 20s of the last century, Alexander Luria developed a technique that makes it possible to record the emergence of emotional states in the dynamics of a person’s speech and motor processes, even in cases where he tried to hide the emotional stress he was experiencing. Under the leadership of A.R. Luria at the Moscow Institute of Psychology. K.N. Kornilov organized a laboratory for the study of affective reactions, in which, starting in 1924, he, together with the then young, greatest Russian psychologist of the 20th century, Alexei Nikolaevich Leontiev (the first dean of the Faculty of Psychology of Moscow State University), conducted a series of experimental works.

The subjects were read the plot of the crime, and then were given the task to hide information about the crime committed. The subjects were presented with 70 words, of which 10 were critical, that is, directly related to the matter. During the procedure, the subject had to respond with any word of similar meaning and at the same time press a button. It turned out that the subjects who did not know the plot of the crime spent approximately the same time on neutral and control stimuli, while the subjects who knew the plot spent a significantly larger amount of time on the control words.

Since 1927 A.R. Luria began conducting similar experiments with murder suspects.

In the 30s, all work on the use of lie detectors in the USSR was stopped. The polygraph was declared a pseudoscientific experiment with the emotions of the interrogated. They resumed only in the 60s, and in the 70s they were curtailed again.

Only the special services, which analyzed in detail the experience of using the polygraph in the United States, continued to be interested in this topic. They also created the first samples of a domestic computer polygraph in the mid-80s. In 1975, the Chairman of the KGB of the USSR, Yu.V. Andropov, signed an order to organize a specialized unit for conducting polygraph checks within the structure of the state security agencies. The first leaders of this division were Yuri Konstantinovich Azarov and Vladimir Konstantinovich Noskov. However, scientific and applied work on the problems of the polygraph, carried out in the 1970s - 1980s in the system of state security agencies, due to its closeness, did not receive any publicity in the USSR in the scientific and popular science press, but was widely and open use a polygraph was out of the question.

The first ink-writing polygraph in the USSR was created in the 60s by an employee of the Krasnodar Regional Psychoneurological Hospital, now a Doctor of Biological Sciences, Academician V.A. Varlamov. In the period from 1968 to 1973 and from 1979 to 1996 - employee of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He also made the first one in 1986 computer detector lies "Barrier".

Radical changes in the use of polygraph testing technology began only towards the end of 1989, when the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in order to study the prospects for introducing the polygraph in the activities of internal affairs bodies, created working group from the staff of the Central Office. In March 1990, V.V. was sent to Poland to get acquainted with the positive experience of Polish colleagues in solving crimes using a polygraph. Gordienko and S.V. Ignatov. The group came to the conclusion that it was advisable to use a polygraph in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and submitted a report with recommendations to the leadership of the Ministry.

During the period 1990-1991 There is a convergence of the positions of the leadership of the KGB of the USSR and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR on the use of the polygraph in the activities of these departments. On the basis of the Research Institute of the KGB of the USSR, the training of a group of employees of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs began. However, as a result of the events of August 19-21, 1991, which led to the collapse Soviet Union, the learning process was interrupted.

In the second half of the 30s, lie detectors created in the USA and the technology for their use began to be exported abroad for the first time.

The polygraph appeared in Poland in 1936: it was acquired by the Warsaw Institute of Psychohygiene. And although researchers showed interest in the use of the polygraph in investigative work (as evidenced by one of the publications that appeared in print in 1939), the outbreak of the war delayed the introduction of the polygraph in Poland by a quarter of a century.

In the early 40s, the polygraph appeared in China, for which several specialists were trained in the USA in 1943. After the end of the civil war in China, polygraph specialists and the instruments themselves were exported to Taiwan.

Japan, unlike China, independently carried out research on the hardware method of lie detection, which began in the 20s: psychologists Akamatsu and Togawa studied the diagnostic capabilities of changes in the electrical properties of the skin (the so-called galvanic skin reflex), and this work was crowned with success. In 1937, Japanese scientists announced the creation of their lie detector - a psychogalvanometer. It is interesting to note that, like the United States, the first use of a Japanese lie detector occurred in the late 1930s while investigating an espionage case. During the Second World War, one of the companies began to mass-produce psychogalvanometers for lie detection purposes, which (already in the post-war years) were equipped with Japanese police units.

India first showed interest in polygraph tests in 1948 in connection with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi: an Indian police officer who had undergone six weeks of training in the United States used a polygraph to narrow down the circle of people suspected of involvement in the conspiracy. After several cases of use during investigations, the use of the polygraph was suspended until the early 70s.

In 1993, the thoughtless denial of the possibility of using the psychophysiological method of “lie detection” for law enforcement purposes in Russia in Russia, which had lasted for several decades, ended. The Ministry of Justice introduced the country's first legal act regulating the use of the polygraph in the Federal Security Service, and thereby legalized the applied use of this method in Russia.

On December 28, 1994, an order of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs “On approval of instructions on the procedure for using a polygraph when interviewing citizens” was signed. Almost from that moment on, domestic polygraph technology was transformed into an open and dynamically developing high-tech industry.

In 1996, the introduction of the polygraph into the activities of the tax police began.

In 1998 - into the activities of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Defense.

In recent years, units of the military prosecutor's office have increasingly become users of the polygraph.

Polygraph examinations in private institutions began around 1994. Their positive effect was so great that large enterprises began to introduce polygraph tests into their daily activities. This method is especially effective where the safety and success of the enterprise largely depends on the loyalty of each employee.

As a rule, it collects psychophysiological information on at least four functional physiological parameters of the human body (breathing, galvanic skin response, cardiovascular activity, motor activity) and is used with personal computer with appropriate software.

The collection and recording of psychophysiological information is traditionally carried out using polygraph contact sensors through the conversion of electrical signals into digital and graphic forms on a computer screen and subsequent recording in digital and paper-based form. The indicated processes of collecting psychophysiological information and its statistical processing conditioned design features a specific polygraph, its software and the features of the method used in a specific psychophysiological study using a polygraph.

The general scheme of psychophysiological research using a polygraph can be presented as follows:

Behind each reading of the polygraph sensors on the monitor screen, in digital and graphic form, there is a clearly objectified psychophysiological dynamic process occurring in the body of the person being examined at the moment of presentation of verbal and non-verbal stimuli to him. The data obtained in this case is accurate enough not only for the purposes of instrumental lie detection. But also in order to use them in scientific analysis and forensic examination.

It is almost impossible to deceive a well-trained polygraph survey specialist by counteracting in any way. Polygrams are read not only mathematically and visually, but also at the analytical and synthetic levels. One of the most important components in a polygraph survey is a correctly composed and correctly presented test program, fully consistent with the PFIP method used.

When the questions for the study are selected correctly, the test program is drawn up methodically correctly, the specialist understands the content and subject of his or her work well. professional activity, then the task of analyzing and synthesizing the data obtained and their scientific interpretation does not seem difficult.

Processing and scientific interpretation of the results of studies conducted using the main world-known PFIP methods, which we will consider in subsequent chapters, as well as their numerous modifications, are based on a comparison of psychophysiological reactions to presented stimuli in the dynamics of their (reactions) occurrence and manifestation. When comparing reactions, several statistical processing methods and algorithms are used.

The specialist’s task is to correctly compare and interpret the initial data obtained during the PFIP. No comparison - no substantiated conclusions. The psychophysiological reaction itself, without its comparison, is of no diagnostic value and does not solve the problem of PFIP. An objective, complete psychophysiological study using a polygraph is several mandatory standardized stages of interaction between PFIP participants aimed at solving PFIP problems.

Among the indicated mandatory stages, direct polygraph testing necessarily includes a system of tests. The system is a repeatedly repeated scientific experiment aimed at solving diagnostic, statistical and expert problems of the PFIP as a whole.

In the popular media and in some works of modern authors, the essence of research using a polygraph is, to put it mildly, somewhat distorted and even mystified. Just watch such programs as “Lie Detector”. Or read articles from marketers on “lie detection”. This is enough to completely confuse an observer who is not sufficiently knowledgeable about the subject and cause colossal harm to the very idea of using a polygraph.

It is known in the professional community that even among respected pioneers in the use of the polygraph there is no unanimous opinion about what exactly the specialist is examining when conducting a survey using a polygraph. According to some authors, the EIP specialist is looking for “traces of stress” and “emotional associations”, while others are looking for “ideal traces in memory”, “associative imprints in consciousness” and “guilty knowledge”. At the same time, some “scientists” even manage to look for lies using a polygraph.

Some of these versions, in addition to the search for lies, in one interpretation or another are effective for use in this area practical application polygraph and have the right to exist. However, it is obvious that there is a long overdue need to designate with common concepts the conceptual components of interdisciplinary knowledge associated with the use of the polygraph, highlighting something common in them that categorically unites them.

One such conceptual concept, in our opinion, may be the “representation” of experience.

The “representation” of experience is a particular concept within such concepts as “mental representation” and “cognitive representation”, developed in detail in cognitive psychology. For the purposes of use in the methodology of polygraph research, the representation of experience is understood as any reflection in the human psyche of perceptually (directly received through the senses) reflected elements of an event. In which he took part or about which he is informed. Including sensations, emotions, images and mental products of their fusion in the process of an individual’s mental activity.

The study of “representations” during a polygraph test should be understood as a study not of one particular, narrowly localized function, but as a study of a holistic product of the complex systemic functioning of the human psyche in connection with the event under study.

During perception, an event is reflected and imprinted on the emotional and intellectual levels of both conscious and unconscious spheres of the human psyche.

When a person is presented with stimuli, both verbal (words, statements, questions) and non-verbal (images, smells, sounds, gestures, etc.), the process of their identification occurs. This process accompanied by psychophysiological reactions of the body. The capabilities of the polygraph to register these reactions in the dynamics of their course in relation to the presented stimuli, taking into account functional features gives the human psyche ample opportunities explore a person's representations of experience. Or representations of a particular event in which the test taker was a participant. And, subject to certain conditions, make diagnostic conclusions about the degree of his involvement in actions (action or inaction) within this event.

A specialist in the use of a polygraph in Russia, and even in neighboring countries, is usually called a polygraph examiner. This concept has developed historically in Russia and is commonly used in the professional environment, but from our point of view it is not entirely correct, since there is no such science as “polygraphology”.

It is well known that one of the signs of science is its intrinsic value, in other words, knowledge for the sake of knowledge. The use of a polygraph in surveys on the facts of any investigations or inspections is aimed at solving private practical problems and is one of the applied disciplines in the system of knowledge about man.

In the system of scientific knowledge about man there are such generally recognized sciences as medicine, psychology, physiology, psychophysiology and jurisprudence.

A specialist in surveys using a polygraph must clearly understand that the polygraph is an electrical device. Equipment that accurately measures the amplitude and duration of the corresponding human reactions in the dynamics of their manifestation. These reactions (physiological and psychophysiological) are measured and studied by the above sciences. Including within the framework of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of man. These circumstances give every reason to believe that the designation of this area of practical use of the polygraph as “polygraphology” has signs of distortion of the scientific conceptual apparatus. Which is essentially an attempt to elevate interdisciplinary practical diagnostic research using a device - a polygraph - to the rank of science.

The polygraph is essentially the same measuring instrument like an oscilloscope or tomograph. And in a simplified form, like an electrical ruler and a thermometer. Russian legislation currently does not impose any special requirements for its use. Isolating the technology of using a polygraph into a branch of science called “polygraphology,” in our opinion, is somewhat premature and illogical. At the same time, given the prevalence and use of the term “polygraph examiner,” its use, in our opinion, at the present stage of the applied use of the polygraph is completely justified and logical.

Story

The first practical experience of using such tools to detect lies belongs to the famous Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso. Already in 1881, when interrogating those suspected of committing crimes, he used a hydrosphygmograph - a device with which changes in the blood pressure of the interrogated were recorded on a diagram (graph), which made it possible to carry out their detailed analysis in the future.

The sensor block is designed to: receive signals from sensors that record parameters of physiological processes, amplify and filter signals from these sensors and convert them into digital codes and subsequent input into a computer (most often a laptop).

The following sensors are used to record physiological data:

upper (thoracic) and lower (diaphragmatic or abdominal) breathing;
cardiovascular activity: heart rate, blood filling of blood vessels and/or blood pressure;
electrical conductivity of the skin (skin resistance, galvanic skin reflex).

Simultaneous monitoring of these physiological processes during a psychophysiological study is strictly necessary: according to existing international standards, the exclusion of at least one of these processes from control makes the polygraph test procedure invalid.

The remaining sensors, included in the package of different types and models of polygraphs, have an auxiliary function. Thus, tremor (motor activity) and voice sensors can be used to record artifacts: the movement of the subject and external noise interference, respectively. A voice sensor (microphone) can also be used to more accurately record questions and answers and to record the soundtrack of an interrogation.

Purpose

In accordance with the definition, a polygraph is designed to register and record physiological parameters recorded from an object during a psychophysiological study. The result of recording parameters on paper or electronic media is called polygram.

Polygram: background - reaction - recovery - background

The general structure of a polygram consists of the following components:

reaction;
artifact.

Background- the state of physiological processes in the human body at rest (when conducting a psychophysiological study, rest means the state of a calmly sitting person who is not asked questions). The background is characterized by the relative stability of the ongoing processes and represents a certain physiological norm characteristic of to a specific person in the absence of destabilizing influences.

Reaction- this is a noticeable (under the conditions of observation) change in the dynamics of the recorded physiological process in response to a stimulus (question, object or image of an object) presented during a psychophysiological study. Depending on the individual characteristics of the human body, during the development of the reaction, one can observe strengthening, weakening or stabilization of the dynamics of a particular function. In some people, reactions may be complex: following rapid changes physiological process (the actual reaction to the stimulus) there is a subsequent long-term change in its dynamics, that is, the so-called relief reaction .

Artifact- a noticeable (compared to the background) change in the dynamics of the controlled physiological process, not directly related to the stimuli presented during the psychophysiological study and caused by the influence of exogenous (external) and endogenous (internal) destabilizing factors. Endogenous factors include intentional or unintentional movements of the subject, coughing, sudden pain, etc., exogenous factors include mainly external noise interference.

Physiological reactions recorded during the study do not have specificity, that is, based on their informative characteristics, it is impossible to accurately determine the nature of the process that caused them (positive or negative emotion, lies, fear, pain, any associations, etc.). The only objective characteristic of a physiological reaction is its stable expression in response to the presentation of a situationally significant stimulus.

Currently, there is no statistically reliable data that unambiguously indicates any universal information value for the results of a psychophysiological study of any one physiological process or its individual parameter.

Criticism

In the event of a possible error in measurements or interpretation (processing) of data, significant moral or material damage. Critics of the method see it as too simplistic, mechanical a scheme for interpreting the reactions of the human body to external stimuli; in addition, during the examination various factors influencing the main indicators may not be taken into account.

In a number of countries, data obtained through psychophysiological surveys are not considered by courts as evidence (In Germany and Poland).