2015年经济学人 测谎仪让谎话无处藏身

Polygraphs

Lies, damn lies

Scientifically dodgy lie-detector tests may prove surprisingly useful

POLYGRAPHS, or “lie detectors”, make frequent appearances on “The Jeremy Kyle Show”,

a television programme that resembles nothing so much as bear-baiting, but with humans.

Guests are fond of the tests as a means of proving their loved ones' philandering¹ ways, or their own innocence².

Now the government seems to be growing similarly keen.

In May a small number of probation³ officers began training as polygraph examiners.

From October around 1,000 sex offenders⁴ released from prison on licence in England and Wales but deemed to be at high risk of reoffending will be required to undergo polygraph tests.

The checks will help to determine whether offenders have breached⁵ the conditions of their licences,

such as restrictions⁶ on visiting children's playgrounds.

Failing a test will not result in a return to prison but could prompt closer supervision⁷ or surveillance.

Polygraphs are used widely in America, including on sex offenders,

but in Britain many remain sceptical. Polygraphs do not detect lies.

They measure changes in physiology⁸, such as breathing rate, sweating and blood pressure.

Telling lies is often stressful and can prompt jumps in the readings.

But other things–fear, embarrassment⁹, worries about being wrongfully accused–can do the same.

Enthusiasts¹⁰ say that polygraphs accurately¹¹ detect lies 80-90% of the time.

The British Psychological Society cites studies showing similar figures but cautions that problems in the research mean that the real rate is probably much lower.

And “false positive” rates (dubbing a truthful¹² person a liar) can be as high as 47%.

Boosters of the government's scheme say the point is that using polygraphs encourages sex offenders to reveal more information, before, during and after the test.

In a 2010-11 pilot study offenders who took polygraph tests made more than twice as many “clinically significant disclosures”–

information that could prompt changes in the way they are managed–as those that did not.

Many said they would not have done so without undergoing the test.

Jane Wood, a forensic¹³ psychologist at the University of Kent who co-authored the report on the pilot,

says that some offenders found the tests helpful as way to convince their families they were being honest about their behaviour.

Others said that the discussions prompted when they failed the test helped them better to understand the conditions of their licence.

Polygraph tests do not stand on their own, argues Don Grubin,

a professor of forensic psychiatry¹⁴ at Newcastle University who is leading the probation officers' training;

they should be one of a number of tools used to assess offenders. Nonetheless some remain uneasy.

Those using the tests may become complacent¹⁵, worries Anne-Marie McAlinden of Queen's University, Belfast, and give them undue¹⁶ weight.

In the government's study, the more tests offenders took, the fewer lies were flagged.

That might indicate that they became more truthful, or it might suggest that they were getting better at gaming the test.

The polygraph's power may rely on offenders' inflated¹⁷ belief in the accuracy of its tests.

But getting more information from sex offenders about their behaviour–

even on this basis–is still a good thing, suggests Professor Grubin.

Instead of Mr Kyle, the government might look to “The Wire”,

an American TV drama about murderous gangs, where detectives hooked suspects up to photocopiers¹⁸, claiming they were polygraphs.

1 philandering   

v.调戏，玩弄女性( philander的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• And all because of a bit of minor philandering. 何况这只是区区一桩风流韵事所引起的呢。 来自飘（部分）
• My after-school job means tailing philandering spouses or investigating false injury claims. 我的课余工作差不多就是跟踪外遇者或调查诈骗保险金。 来自电影对白

2 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

3 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

4 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

5 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

6 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

7 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

8 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

9 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

10 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

11 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

12 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

13 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

14 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

15 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

16 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。

17 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 photocopiers   

n.影印机，复印机( photocopier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I was quite taken with your line of photocopiers with collation and stapling capability. 我被贵公司能够自动整理和装订的系列复印机吸引住了。 来自辞典例句
• Printers, photocopiers and fax machines are modern office appliances. 打印机、印机和传真机是现代办公用具。 来自互联网