Master class “What Does Lie Detector Really Show?”

Master class objectives:

• study the physiological reactions of the body in response to presented stimuli;
• master the principles of the polygraph;
• expand students’ knowledge in the field of psychophysiology.

Thanks to the media and cinema, the polygraph (lie detector) has become notorious. There is a common image that a lie detector is a device that, based on physiological reactions, can sign a verdict with a high degree of reliability: whether a person is guilty or not. Sometimes this term, “lie detector,” is misleading. The polygraph does not detect lies, but only the arousal that can result from telling a lie. This scientific measuring instrument can make an accurate record by creating polygrams, recording the dynamics of various physiological reactions such as palms sweating, blood pressure and respiration. Thanks to the master class, students will become familiar with the work of a polygraph and learn that detecting a lie is only possible indirectly, since the pattern of physiological activity characteristic of telling a lie simply does not exist.