Sincerely and professionally, the examiner should try to establish rapport with the examinee. It is helpful in allaying the fears of the innocent, and making it easier for the guilty to acknowledge responsibility for their crimes.
Thoroughly debrief the examinee on health problems, medications, and mental health treatment using a standardized pretest worksheet. Do not conduct testing until all questions about the examinee's suitability for testing have been resolved.
Discuss the examinee's background, noting areas that might be used to construct the comparison questions. The relevant and comparison questions should be linked in some logical way. Discourage admissions on the comparison questions.
Advise the examinee what the relevant issue is. Encourage the examinee to discuss the crime or event under question, using elicitation techniques. An accusatory pretest is a fatal error. The examiner should never give the impression that he or she has already decided whether the examinee is guilty.
Test Preparation
Afford examinees the opportunity to use the restroom. Ask them to wash their hands with warm soapy water.
Upon return, attach the sensors.
Discuss the autonomic nervous system at a level appropriate to the examinee. Emphasize the involuntary nature of the system.
Conduct an acquaintance test. See the Guide entitled Acquaintance Tests.
Finalize the wording of the test questions.
The question in position 5 is the primary relevant question. It should focus on direct involvement, using an action verb that describes the behavior of interest. When testing about specific amounts of money, preface the amount with the phrase "any of that..."
The question in position 7 is a rewording of the relevant question in position 5.
If a third relevant question is used, position 10 is a secondary involvement, or evidence-connecting question.
All relevant questions must be unambiguous, free of jargon, non-accusatory, and create a clear dichotomy.
Use only exclusionary probable-lie comparison questions (CQs); "lie" type, or same category as the relevant question. In child sex abuse cases, only "lie" type is permitted. CQs should be ambiguous, and impel the examinee to be at least uncertainof the truthfulness of his or her answer. Directed lies are not allowed.
Review the relevant and sacrifice relevant questions. Relevant questions are usually phrased to be answered "no" except in confirmatory cases. To verify understanding, have the examinee paraphrase the question back to you. This is also a double check against rationalization.
Review the comparison questions. They are usually answered with a "no." A "yes" is permitted if the relevant questions are structured to be answered "yes." Convey to the examinee that lies to the CQs will cause them to fail the test.
Review the irrelevant questions. They must be emotionally neutral, and are answered "yes."
Review the outside issue questions.
Example of a Federal ZCT
1: Is your first name Bruno?
2: Regarding the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby, do you intend to answer truthfully about that?
3: Do you believe I will only ask the questions we have reviewed?
4C: Between the ages of 18 and 31, did you ever lie to a person in a position of authority?
5R: Did you take that baby from the Lindbergh home on March 1st?
6C: Prior to 1932, did you ever lie to cover something you had done?
7R: On March 1st, did you take the Lindbergh baby from his home?
8: Is there something else you are afraid I will ask you a question about?
9C: While in Germany, did you ever lie to someone who trusted in you?
10R: Do you know where the Lindbergh baby is now?
Test
The question sequences for 2- and 3-question Federal ZCT are:
After the first chart, it is permissible to rotate the comparison questions and the irrelevant questions. No other questions may be moved.
Collect three charts. If one is contaminated by movements or artifacts, a fourth chart may be run. No more than four charts are permitted.
Inter-chart stimulation of any question(s) is forbidden.
Scoring
The Federal ZCT uses the 7-position scoring system, though 3-position scoring is sometimes used. At this date, there are 12 tracing features that used for scoring. They are:
Breathing: Apnea, rise in baseline, change in inhalation/exhalation ratio, decrease in amplitude, decrease in rate.
Electrodermal: Amplitude. Duration and complexity considered.
Blood pressure: Increase in baseline, duration.
For scoring and decision rules for single- and multiple-issue Federal ZCTs, see the guide entitled Numerical Scoring.
