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4。 Briefly contrast the conscious and unconscious forms that guilt may take （the student examples are
likely to be conscious instances）。
5。 Relate the discussion back to the memory analysis of the previous week （if you did that
demonstration） by having students consider the effects of guilt on memory。
6。 Ask the students if they were ever in a situation in which they felt guilty over some misdeed but
were able to conceal their guilt from the critical appraisal of some “judge。” How did they mask their
feelings？
7。 Conduct the demonstration in which one subject role…plays feeling guilty about a crime while
another subject is an innocent person who is also a criminal suspect； the rest of the class engages in
the task of “psychodetection。”
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Our working definition of guilt is a （1） negative （2） emotional and/or cognitive condition based on the （3）
belief that one （4） could have emitted a response that would have led to （5） significantly better consequences
for some （6） social agent than the response actually performed。
1。 This excludes emotions based on power or revenge。
2。 Guilt may be associated with anything from extreme arousal to minimal arousal but is always
based on one’s interpretation of a social situation that involves the individual。
3。 This excludes most nonhumans from feeling guilt。
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4。 “Could have” behaviorally as well as physically； which excludes those who tried their best and
failed。
5。 This excludes cases in which the differences in consequence between two responses are minor and
stresses that guilt is based on a personal judgment。
6。 This means that if the social agent discovered what was done or withheld； he or she would be
distressed。
PUBLIC INTERROGATIONS
In attempting to determine whether a suspect is guilty or innocent； police interrogators often rely on
emotional indicators of self…betrayal。 One manual； written by Inbau and Reid （1962） and used to train
detectives； proposes the following symptoms as signs of guilt：
1。 Pulsation of carotid artery in the neck。
2。 Excessive activity of the Adam’s apple。
3。 Looking at floor or ceiling rather than looking the interrogator “straight in the eye。”
4。 Swinging one leg over the other； foot…wiggling； wringing of the hands； tapping with the fingers； picking
fingernails； etc。
5。 Dryness of the mouth。
6。 Swearing to the truthfulness of assertions。
7。 Saying “I have a spotless past record” or “I’m a religious man。”
8。 Saying “Not that I remember。”
（See Inbau； F。 E。； & Reid （1962）。 Criminal Interrogation and Confessions。 Baltimore： Williams & Wilkins。）
THE POLYGRAPH
The dynamic role that emotion plays in influencing human behavior is often obvious from changes in the
individual’s behavior such as those suggested above； but perhaps the most characteristic indicator of
emotion is widespread visceral activity within the person。 Several such visceral changes can be monitored；
the well…known lie detector （polygraph） takes measures of electrical skin conductance （GSR）； heart rate；
respiration； and sometimes other changes such as indices of the emotional effects of “neutral” stimuli
versus “critical” stimuli associated with the crime。 As Inbau and Reid have said； “An offender who is led to
believe that his appearance and demeanor are betraying him is thereby placed in a much more vulnerable
position。 His belief that he is exhibiting symptoms of guilt has the effect of destroying or diminishing his
confidence in his ability to deceive and tends to convince him of the futility of further resistance。 This
attitude； of course； places him much nearer the confession stage” （p。 29）。
The polygraph technique assumes that liars are aware of their lying and will experience measurable
emotional reactions as a consequence。 Polygraph lie detection is a psychological test of questionable
psychometric merit。
A laboratory study （parable to the one you will conduct here） showed polygraph examiners quite
fallible。 Fifteen students individually participated in a theft of money from an office； while 15 were innocent
of this staged “crime。” Six polygraph examiners knew that half the suspects had stolen something and half
had not； but they were not able to determine accurately which ones were guilty。 The false alarm rate ranged
from 18 to 55 percent。 That is； even the best interpreter judged 18 percent of the truthful innocent subjects to
be lying； guilty suspects！ （See Kleinmutz； B。； & Szucko； J。 J。 （1984）。 Lie detection in ancient and modern
times： A call for contemporary scientific study。 American Psychologist； 39； 766776。）
The results of this study （and others mentioned in the article） might be contrasted with the conclusion
promoted on the TV program “Lie Detector；” hosted by lawyer F。 Lee Bailey （1983…84 season）。 The promo for
the show said it “gets to the truth 。 。 。 The path of justice can make a bizarre turn； a path that perhaps can be
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straightened out on 。 。 。”
FREUD AND FREE ASSOCIATION： REACTION TIME AND BODY TALK
Long before the polygraph was put into practice； psychologists utilized other techniques for uncovering
what a person was trying to conceal。 Freud used the technique of free association as a means of discovering
ideas that the patient had distorted through transformations of affect or attachment to other ideas or had
put out of awareness。
Reaction time has long been used as a measure of decision processes。 An assumption of this technique is
that the more plex the decision； the longer cognitive processing takes。 If the cognitive processing of
negation of a truth （lying about one’s known guilty acts） takes longer than affirmation； reaction time should
be useful in this detecting guilt task。
Finally； we express much about ourselves through our “body language”； the nonverbal； physical reactions
of our movements； gestures； and facial expressions。 （See Mehrabian； A。 （1972）。 Nonverbal munication。
Chicago： Aldine…Atherton。）
A wonderful resource that should definitely be read before this demonstration is a theoretical and empirical
study by Bella De Paulo； Julie Stone； and G。 Daniel Lassiter （1985）； “Deceiving and detecting guilt。” In B。 R。
Schlenker （Ed。）； The Self in Social Life。 New York： McGraw…Hill。 The article deals with the informativeness of
verbal and nonverbal cues in the munication of deception； the role of motivation； gender； and actual
deception versus perceived deception； and many more fascinating issues for discussion。 There is also an
ample bibliography of more than 100 references relevant to various aspect of this phenomenon。
In this demonstration； three measures of emotional disturbance will be used： word associations； reaction
times； and expressive behavior。
Procedure
Two male students will engage in a role…playing task designed to make one of them feel guilty about having
murdered a woman who was blackmailing him。 The guilty student destroys the evidence； including her
photo； by burning it； and then tries to conceal his guilt from everyone。 （Students often feel guilty about the
act of burning the letter and photo； some keep the photo； especially if you previously have had it
autographed with the name of the person you selected—then they really feel guilty。） The innocent student
receives instructions to get a drink of water to relieve the thirst he is supposed to be experiencing。
The class is cast in the role of “psychodetectives” trying to uncover the truth。 They might be psychologists
hired by the court； experimenters； or jury members。 The final decision centers on determining which of the
two students is guilty and on what evidence that inference rests。 It is interesting to look at “false
negatives”—believing the guilty subject to be innocent； and “false positives”—believing the innocent one to
be guilty。
Materials
You need to provide a stopwatch； two envelopes； three matches； and a metal pan。 You are given two letters；
a woman’s photo； a word list； data sheet； Expressive Behavior Encoding Guide and Tally Table； work
association norms； reaction time tab