Effects of preparedness to deceive on ERP waveforms in a two-stimulus paradigm

Stimulus salience, attentional capture, and working memory load have all been theoretically and experimentally linked to deception (Allen & Iacono, 1997; Boaz, Perry, Raney, Fischler, & Shuman, 1991; Dionisio, Granholm, Hillix, & Perrine, 2001; Stelmack, Houlihan, & Doucet, 1994). This studymanipulated working memory load by truthful and deceptive response demands combined with congruent and incongruent response demands. Response demands were randomly presented across trials requiring attention shifting within each trial, and preparedness to deceive was systematically decreased across three experiments. Four waveforms were examined: an N2b occurring at 150-250 ms with an anterior maximum, a P3a occurring at 250-450 ms with an anterior maximum, an N4 occurring at 300-500 ms with an anterior and temporal maximum, and a P3b occurring at 500-700 ms with a parietal maximum. Results suggest that the processes of stimulus salience, attention shifting and resource allocation, long-term memory, and context updating are involved when individuals deceive. Copyright © by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

Duke Scholars

Author Eric P Green Duke Global Health Institute