scholarly journals Familiarity-based fillers improve the validity of reaction time-based memory detection

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Verschuere ◽  
Gáspár Lukács ◽  
Bennett Kleinberg

The reaction time (RT)-based Concealed Information Test (CIT) allows for the detection of concealed knowledge (e.g., one’s true identity) when the questions are presented randomly (multiple-probe protocol), but its performance is much weaker when questions are presented in blocks (e.g., first question about surname, then about birthday; single-probe protocol). The latter test protocol, however, is the preferred and sometimes even the only feasible interviewing method in real-life. In a first, pre-registered, experiment (n = 363), we show that the validity of the single-probe protocol version can be substantially improved by including familiarity-related filler trials (e.g., “KNOWN,” “UNKNOWN”). We replicated these findings in a second, preregistered, experiment (n = 237), where we further found that the use of familiarity-related fillers even improved the classic multiple-probe protocol. We recommend the use of familiarity-related filler trials for the RT-based CIT.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Koller ◽  
Franziska Hofer ◽  
Bruno Verschuere

To detect if someone hides specific knowledge (called ‘probes’), the reaction time-based Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) asks the examinee to classify items into two categories (targets/non-targets). Within the non-targets, slower RTs to the probes reveals recognition of concealed information. The preferred protocol examines one piece of information per test block (single probe protocol), but its validity is suboptimal. The aim of this study was to improve the validity of the single probe protocol by presenting the information in multiple modalities. In an online study (n = 388) participants were instructed to try to hide their nationality. The items referring to the nationality were presented as words, flags, and maps. Increasing the number of modalities of the targets (BF10 = 37), but not of the probes (BF01 = 6), increased the validity of the RT-CIT. This broadens range of the RT-CITs’ applicability, which is an important step towards application in practice.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gáspár Lukács

The Response Time Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) can reveal that a person recognizes a relevant item (probe, e.g. a murder weapon) among other, irrelevant items (controls), based on slower responses to the probe compared to the controls. The present paper assesses the influence of test length (due to practice, habituation, or fatigue) on two key variables in the RT-CIT: (a) probe-control differences and (b) classification accuracy, through a meta-analysis (using 12 previous experiments), as well as with two new experiments. It is consistently demonstrated that increased test length decreases probe-control differences but increases classification accuracies. The main implication for real-life application is that using altogether at least around 600 trials is optimal for the RT-CIT.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 1388-1402
Author(s):  
Danielle G. Norman ◽  
Daniel A. Gunnell ◽  
Aleksandra J. Mrowiec ◽  
Derrick G. Watson

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1406-1418
Author(s):  
Dave Koller ◽  
Franziska Hofer ◽  
Tuule Grolig ◽  
Signe Ghelfi ◽  
Bruno Verschuere

2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Shinji Hira ◽  
Yuhki Yamashita ◽  
Yoko Saragai ◽  
Yuki Hamamoto ◽  
Isato Furumitsu

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gáspár Lukács ◽  
Bartosz Gula ◽  
Emese Szegedi-Hallgató ◽  
Gábor Csifcsák

In recent years, numerous studies were published on the reaction time (RT)-based Concealed Information Test (CIT). However, an important limitation of the CIT is the reliance on the recognition of the probe item, and therefore the limited applicability when an innocent person is aware of this item. In the present paper, we introduce an RT-based CIT that is based on item-category associations: the Association-based Concealed Information Test (A-CIT). Using the participants’ given names as probe items and self-referring “inducer” items (e.g., “MINE” or “ME”) that establish an association between ownership and responses choices, in Experiment 1 (within-subject design; n = 27), this method differentiated with high accuracy between guilty and innocent conditions. Experiment 2 (n = 25) replicated Experiment 1, except that the participants were informed of the probe item in the innocent condition—nonetheless, the accuracy rate remained high. Implications and future possibilities are discussed.


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