Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-07-08

might at once conclude that tne
subject was not answering MS ques-
tons truthfully, whereas this reae-
ton would probably be due 10 a
general uneasiness at h mysteri-
| Gus proceeding. AS n questions
| proceed the operator may hnd that
the chart he Is drawing remains at
a level of 100 or drops off toward
| normal, indicating that the supJect
ia truthful in her statements.
Outside Influences Noted
On the other hand, the pressure
may suddenly rise. even reacnlns d
neak of ITO or $50 when significant
Questions are answered. This would
generally indicate a deception curve;
not necessarily, however. To make
an e~xtravagent illustration, suppose
that just as an important questloh Is
asked a %ferocious gorilla should leap
through the window. This wouid
have nothing to do with the case,
but the subjects blood pressure
would rise to a record-breaking
peak.
The tests are given in a room free
from disturbance. but even so the
ouestioner has to watch for out
| side influences that might affect the
chart. In order to read the chart
correctly afterward each change in
pressure must be marked with Its
cause.
There is no way of deliberately
cheating his barometer, the psy-
chologist asserts. 1t might be pos
sible for a Hindu occult student to
delay a test by self-hypnotism. Such
| persons are able to slow down the
heart action until it almost stops.
and other organs of the body at the
same time are affected. A subject
who put himself in this state could
not be tested until he released him
self. But no one can control blood
pressure alone.
There is one type Of individual
who can unconsciously cheat the
sphygmonanometer. If a person is
violently insane the test Is meaning
less, because such a person has lost
consciousness of right and wrong.
Suppose that your auditory nerve is
pressed upon by disease so hat you
imagine that bells are ringing con-
lstantly. You would truthfully say
that you could hear bells ringing,
and your blood pressure would ac-
cept it as a fact. This is an example
Of a slight hallucination, but it
serves to show how q per-
son with a mind completely de-
ranged would react to a deception
test.
In detectives and slightly insane
cases the mental and physical func-
tons are subnormal to varying de-
grees. Making allowances for this
the test can be used. in drug adj
diets even slighter reaction to ques-
tloning is shown. The chart of an
/ addict will chow clrvaS laaS tina n
one-third as great as that of a nor
NAL subject.
The blood pressure test has al
ready proved a friend to the pris-
oner unjustly accused. 1t is the re-
lentless foe of the skillful liar. DR..
Marston tells of a woma who was
taken by the police from a disorder
ly house. She claimed that she was
carried there drunk the night be-
fore and that she had never lived
there. Her story seemed plausible
and she would probably have been
released. The deception test was
tried on her, however, and it re-
fused to accept a word of her tale.
Furthermore, causal questions about
the woman's husband brought out
suspicious reactions on the chart.
Closer investigation proved that
the woman was guilty, and by fol-
lowing the clue to her husband de-
t%ectives discovered that he was a
notorious forger, wanted on a num-
Der of charges. The woman had
been hiding him and passing checks
az the house where she was taken.
DR.. Marston believes that his test
Will find a useful place wherever
veracity must be carefully judged.
People write humorous letters to
him, he says. asking about the in
strument that can tell a liar. One
man earnestly begged to know
where he could buy the apparatus
as he had an unearned reputation
with his wife for evading the truth,
The sphygmomanometer. while
not p~rohibitive in cost. is not a mar.
ket commodity and it is not a game
1t Ii a solemn proposition. II you
have any doubts, just reflect tina
because of it the art of lying may soon
be a useless and obsolete accom-
plishment.
uURE ME Ann lsIV VIRR vnn