Varga Mihai, Visu-Petra George, Miclea Mircea, Visu-Petra Laura
Applied Cognitive Psychology Center, Department of Psychology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Applied Cognitive Psychology Center, Department of Psychology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; COGNITROM Ltd, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
PLoS One. 2015 Feb 20;10(2):e0116087. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116087. eCollection 2015.
Concealing the possession of relevant information represents a complex cognitive process, shaped by contextual demands and individual differences in cognitive and socio-emotional functioning. The Reaction Time-based Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) is used to detect concealed knowledge based on the difference in RTs between denying recognition of critical (probes) and newly encountered (irrelevant) information. Several research questions were addressed in this scenario implemented after a mock crime. First, we were interested whether the introduction of a social stimulus (facial identity) simulating a virtual investigator would facilitate the process of deception detection. Next, we explored whether his emotional displays (friendly, hostile or neutral) would have a differential impact on speed of responses to probe versus irrelevant items. We also compared the impact of introducing similar stimuli in a working memory (WM) updating context without requirements to conceal information. Finally, we explored the association between deceptive behavior and individual differences in WM updating proficiency or in internalizing problems (state / trait anxiety and depression). Results indicated that the mere presence of a neutral virtual investigator slowed down participants' responses, but not the appended lie-specific time (difference between probes and irrelevants). Emotional expression was shown to differentially affect speed of responses to critical items, with positive displays from the virtual examiner enhancing lie-specific time, compared to negative facial expressions, which had an opposite impact. This valence-specific effect was not visible in the WM updating context. Higher levels of trait / state anxiety were related to faster responses to probes in the negative condition (hostile facial expression) of the RT-CIT. These preliminary findings further emphasize the need to take into account motivational and emotional factors when considering the transfer of deception detection techniques from the laboratory to real-life settings.
隐瞒相关信息是一个复杂的认知过程，受情境需求以及认知和社会情感功能方面的个体差异影响。基于反应时间的隐蔽信息测试（RT-CIT）用于根据对关键（探测）信息和新遇到（无关）信息的否认识别之间的反应时间差异来检测隐蔽知识。在一次模拟犯罪后实施的这个场景中探讨了几个研究问题。首先，我们感兴趣的是引入模拟虚拟调查员的社会刺激（面部身份）是否会促进欺骗检测过程。其次，我们探究了他的情绪表现（友好、敌对或中性）对探测项目与无关项目反应速度是否会有不同影响。我们还比较了在工作记忆（WM）更新情境中引入类似刺激且无隐瞒信息要求时的影响。最后，我们探究了欺骗行为与WM更新能力或内化问题（状态/特质焦虑和抑郁）方面的个体差异之间的关联。结果表明，仅仅是中性虚拟调查员的存在就减缓了参与者的反应，但不影响附加的特定谎言时间（探测项目和无关项目之间的差异）。情绪表达被证明对关键项目的反应速度有不同影响，与负面面部表情产生相反影响相比，虚拟考官的积极表现会增加特定谎言时间。这种效价特异性效应在WM更新情境中不明显。特质/状态焦虑水平较高与在RT-CIT的负面条件（敌对面部表情）下对探测项目的更快反应有关。这些初步发现进一步强调，在考虑将欺骗检测技术从实验室转移到现实生活场景时，需要考虑动机和情感因素。
