Senior Seminar 2020
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Senior Seminar 2020 The Neighborhood Academy Table of Contents Tajah Alexander, Science 3 “Reliability of Galvanic Skin Response and Respirations in Detecting Deception Among High School Girls” Diamani Boyd, Humanities 23 “The Death of Len Bias: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Coverage of the War on Drugs” Jaiden Brooks, Mathematics 39 “Academic Performance in African American Students: School Belonging and Identity” Ryan Crosier, Science 50 “Water Quality Study of Pucketa Creek Before Operation of a Nearby Fracking Wastewater Injection Well” Shakir Daniel, Humanities 72 “Airport Security: Constitutionality of Hard and Soft Security” Anthony Duckett, Mathematics 88 “Don’t Take It Personal… or Should You? The Effect of Personality Based Advertisements on Anti-Vaping Messages” Talaya Ellis, Humanities 99 “The Quiet Wheel Needs the Oil: Anxiety Recognition and Interventions” London Hughes, Science 113 “The Effect of Fish Feed Protein-Content on Ammonia Production in an Aquaponics System” Aujah Johnson, Humanities “Adultification Bias: Life Choices Between Success & Failure” 127 Andre Jones, Mathematics 146 “The Effect of Video Game Play on the Mental Health of High School Students” Tahjere’ Mitchell, Humanities 157 “Asylum-Seekers, Illegals, or Immigrants: Analyzing Language’s Impact on Policies” Zaire’ Mitchell, Science 172 “Comparing the Thrust of Homemade and Commercial Model Rocket Engines” Attallah Moore, Science 188 “The Effect of Light Periodicity on the Growth of Basil in Aquaponics” 1 JJ Morris, Mathematics 206 “Is Your Friend Really Your Friend? Do You Really Trust The Person Closest To You? Find Out Next Time On Split Or Steal!” Quinn Myers, Mathematics 217 “The Effect of School Climate and Parenting Style on Academic Achievement ” Kiara Rockymore, Science 230 “HPLC and GCMS Analysis of Mint JUUL Pods” Jelani Seals, Mathematics 250 “The Effects of Video Game Play on Academic Achievement at The Neighborhood Academy” Chanel Thomas, Humanities 261 “Overparenting and Adolescent Development” 2 Reliability of Galvanic Skin Response and Respirations in Detecting Deception Among High School Girls Ta’Jah Alexander Dr. Diane Nutbrown Science Senior Seminar The Neighborhood Academy May 2020 3 Abstract This project tested the accuracy of polygraph testing on minors by only using galvanic skin response and respiration rates. The equipment used to administer this polygraph test was a BIOPAC MP36 4-channel student lab system. The test used was the practice test which is a test that consists of seven numbers on a piece of paper and the number four is left blank. At the start of the test, the examinee fills in the number four and the examiner asks the examinee did they write each of the numbers listed on the paper 1-7, but the examinee is instructed to say no they did not write any of the numbers including the number four which they did write. The examinee knows that they are lying, so the essential idea is to see if the examiner is able to tell if they were lying by looking at the data collected. This is an important subject because polygraphs are used all over the world for many reasons, but they are also sometimes used with minors in juvenile centers. Since polygraph testing has been used on minors in juvenile centers as evidence in cases, they should be aware if polygraph testing is accurate for detecting deception or not. To evaluate how accurately a novice polygraph tester can detect deception using only two inputs of polygraph test. Deception would be harder to be detected through the examinees reactions during the test because of the lack of training on analyzing polygraph tests. In order to test the research question stated, twenty-five polygraph tests on female high school students grades ninth through twelfth were conducted. At the end of the study, only four out of the twenty-five examinees data showed they were lying on number four which shows that polygraph testing was not that accurate when detecting deception on minors without the proper training.The limitations of my study was the time limit to carry the study out and analyze the data professionally. 4 Introduction A polygraph, known as a “ lie detector,” is a device that is used to test different psychophysiological reactions to questions being asked in order to detect if someone is being honest or not. The psychophysiological reactions being tested are triggered by stress because as the examinee is lying their stress levels may increase. The autonomic nervous system is related to someone’s stress levels because when a person is nervous their stress levels begin to rise and the autonomic nervous system is something that people have no control over so when they get nervous and stressed they can’t change it. People can not control their autonomic nervous system which makes it challenging for the examinee’s lying to be unnoticed. (Evans 2). The general public likely associates polygraph testing with criminal cases, but these tests are also used as conditions of employment and probation. Polygraph tests are mostly used for security sensitive occupations, investigations, criminals, etc. There are two reasons why a polygraph test would be used in security sensitive occupations which are pre-employment and pre-clearance reasons. Pre-employment polygraph testing is usually used for careers with law enforcement to make sure the employees are able to be trusted and have not had a past that would disqualify them for the job. Pre-clearance screenings are screenings for current employees that are getting new positions or assignments such as national security (National Research Council 11). There are two different types of polygraph tests: diagnostic and screening (Nelson 3). The diagnostic test is a test that consists of comparison questions in order to get information out of the examinees and/or get them to confess to something. Comparison questions consist of relevant and irrelevant questions to the situation that the polygraph test is for. The purpose of asking relevant and irrelevant questions during the test is to see if the examinee has more of a 5 psychophysiological reaction to the relevant questions or not. If the examinee does not have a strong response to the relevant questions and has a stronger reaction to the irrelevant questions, they are most likely innocent (National Research Council 254). The screening test is also known as the guilty knowledge test because the examinee has prior knowledge about the situation before the test begins. The screening test is usually associated with the sensitive occupations discussed above because the examinees are being asked about specific events in the past which means they would have prior knowledge about the situation before the test. For job purposes and investigations, the screening test is used to see if any information was leaked or if the examinee has committed the crime or not. The screening test is used because the examinee would have prior knowledge about the issue which would make them have guilty knowledge (Synnot, et al. 4). Before a screening or diagnostic test, there is a practice test given to make the examinee familiar with the instruments being used and what the process will consist of (Saxe 2). The practice test is used to get the examinee acquainted with what it is like to take a polygraph test and to make sure the test is able to detect deception. Most polygraph tests are set up to collect data about four psychophysiological reactions: galvanic skin response (GSR), blood pressure, respiration rates, and upper and lower body movements. A galvanic skin response is tested by measuring the skin's conductivity, which is related to the sweat your skin produces from being nervous or lying (Bergstrom 1). An increase in sweat, increases electrical conductivity due to the presence of salt ions. GSR is also known as electrodermal activity (EDA). Like an increase in sweating, a change in blood pressure can indicate a stress response. If someone is more stressed about lying, their systolic blood pressure could rise (Mayo Clinic Staff 1). Systolic blood pressure measures the pressure that is on the 6 arteries as blood is being pushed through the arteries. A blood pressure cuff is used to record the examinee’s blood pressure. Breathing patterns also offer insight into stress levels. In order to monitor respiration rates, the pneumo strap is connected to the examinee a few minutes before the test starts so the polygraph machine can pick up their respiration rates before the test begins. In order to see change, the examiner compares their respiration rates before the polygraph test to the examinee’s respiration rates during (Labott-Stewart 1). Many examinees try to control their breathing pattern by trying to control their upper body movements which is the reason for the upper and lower body sensors. The upper and lower body sensors pick up any movements from the examinee and are not trying to control any physical reactions to pass the test. For example, many people try to clench their toes or squeeze their hands to try to control their physical reactions (Mulroy 1). In order to test the validity of polygraph testing, you have to be able to tell the difference between a failed or passed test. A misconstrued idea is that the examinee is tested to fail or pass by each question but that is not true; if an examinee lies on one question, then they fail the whole test. Polygraphs are still sometimes used as evidence in cases and are known to be up to 90% accurate when done professionally (Vogel & Baran 3). Even though polygraph tests are known to be 90% accurate people still try to find ways to trick the test in order to pass it by doing certain movements such as clenching their fist, curling their toes or by changing their breathing pattern.