Contemporary pathways in forensic psychology: A review of psychophysiological perspective of veracity versus deception detection

• Author Details:   
• Yogeeta Bhatia ^*

Forensic psychology, as a subfield of psychology, is relatively new and expanding its wings. It covers various spectrums of research, with one prominent one being the dynamics of lying behaviour. A uniform cognitive demand is created by people telling the truth, in contrast to liars, who might experience a high mental load during lying behaviour and post-lying as well, due to the false construction of reality. Suspects in crimes may manufacture and invent stories to find a narrow escape by diverting the investigation. The naked eye may also miss some truths. Hence, forensic psychologists use specific tools (such as eye blink count and duration) to detect deception without violating the civil rights of crime suspects. To evaluate the impact, efficacy and usefulness of these tools, measures or techniques, current research systematically reviewed the existing literature. The Google Scholar database was investigated in depth using several keywords like forensic psychology, polygraph, lie detection, eye blink count, eye blink duration, detection of deception and facial expressions to filter the entries and focus on relevant research. Temporally relevant research from the last 25 years was considered. Lie detection may not be an exact science. A significant variability in findings has been noted. Applicability may be contextualised. Some techniques involving diagnostic tools may enhance their application in modern times.