An interfering dot-probe task facilitates the detection of mock crime memory in a reaction time (RT)-based concealed information test

Xiaoqing Hu; Angela Evans; Haiyan Wu; Kang Lee; Genyue Fu

doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2012.12.006

An interfering dot-probe task facilitates the detection of mock crime memory in a reaction time (RT)-based concealed information test

Acta Psychol (Amst). 2013 Feb;142(2):278-85. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2012.12.006. Epub 2013 Jan 31.

Authors

Xiaoqing Hu¹, Angela Evans, Haiyan Wu, Kang Lee, Genyue Fu

Affiliation

¹ Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004, China. xiaoqinghu@u.northwestern.edu

PMID: 23376139
DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2012.12.006

Abstract

The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that an interfering task in the concealed information test will help the detection of concealed memory based on participants' behavioral performance (e.g. reaction time, error rate). Here, after participants enacted a mock crime, they were introduced to a concealed information test either with or without an interfering dot-probe task. Results showed that the RT-based pure-CIT (without interference) can detect concealed memory well above chance (AUC=.88). The detection efficiency was higher (AUC=.94) in the interference-CIT based on participants' performance of the interfering task. The findings suggested that the elevation of cognitive workload could possibly increase the detection efficiency of concealed memory based on behavioral measures.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Area Under Curve
Cognition*
Crime / psychology*
Deception*
Discriminant Analysis
Female
Humans
Male
Memory*
Psychological Tests*
ROC Curve
Reaction Time*