John J. Palmatier

John J. Palmatier, Ph.D., is a credibility assessment consultant and researcher who holds a doctorate in Social Science (Experimental Psychology/Criminal Justice) from Michigan State University (1996). He is a retired Detective Sergeant from the Michigan State Police, where he served as a polygraph examiner and intern supervisor for 16 years. Palmatier was trained as a polygraph examiner by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the Canadian Police College in 1983. He was an Adjunct Professor at Nova Southeastern University, and currently serves as President of Slattery Associates Inc., a private polygraph and credibility assessment firm based in Miami, Florida.

Palmatier's most influential contribution to polygraph science has been his work on establishing theoretical foundations for credibility assessment, particularly arguing that Barry's Preliminary Process Theory (PPT) provides a scientifically defensible construct for polygraph testing. His landmark 2015 paper with co-author Laura Rovner on Preliminary Process Theory and construct validity sparked extensive debate in the field, drawing critical commentary from prominent researchers worldwide. His 2025 collaboration with Michał Widacki on memory distortions and confabulation examines how these psychological phenomena impact polygraph examinations. His current research compares two polygraph paradigms (ZOC/DoD) using objective physiological measures in real-world contexts involving serious crimes.

Palmatier has lectured internationally in venues including Israel, England, Japan, and China, and notably became the first American police officer asked by the Chinese Government to teach polygraph science in China in 1991. He is a member of the American Polygraph Association (serving on its School Accreditation Revision Committee), the Michigan Association of Polygraph Examiners (Board of Directors), and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. He has testified as an expert witness in several states on credibility assessment methods, and his 2015 theoretical work generated substantial scholarly response, positioning him as a central figure in ongoing debates about the scientific validity of comparison question testing.

As an applied scientist, Palmatier's research spans neuroscience and physiology to better understand credibility assessment methods. His broader research interests include polygraph theory, factitious disorders, interviewing and interrogation strategies, and the directed lie control question technique. His work bridges law enforcement practice with academic psychophysiology, consistently advocating for empirical validation of forensic credibility assessment procedures.