Hide or Seek? Physiological Responses Reflect Both the Decision and the Attempt to Conceal Information

Abstract

The process of information concealment is more relevant than ever in this day and age. Using a modified concealed-information test (CIT), we aimed to unmask this process by investigating both the decision and the attempt to conceal information in 38 students. The attempt to conceal (vs. reveal) information induced a differential physiological response pattern within subjects—whereas skin conductance increased in both conditions, respiration and heart rate were suppressed only in the conceal condition—confirming the idea that these measures reflect different underlying mechanisms. The decision to conceal (vs. reveal) information induced enhanced anticipatory skin conductance responses. To our knowledge, this is the first study that observed such anticipatory responses in an information-concealment paradigm. Together, these findings imply that our physiological responses reflect, to some degree, both the decision and the attempt to conceal information. In addition to strengthening CIT theory, this knowledge sheds novel light on anticipatory responding in decision making.

Is the CIT susceptible to misleading information? A constructive replication

“…First, although no significant differences were found when comparing the misinformation and control conditions, the SCR CIT effect was only significant in the misinfo‐all condition, while the RLL CIT effect was only significant in the misinfo‐narr condition. Whether this is a chance finding, or possibly caused by different underlying mechanisms driving the various physiological measures (i.e., [31–33]), remains an open question for future research. Importantly however, it implies that our conclusion should be made with great caution and the role of misleading information in the CIT requires additional studies.…”

“…Specifically, exposure to misinformation in the context of the crime potentially adds significance to the misinformation items, which thus elicit enhanced responses compared to control items, making it harder to detect relevant hidden knowledge. This explanation especially holds for the SCR measure which has been shown to reflect an orientation process [31–33].…”

Detecting concealed information using functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) combined with skin conductance, heart rate, and behavioral measures

“…Because of individual differences in physiological responsivity, within‐subject standard Z‐scores were calculated separately for SCR and HR (the target item was excluded from the standardization, Klein Selle et al, 2019). For SCR and HR measures, those responses were removed if the Z‐scores were larger than 5 or smaller than −5.…”

“…In the physiological‐measure‐based CIT, a typical response pattern for a person who recognizes crime‐related information includes larger SCRs, a shorter RLL, and a decelerated HR, which is also called the CIT effect. Studies have recently suggested that these physiological responses are driven by different mechanisms and could be explained by the response fractionation model (Klein Selle et al, 2019). The increased SCR reflects an orienting response, whereas RLL and HR reflect attempts to inhibit arousal (AI; Klein Selle et al, 2016; Verschuere et al, 2007).…”

Countering information leakage in the Concealed Information Test: The effects of item detailedness

“…Guilty suspects, on the contrary, show an increased skin conductance response (SCR), a deceleration of heart rate (HR) and respiratory suppression (usually defined as shortening of the total respiration line length; RLL) upon recognition of critical items. This pattern has been explained by an increased orienting response toward the recognized significant item and the deliberate attempt to inhibit the physiological arousal experienced when confronted with critical crime details (klein Selle et al 2016(klein Selle et al , 2017(klein Selle et al , 2019.…”