心理学与生活-第102章

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OVERVIEW　

“Detecting　Guilt”　is　designed　to　involve　the　whole　class　in　psychological　detective　work　on　a　problem　with　
both　practical　implications　and　broad　conceptual　significance。　The　demonstration　casts　students　in　the　role　
of　jurors　who　must　decide　the　guilt　or　innocence　of　two　criminal　suspects。　To　do　so；　they　must　utilize　a　
variety　of　behavioral　indicators　of　emotional　disturbance；　including　word　associations；　reaction　times；　and　
expressive　behavior。　

1。　Begin　by　asking　students　to　mention　something　that　made　them　feel　very　guilty　in　the　past　（in　
elementary；　junior　high；　or　high　school）。　
2。　Have　them　try　to　e　up　with　a　definition　of　guilt。　
3。　Ask　them　what　are　the　negative　consequences　and　positive　effects　of　guilt；　analyze　the　mon　
elements；　and　list　their　answers　to　the　questions。　
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　table；　and　verdict　slips。　

Having　several　stopwatches　and　calculators　would　be　helpful。　

Subjects　

Three　（or　four）　for　pretesting；　two　to　participate；　rest　of　class　to　be　given　research　tasks。　

Time　required　for　Research　

25…30　minutes　for　data　collection；　10…20　minutes　for　analysis　and　verdict。　

Time　Required　for　Discussion　

10　minutes　before　demonstration；　10…30　minutes　after。　（This　section　could　be　extended　over　two　class　periods。）　

Method　

1。　Before　class；　prepare　two　envelopes。　One　should　contain　the　instructions　designed　to　introduce　
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guilt；　the　other　contains　innocuous　instructions　（see　letters　at　the　end　of　this　section）。　The　envelopes　
should　be　identical。　In　the　guilty　letter；　you　must　indicate　a　safe　place　where　the　subject　must　go　in　
order　to　perform　the　guilty　act；　you　must　also　make　the　necessary　preparations　of　having　at　that　
place：　（a）　Three　matches；　（b）　a　“blood…stained”　（red　inked）　envelope　containing　the　victim’s　photo　
（any　photo　of　a　woman　will　do）；　（c）　a　metal　pan　in　which　the　envelope　can　be　burned。　（Find　a　
relatively　secluded　spot　for　the　guilty　suspect　to　burn　the　note　and　picture。　One　of　our　section　
leaders　found　to　his　dismay　that　a　janitor　had　thrown　the　envelope　away　shortly　before　the　section　
meeting；　another　suspect　was　interrupted　by　the　sound　of　the　fire　alarm；　set　off　by　a　very　sensitive　
smoke　detector。　These　problems　can　be　avoided　by　careful　planning。）　

3。　Bring　a　stopwatch　to　class。　
4。　Select　two　male　subjects　at　the　beginning　of　the　class　（it　is　possible　to　use　two　women　as　suspects；　
you　might　then　want　to　make　some　changes　in　the　content　of　the　letter　the　guilty　one　gets）。　
Premeasure　the　RTs　of　three　early…arriving　students　on　each　of　five　premeasured　words　（see　Word　
List）。　Select　the　two　with　most　similar　Reaction　Times　（RTs）　in　order　to　minimize　individual　
differences　in　speed　of　reaction　to　neutral　words。　If　all　three　vary　considerably；　test　a　fourth　and　use　
the　two　who　are　most　parable。　It　is　crucial　that　the　suspect　try　to　conceal　his　guilt；　pick　students　
you　believe　will　play　the　part　well　and　remind　them　to　carefully　follow　all　the　directions　they　will　
receive。　Give　one　unmarked　envelope　to　eac