Unraveling the roles of orienting and inhibition in the Concealed Information Test

Abstract

The Concealed Information Test (CIT) is a well-validated tool for physiological and behavioral detection of concealed knowledge. Two distinct theoretical frameworks have been proposed to explain the differential responses to the concealed critical items: orienting response theory versus arousal inhibition theory. klein Selle, Verschuere, Kindt, Meijer, and Ben-Shakhar (2016), however, argued for a response fractionation model and showed that, while the skin conductance reflects pure orienting, both the respiratory and heart rate measures reflect arousal inhibition. The present study intends to (1) provide a constructive replication of klein Selle et al. (2016) using the autobiographical CIT, and (2) extend their work by testing an additional prediction derived from orienting theory, using an item-salience manipulation. One hundred and nine participants were tested on four high salient and four low salient identity items. Half of the participants were motivated to hide their identity (orienting + arousal inhibition), while the other half were motivated to reveal their identity (orienting only). Confirming earlier findings, the results revealed a fractionation between the different measures: while the skin conductance response (SCR) increased to a similar extent in the two motivational conditions, the respiration line length (RLL) shortened and the heart rate (HR) decelerated solely in the conceal condition. Moreover, while the SCR was larger for high than for low salient critical items, the RLL and HR responses were similar for these two item types. These data led us to conclude that, in the CIT, the skin conductance measure reflects orienting and the respiratory and heart rate measures reflect arousal inhibition.

P300 in detecting concealed information and deception: A review

“…Two kinds of items were presented: critical probe items, such as a murder weapon related to an incident under investigation, and noncritical irrelevant items unrelated to the incident but in the same category as the critical items, such as other weapons. This CIT method measured the skin conductance response as a sign of autonomic nervous system (ANS) arousal probably related to the orienting reflex (klein Selle, Verschuere, Kindt, Meijer, & Ben‐Shakhar, ). Although the ANS‐based CIT was reasonably accurate (90% sensitivity, 100% specificity), the ANS may have been only indirectly responsive to specific stimuli, whereas the P300 might have provided a more accurate index of recognition.…”

Reaction time-based Concealed Information Test in eyewitness identification is moderated by picture similarity but not eyewitness cooperation

“…This was intended to induce response inhibition in the noncooperative participants. However, it may also have created response inhibition in cooperative participants, because the instructions-be cooperative yet still press NO for the familiar faces-were contradictory (klein Selle et al, 2015(klein Selle et al, , 2017.…”

High Emotional Arousal Enables Subliminal Detection of Concealed Information

“…However, it is unclear whether the P300 component in the CIT reflects the orienting response or inhibition (Donchin, Heffley, Hillyard, Loveless, Maltzman, Öhman, Rosler, Ruchkin, & Siddle, 1984). Several previous studies suggested that the CIT effect on the P300 was caused by OR, without inhibition (Matsuda, Nittono, & Ogawa, 2013;Rosenfeld, Ozsan, & Ward, 2017) in line with the electrodermal measuresused by Klein Selle et al (2016Selle et al ( , 2017. However, another study reported no CIT effect without inhibition (Kubo & Nittono, 2009) in accord with the heart rate and respiration measures of Klein Selle et al (2016Selle et al ( , 2017.…”

“…Several previous studies suggested that the CIT effect on the P300 was caused by OR, without inhibition (Matsuda, Nittono, & Ogawa, 2013;Rosenfeld, Ozsan, & Ward, 2017) in line with the electrodermal measuresused by Klein Selle et al (2016Selle et al ( , 2017. However, another study reported no CIT effect without inhibition (Kubo & Nittono, 2009) in accord with the heart rate and respiration measures of Klein Selle et al (2016Selle et al ( , 2017. Because inhibition is defined as an executive function that enables an individual to deliberately and intentionally inhibit a dominant, automatic, prepotent response (Miyake, Frie-A.…”