Detecting deception via eyeblink frequency modulation

Authors

Brandon S. Perelman, Michigan Technological University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-13-2014

Department

Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences

Abstract

To assess the efficacy of using eyeblink frequency modulation to detect deception about a third party, 32 participants were sent on a mission to deliver a package to an interviewer. 17 of the participants lied to the interviewer about the details of their mock mission and 15 responded truthfully. During the interview, eyeblink frequency data were collected via electromyography and recorded video. Liars displayed eye- blink frequency suppression while lying, while truth tellers exhibited an increase in eyeblink frequency during the mission relevant questioning period. The compen- satory flurry of eyeblinks following deception observed in previous studies was ab- sent in the present study. A discriminant function using eyeblink suppression to pre- dict lying correctly classified 81.3% of cases, with a sensitivity of 88.2% and a speci- ficity of 73.3%. This technique, yielding a reasonable sensitivity, shows promise for future testing as, unlike polygraph, it is compatible with distance technology.

Publisher's Statement

© 2014 Perelman. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.260

Publication Title

PeerJ

Recommended Citation

Perelman, B. (2014). Detecting deception via eyeblink frequency modulation. PeerJ, 2014(1). http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.260
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/3278

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Version

Publisher's PDF