The timed antagonistic response alethiometer, or TARA, is a type of
lie detection Lie detection is an assessment of a verbal statement with the goal to reveal a possible intentional deceit. Lie detection may refer to a cognitive process of detecting deception by evaluating message content as well as non-verbal cues. It also may r ...
technique that relies upon
cognitive chronometry.
The TARA is a
computer
A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...
-based
technique
Technique or techniques may refer to:
Music
* The Techniques, a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group of the 1960s
* Technique (band), a British female synth pop band in the 1990s
* ''Technique'' (album), by New Order, 1989
* ''Techniques'' (album), by ...
. It requires respondents to classify a succession of mixed statements as true or false, as
quickly and
accurately as they can, by pressing one of two keys. The faster they do so, the more likely they are to be telling the
truth
Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...
; the slower they do so, the more likely they are to be
lying
A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deception, deceiving or misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a liar. Lies ...
.
The TARA works by manufacturing an
artificial
Artificiality (the state of being artificial, anthropogenic, or man-made) is the state of being the product of intentional human manufacture, rather than occurring naturally through processes not involving or requiring human activity.
Connotati ...
situation in which lying is more challenging than truth-telling. Specifically, it permits truth-tellers to complete two alternating tasks using the same strategy, but requires liars to complete them using contradictory strategies. Hence, if both truth-tellers and liars complete the TARA accurately as stipulated, then the former will complete it more quickly than the latter, all else being equal.
Structurally, the TARA bears some affinities with the
implicit association test
The implicit-association test (IAT) is an assessment intended to detect subconscious associations between mental representations of objects (concepts) in memory. Its best-known application is the assessment of implicit stereotypes held by test su ...
(IAT), because it generates differences in
average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
reaction
time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
on the basis of differences in response
compatibility.
The TARA remains to be field-tested. However, initial laboratory studies obtained accuracy rates in the region of 85%, suggesting that the technique holds promise.
References
* {{cite journal , doi = 10.1002/acp.1298 , last1 = Gregg , first1 = A. P. , year = 2007 , title = When vying reveals lying: The Timed Antagonistic Response Alethiometer , journal = Applied Cognitive Psychology , volume = 21 , issue = 5, pages = 621–647
External links
Link to the abstract of the first published scientific paper.Retrieved 2007-07-15.
Forensic techniques