An experimental comparison of the psychological stress evaluator and the galvanic skin response in detection of deception

Abstract

The Psychological Stress Evaluator (PSE), which is asserted to be a voice-mediated lie detector, and the GSR, recorded with a standard field polygraph instrument, were used to detect nonrisk lies about numbered cards concealed by 30 female and 30 male college students. Evaluation of response data was subjectively carried out by 2 trained evaluators; their interrater agreement was .38 for PSE analysis and .92 for GSR evaluation. The hit rates obtained in PSE analysis were at chance levels and were not significantly affected by the sex of the Ss, simultaneous use of both PSE (tape recording) and polygraph apparatus, repeated trials of testing, or evaluator differences. Evaluations based on GSR analysis generally exceeded chance levels; however, hit rates were significantly higher in a 1st trial of testing than in a 2nd trial. Findings are consistent with previous research and do not indicate that the PSE is effective in detecting deception. (15 ref) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)