Autonomic responses during a replicable interrogation

Abstract

Calculated heart-rate and pulse-volume responses to visual and auditory stimuli associated with a replicable interrogation as stimulus-triggered across-S averages for 2 experimental groups totaling 75 18-25 yr. olds. Certain stressful points within the interrogator's question syntax could be determined from these average evoked responses, and the magnitude of group reactions to specific question-answer items could be scaled. Differential responses to audiotaped and videotaped stimuli were observed, the audio-only format inducing greater and more varied autonomic changes. The actual stress-value of specific question items and the shape of each average response were contingent on the sequence in which the items were presented. Selected subgroups of deceptive and embarrassing answers were isolated and separately evaluated. Implications of these observations for the analysis of individual responses to specific questions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)