Within-questionnaire consistency of the differential physiological responses in a Concealed Information Test: hierarchical Bayesian approach

Abstract

10.3408 / jafst.794 ) The concealed information test ( CIT ) is a psychophysiological memory-detec-tion technique. The judgment to assess whether an examinee recognizes crime-relevant information is based on the diŠerence in autonomic responses between the crime-relevant information and the crime-irrelevant information. The present study examined the within-questionnaire consistency of the diŠerential physiological responses, which is a key point in the above judgment. The mock theft CIT data ob-tained from 167 participants were modeled into three possible models, and Bayesian estimation of parameters and model selection were performed. Results of model selection implied that participants in the encoding group were not clearly divided into high consistency responders and non-responders. Bayesian estimates of parameters revealed that the within-questionnaire consistency of the diŠerential physiological responses had diŠerent characteristics among the physiological measures. Most participants showed high consistency for heart rate and respiratory speed, while some participants show low consistency for skin conductance response, respiratory