Countermeasures Research
Overview
Countermeasure research examines whether examinees can deliberately defeat polygraph tests through physical maneuvers (muscle contractions, controlled breathing, pain induction) or mental strategies (meditation, dissociation, directed thinking). This is one of the most practically important and hotly debated areas of polygraph science.
The National Research Council's 2003 report identified countermeasure vulnerability as a major concern for polygraph screening applications. Research by Honts and colleagues has shown that some physical countermeasures can be effective, particularly against the CQT, while the CIT appears more resistant. Modern polygraph instruments include movement sensors designed to detect physical countermeasures.
Countermeasure studies vary widely in how participants are trained. Some provide brief written instructions, others offer intensive coaching sessions. The amount of training strongly affects countermeasure success rates, making direct comparisons between studies difficult.
Research Landscape
All 51 Studies
The effects of mental countermeasures on psychophysiological memory detection: Facilitating orientation is easy, stopping inhibition is not
Klein Selle, N., Ben-Shakhar, G. · Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition
Facilitating orientation proved easy but stopping inhibition proved impossible - skin conductance was successfully manipulated while respiration and heart rate…
The effect of mental countermeasures on a novel brain‐based feedback concealed information test
Jinbin Zheng, Jiayu Cheng, Chongxiang… · Human Brain Mapping
Mental countermeasures impaired recognition-P300 detection but did not significantly affect feedback-related ERPs, with feedback-P300 maintaining 86% detection accuracy (AUC =…
Frequent Countermeasure Usage by Narcissistic Examinees in the Concealed Information Test
Eitan Elaad, Liza Zvi · Frontiers in Psychology
Narcissistic personality traits and high self-assessed lie-telling ability significantly predicted the frequency with which guilty examinees employed countermeasures in the…
James Q. Murdoch: How to Pass a Polygraph, San Bernardino 2018, 23 pp.
· European Polygraph
The review documents a commercially available countermeasure manual that provides step-by-step instructions on controlling physiological responses, managing anxiety, and employing…
The effect of countermeasures against the reaction time based concealed information test on the P300 index of knowledge recognition: A combined RT and P300-based test
Joseph Olson, J. Peter Rosenfeld,… · International Journal of Psychophysiology
Countermeasures successfully defeated the RT-based test by reversing the normal probe-irrelevant RT pattern, but paradoxically increased P300 probe-irrelevant differences, leading…
Influence of countermeasures on the validity of the Concealed Information Test
Peth, J., Suchotzki, K., Gamer,… · Psychophysiology
Electrodermal responses showed significant degradation under countermeasures (particularly physical countermeasures), while combined autonomic scoring and ocular measures (fixations, blinks) maintained…
Countermeasure Attempts in the Directed-Lie vs. Probable-Lie CQT
Charles Robert Honts; Racheal Reavy · Physiology & Behavior
In their 250-participant study, found no differences between DL and PL test types in spontaneous countermeasure attempts, suggesting directed-lie format…
Directed Lie Comparison Questions and Countermeasure Resistance
Charles Robert Honts; Mark Handler;… · Various Publications
Examined whether directed-lie comparison questions offer better countermeasure resistance. Research suggests that modern testing formats with directed lies may be…
Suppressing unwanted autobiographical memories reduces their automatic influences: Evidence from electrophysiology and an implicit autobiographical memory test
Xiaoqing Hu · Psychological Science
Memory suppression eliminated the P300 guilty knowledge effect, rendering suppression and innocent groups indistinguishable on this measure, though combined analysis…
Using the Polygraph Validation Test (PVT) in Solving Conflicted Polygraph Results and Confirming Deliberate Distortions by Examinees
Tuvia Shurany · European Polygraph
The PVT successfully resolved all 51 cases of conflicted polygraph results and confirmed suspected deliberate distortions, with classic physiological patterns…
Countermeasures and Credibility Assessment
Charles Robert Honts · In Raskin, Honts & Kircher (Eds.), Credibility Assessment: Scientific Research and Applications, Academic Press
Updated review of countermeasure research including developments since the 2003 NRC report. Discussed cognitive load as a factor in countermeasure…
Effects of countermeasures on P300-based concealed information test using a new multiple probe protocol
Shinji Hira, Yuhki Yamashita, Yoko… · International Journal of Psychophysiology
The study examined countermeasure resistance of a new multiple probe protocol for P300-based CIT, though specific detection rates and statistical…
Combating automatic autobiographical associations: The effect of instruction and training in strategically concealing information in the autobiographical implicit association test
Xiaoqing Hu · Psychological Science
Explicit instruction and training allowed guilty participants to reverse their aIAT outcomes by strategically speeding up incongruent block responses, and…
Increasing Irrelevant Stimuli Increases Ability to Detect Countermeasures
Xiaoqing Hu; D. Hegman; E.… · Psychophysiology
Found that increasing the number of irrelevant stimuli in P300-based CIT improved the ability to detect countermeasure use. Advanced the…
The P300-Based, Complex Trial Protocol for Concealed Information Detection Resists Any Number of Sequential Countermeasures Against Up to Five Irrelevant Stimuli
Labkovsky, E., Rosenfeld, J.P. · Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
The Complex Trial Protocol achieved 92-100% detection of guilty participants across all countermeasure conditions (1-5 countered stimuli) with just one…
A novel countermeasure against the reaction time index of countermeasure use in the P300-based complex trial protocol for detection of concealed information
Sokolovsky, A., Rothenberg, J., Labkovsky,… · International Journal of Psychophysiology
Detection rates remained high (83-92%) based on P300 for all groups, but simultaneous countermeasure execution made reaction times indistinguishable from…
Polygraph Verification Test
Tuvia Shurany · European Polygraph
The PVT provides examiners with a validated tool for confirming suspicions about test interference when original polygraph results are questionable…
Confirmed Mental Countermeasure Case in Costa Rica
Tuvia Shurany · European Polygraph
Mental countermeasures were successfully identified and confirmed through examination procedures, demonstrating the detectability of covert attempts to defeat polygraph testing.
Countermeasure mechanisms in a P300-based concealed information test
Meixner, J.B., Rosenfeld, J.P. · Psychophysiology
The study found a greater P300 amplitude to probes in the guilty omit probe condition compared with the guilty no…
Polygraph countermeasures cannot be detected from respiratory signatures: Government policy puts the innocent at risk
Honts, C.R., & Crawford, M. ·
Polygraph examiners could not reliably detect countermeasures from respiratory patterns, contradicting policy assumptions and creating significant false positive risks for…
Improving the detection of physical countermeasures with chair sensors
Ogilvie, J., & Dutton, D.W. · Polygraph
The addition of countermeasure sensors significantly improved examiners' performance in detecting physical countermeasures, while sensor information did not affect scores…
Ways of Revealing Resistance Against Polygraph Testing
Vladimir Vladimirovich Korovin; Aleksandr Petrovich… · European Polygraph
The study identifies specific techniques and indicators that can be used to detect when subjects are employing resistance strategies during…
An attempt to falsify the results of a polygraph test through the implementation of false memory: a case study
Jerzy Konieczny · European Polygraph
The study explored the relationship between false memory techniques and polygraph test validity, though specific results are not accessible without…
Information Does Not Affect the Validity of a Comparison Question Test
Wendy R. Alloway · Legal and Criminological Psychology
Providing examinees with detailed CQT information and countermeasure instructions did not significantly affect test validity; moreover, self-reported countermeasure use was…
Detection of Subjects Employing Directed Countermeasures on the Comparison Question Test
Charles Robert Honts · Legal and Criminological Psychology
Investigated whether countermeasure use could itself be detected. Found that some countermeasure behaviors produced distinctive physiological patterns detectable by experienced…
Countermeasures and the Polygraph
Charles Robert Honts; S. L.… · Book Chapters
Comprehensive review chapter covering all known countermeasure methods and their effectiveness. Concluded countermeasures are a serious threat but their practical…
Effects of spontaneous countermeasures used against the comparison question test
Honts, C.R., Amato, S., &… · Polygraph
Spontaneous countermeasures were attempted by 67.7% of participants but did not affect outcomes for guilty examinees while significantly shifting innocent…
Spontaneous Countermeasures in Naive Subjects During Polygraph Testing
Mark Handler; Charles Robert Honts · Polygraph
Investigated whether untrained subjects spontaneously employ countermeasure-like behaviors. Found that some naive subjects did make deliberate efforts to alter their…
Effects of Biofeedback Training on Polygraph Outcomes
D. W. Corcoran · Psychophysiology
Tested whether biofeedback training in physiological self-regulation could enable subjects to defeat polygraph. Found modest effects, primarily on cardiovascular measures.
Mental and Physical Countermeasures Reduce the Accuracy of the Concealed Knowledge Test
Charles Robert Honts; Mary K.… · Psychophysiology
Investigated whether countermeasures can defeat the CIT. Found that both mental and physical countermeasures reduced detection accuracy. However, the CIT…
Countermeasures and CQT Accuracy
Charles Robert Honts; David C.… · Journal of Applied Psychology
Definitive study on countermeasures in CQT. Found that trained countermeasure users could reduce detection rates, but detection of countermeasure use…
Effects of countermeasures on the control-question polygraph test
Honts, C. R., Raskin, D.… · Journal of Applied Psychology
Both mental and physical countermeasures enabled approximately 50% of guilty subjects to defeat the CQT, with strongest effects observed in…
Mental and Physical Countermeasures in CQT Polygraph Testing
Charles Robert Honts; David C.… · Journal of Applied Psychology
Landmark study on countermeasures. Found that trained countermeasure use could affect CQT accuracy, but untrained subjects remained highly detectable. One…
Effect of Prior Knowledge and Training on CQT Performance
Laura I. Rovner · Polygraph
Examined whether subjects with prior knowledge of polygraph procedures showed different accuracy rates. Found minimal impact of knowledge alone without…
Use of antianxiety drugs as countermeasures in the detection of guilty knowledge
William George Iacono; Anthony M.… · Journal of Applied Psychology
Drug status had no influence on GKT outcomes—diazepam, meprobamate, and propranolol all failed as countermeasures. Innocent subjects who coincidentally scored…
Effects of mental countermeasures on psychophysiological detection in the guilty knowledge test
Elaad, E., Ben-Shakhar, G. · International Journal of Psychophysiology
Item-specific mental countermeasures tended to increase psychophysiological detection, whereas continuous dissociation strategies decreased detection efficiency, with patterns consistent across field…
Effects of spontaneous countermeasures on the physiological detection of deception
Honts, C.R., Raskin, D.C., Kircher,… · Journal of Police Science and Administration
Sixty percent of guilty subjects spontaneously attempted countermeasures (primarily relaxation and breathing control), but these untrained tactics had no effect…
Use of a motion chair in the detection of physical countermeasures
Stevenson, M., & Barry, G. · Defence Life Science Journal
Subliminal aversive stimuli acted as an effective deterrent to physical countermeasures during polygraph testing, with significantly fewer countermeasure attempts compared…
Interpreting research on countermeasures and the physiological detection of deception
Honts, C.R. · Journal of Police Science and Administration
Test format determines optimal countermeasure strategy: Concealed Information Tests require hyperresponsivity/hyporesponsivity strategies while Control Question Tests require selective augmentation of…
The Effects of Physical Countermeasures on the Physiological Detection of Deception
Charles Robert Honts; Robert L.… · Journal of Applied Psychology
First systematic countermeasure study. Trained subjects used physical countermeasures (tongue biting, toe pressing) during control questions. Approximately 50% of trained…
The Use of Countermeasures: Categorical Decisions Based on Three Interpretations
Charles Robert Honts; Robert L.… · Psychophysiology
Early countermeasure study showing that physical countermeasures could be trained in laboratory settings. Provided the first systematic data on countermeasure…
Effects of diazepam and methylphenidate on the electrodermal detection of guilty knowledge
Jonathan A. E. Fleming · Journal of Applied Psychology
Neither diazepam nor methylphenidate impaired the validity of the Guilty Knowledge Test, which achieved an overall classification accuracy of 94%…
The effect of propranolol on polygraphic detection of deception
Gatchel, R.J., Smith, J.E., Kaplan,… · Unpublished manuscript
Propranolol administration resulted in a 32.2% inconclusive rate during polygraph examinations, primarily by reducing the physiological differentiation between control and…
Detection of deception: Effectiveness of physical countermeasures under high motivation conditions
Honts, C.R., Raskin, D.C., Kircher,… · Psychophysiology
With enhanced training, countermeasure subjects produced 47% false negative outcomes compared to 0% for guilty controls, demonstrating that simple physical…
The detection of physical countermeasures
Honts, C. R., Hodes, R.… · Polygraph
Polygraph examiners detected only 12% of participants using physical countermeasures, with trained countermeasures proving difficult to detect through either physiological…
The effects of multiple physical countermeasures on the detection of deception
Honts, C. R., Hodes, R.… · Psychophysiology
Enhanced countermeasure training enabled 47% of guilty subjects to produce false negative outcomes by augmenting physiological responses to control questions,…
Meprobamate Reduces Accuracy of Physiological Detection of Deception
William M. Waid · Science
Only 3 of 11 guilty subjects who took meprobamate were correctly identified as deceptive, compared to statistically significant detection rates…
Meprobamate reduces the accuracy of physiological detection of deception
Martin Theodore Orne · Science
A standard 400 mg clinical dose of meprobamate rendered the electrodermal-based Guilty Knowledge Test unable to reliably distinguish deceptive from…
Physiological detection of deception: Measurement of responses to questions and answers during countermeasure maneuvers
Dawson, M.E. · Psychophysiology
Professional actors' mental countermeasures proved completely ineffective, with 100% of guilty subjects correctly detected and no false negatives. However, innocent…
Effects of information and practice on detection of deception
Rovner, L.I., Raskin, D.C., Kircher,… · Psychophysiology
Detection accuracy remained robust across all experimental conditions, with detailed information about the CQT and practice having minimal impact on…
Simulated Blood Pressure Responses in Lie-Detector Tests and a Method for Their Detection
Reid, John E. · Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
Reid demonstrated that muscular countermeasures could artificially distort cardiovascular readings and developed the first instrumented countermeasure detection system, which became…