Ewout H. Meijer

Ewout H. Meijer is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University in the Netherlands, where he works in the Section of Forensic Psychology. He received his PhD in 2008 on his dissertation entitled 'Psychophysiology and the detection of deception: Promises and perils'. He has held additional affiliations as a Research Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (September 2011-September 2012) and as a Fellow at the Israel Institute for Advanced Studies (October 2021-June 2022). He is a strong advocate of direct replications to help strengthen the evidence base in psychology.

Meijer's research has made significant contributions to the scientific understanding of polygraph testing and deception detection. He conducted a landmark meta-analysis on the Concealed Information Test (CIT), examining four physiological measures—skin conductance response, respiration line length, heart rate changes, and P300 event-related potentials. His 2011 book, co-edited with Bruno Verschuere and Gershon Ben-Shakhar, established Memory Detection: Theory and Application of the Concealed Information Test as a foundational text in the field. In a widely-cited 2016 review, he and colleagues examined deception detection with behavioral, autonomic, and neural measures, offering conceptual and methodological considerations that warrant modesty about the accuracy of such techniques. His work has critically discussed the rationale, accuracy and application of the Control Question Test, including its use in sex offender management.

With over 5,300 citations, Meijer is recognized as a leading voice in polygraph science. He has maintained a prolific collaborative relationship with Bruno Verschuere, Gershon Ben-Shakhar, Matthias Gamer, and Harald Merckelbach, producing numerous joint publications on both the Comparison Question Test and the Concealed Information Test. In a 2023 interview with The Intercept, he provided expert commentary on lie detection technologies, noting the persistent gap between physiological measurement accuracy and actual lie detection validity. His critical stance on the scientific validity of polygraph practice—particularly the Control Question Test—has positioned him as an important skeptical voice advocating for evidence-based approaches to credibility assessment.

Meijer's polygraph research connects to his broader work in forensic psychology, psychophysiology, and open science. His research extends beyond deception detection to include investigative interviewing, verbal lie detection, and the psychological mechanisms underlying truthful and deceptive behavior. As an Open Science Ambassador, he has promoted transparency and replication in psychological research, contributing to registered replication reports and advocating for rigorous methodological standards across the discipline.