Doc 0000184417

This page is not a declassified CIA document but rather a promotional graphic for "The Black Vault," an online database of declassified documents. The graphic features an image of a vault door on the left side, with a blue glow emanating from it. The text on the right states that the document was obtained from The Black Vault and refers to the MKULTRA/Mind Control Collection, providing a URL for the database. There are no photographs of people, locations, equipment, handwritten annotations, signatures, official stamps, forms, diagrams, tables, or redactions visible on this page. RESEARCH ON SIDE-TONE DELAY AS AN INTERROGATION DEVICE - ' i. By ,- ' L May, 1953 \ . ' . ... Final Report RESEARCH ON SIDE-TONE DELAY AS AN INTERROGATION DEVICE . - by '- ,- . - May, 1953 L ' - Contract Period: June 1, 1952 to May 31, 1953 INDEX Page '. I. Aims and Purpose of this Research 1 II. How the Side-Tone Delay Was Produced 2 III. Effect of the Side-Tone Delay on a Subject 3 IV. The Gaining of ConfE;ssions Dependent Upon Two Factors 4 L v. Procedures 5 ,- .. VI • Side-Tone Delay Instrument Is Not a Lie-Detector 14 VII. The Testing of Criminal Suspects 15 VIU. Examples of Experimental Cases 19 IX. Instrumentation 28 x. Conclusions 34 XI. Bibliography 39 ----------·--- -------·----- - RESEARCH ON SIDE-TONE DELAY AS AN INTERROGATION DEVICE I. Aims and Purpose of this Research. The primary aim and purpose of this project was to obtain a successful interrogation device from the effects of side-tone delay, together with an 1 appropriate procedure for its use with a minimum number of attachments. The secondary aim, developed in this laboratory, was to obtain more easily interpreted polygraph records by use of side-tone delay in con- junction with the polygraph.2 '- '. 1 Throughout the report this phenomenon is termed "Side-Tone Delay" and ,_ for brevity the initials STD are used. Previous investigators in this field have f- ~ used other terms to denote this same phenomenon. For example. Professor ±.t -~ John W. Black, Ohio State University, terms it "Delayed Side-Tone," while .. '=;;': pt Professor Grant Fairbanks, University of Illinois, has referred to it as "Delayed Auditory Feedback. " tj 2 The: ·- _ Polygraph was utilized for these experiments. It provides for the recording of five different responses -- blood pressure-pulse, respiration, galvanic skin reflex, arm movements, and thigh-leg movements. This poly- graph is the only instrument equipped with arm and leg movement recorders. - l - II. How the Side-Tone Delay Was Produced. Basically the side-tone delay phenomenon was produced in this laboratory by the following method: The subject's speech was picked up by a microphone, which was connected to a tape recorder. At the recording head of this instrument the speech was recorded on a moving tape, and then this speech was reproduced when that part of the tape reached the playback head of the method: The subject's speech was picked up by a microphone, which was connected to a tape recorder. At the recording head of this instrument the speech was recorded on a moving tape, and then this speech was reproduced when that part of the tape reached the playback head of the instrument. This. reproduced speech was then amplified by the amplifier which, in turn, was connected to the subject's earphones. Thus, the subject hears through his earphones what he has previously . , said. How later he hears his speech is dependent upon two equally im portant factors: first, the distance the recording tape must travel from the recording head to the playback head, and second, the speed at which the recording tape is traveling. That is, the amount of delay depends upon the time it takes for the moving tape to go from the recording head to the playback head. 1£ this interval of time is . 20 seconds, the delay is . 20 seconds. Naturally, if either the distance between these two heads is varied or if the speed of the tape is changed, the amount of delay will also correspondingly change. - 2 - III. Effect of the Side-Tone Delay on a Subject. It was first believed that the general effect of delaying the side-tone on a subject was to retard his speech and cause a variance in his vocal intensity. This belief was based upon the findings of previous experimenters.~ It was found at the laboratory that this phenomenon only occasionally occurred. It is thought by the investigators that the amount of difficulty experienced by the subject might be based upori his education, intelligence, social consciousness, or a combination of these three factors. In most cases it appeared that the more education and higher intelligence a sub- - ject had, the greater difficulty he experienced with the side-tone delay. - \ ¥ 3 For example, Black, John W., ·"The Effect of Delayed Side-Tone upon ,_ Vocal Rate and It1tensity," THE JOURNAL OF SPEECH AND HEARING DIS- ,- -~:;;.. ORDERS, 16, 1951, 56-60; Lee, B. S., "Some Effects of Side-Tone Delay, 11 JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, 22, 1950, 639-640; j{ and ;Lee, B. S., "Effects of Delayed Speech Feedback," JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, 22, 1950, 824-826 .. - 3 - IV. The Gaining of Confessions Dependent upon Two Factors. The use of The page appears to be the cover page of a research document. It features a title that reads "RESEARCH ON SIDE-TONE DELAY AS AN INTERROGATION DEVICE." Below the title, the word "By" is present, followed by a blank space and what appears to be a handwritten "C." A date, "May, 1953," is also visible at the bottom. In the top right corner, there is some handwritten text that is partially illegible. There are no images, stamps, forms, diagrams, tables, or redactions on this page. of Side-Tone Delay, 11 JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, 22, 1950, 639-640; j{ and ;Lee, B. S., "Effects of Delayed Speech Feedback," JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, 22, 1950, 824-826 .. - 3 - IV. The Gaining of Confessions Dependent upon Two Factors. The use of the STD instrument in obtaining confessions, the primary aim of this project, is mainly dependent upon two things -- the interrogator and his procedure. No instrument or device can even partially fulfill the basic requirement of having a good interrogator, and he must have suitable procedures to use with the STD instrument. The interrogator is the man in charge of the situation, and how he performs will determine whether the interrogation is a success or a failure. From this, one can logically conclude that the interrogator who is better qualified and trained will gain more confessions and information than the interrogator who is unqualified or who is untrained. This is true regardless '. of whether the STD instrument is or is not utilized during an interrogation. Therefore, the better interrogator will obtain more confessions with the STD instrument than the poor interrogator. The STD instrument is certainly no panacea for the poor interrogator. In fact, the poor interrogator will not only obtain little information through the use of the instrument, he possibly will hinder the investigation. - 4 - V. Procedures. Because the interrogator must have suitable procedures to use with the STD instrument, the investigators devoted the first five months of this project to developing and preliminarily experimenting with various interro- gational procedures and techniques. A great number of criminal suspects were experimented with during these months in order to determine which procedures might be the most effective. Conclusions were reached as to their practicability, and the following procedures were deemed worthy for further experimentation. These are now listed and explained along with a statement as to their value. It was decided that regardless of the type of procedure used, the subject should be instructed before the use of the STD as to what he would experience if he was not telling the truth. The actual wording of this instruction, of course, '- was based upon the subject's intelligence, but the following is a sample instruction: "This instrument is a very sensitive device, and when you lie about a fact you have mental conflicts regarding that lie. These conflicts The page is the title page of a "Final Report" titled "RESEARCH ON SIDE-TONE DELAY AS AN INTERROGATION DEVICE." The report is dated "May, 1953" and the contract period covered is "June 1, 1952 to May 31, 1953." There are handwritten annotations that appear to be single letters, "C" and "B," located in the upper and middle sections of the page. The overall document appears to be a typewritten report with minimal visual elements beyond the text and these annotations. was not telling the truth. The actual wording of this instruction, of course, '- was based upon the subject's intelligence, but the following is a sample instruction: "This instrument is a very sensitive device, and when you lie about a fact you have mental conflicts regarding that lie. These conflicts are indicated in your voice, and this instrument amplifies these conflicts and they are heard as actual stuttering and hesitations. rr4 4 When the subject asked why he even stuttered on the irrelevant questions {those questions not pertaining to the crime and to which the subject is telling the truth, e. g. , "Where were you born?"), the examiner replied: "You are not really thinking about where you were born and about those other meaningless questions. You are waiting for the crime questions to be asked, and you are worried about whether the instrument will show you are telling the truth or show that you are lying. That1 s why you stutter on these meaningless questions. " - 5 - A. Use of the Polygraph and Then the Side-Tone Delay Instrument. 1. The polygraph is used first to determine actual points of deception. Then during the oral interrogation the side -tone delay instrument is used at these points of deception. The STD switch is turned on at points of deception and is turned off when the subject is telling the truth. This procedure was found to be of great value for several reasons. First, the interrogator knew before the use of the STD on which questions ,- the subject was not telling the truth. Second, the STD is introduced after the polygraph, therefore, the interrogator's psychological position is . greatly strengthened just as the interrogation begins . - However, the objection to this procedure is that an additional instru L ment, the polygraph, must be used as well as the services of a competent L polygraph examiner. B. Joint Use of Side-Tone Delay and Polygraph Instruments. 1. Manually manipulating STD switch at points of possible deception while the polygraph is in actual operation. This method was found to be of value only when used for its psychological effect because the resulting polygraph records were too distorted for a correct interpretation. Naturally, no dependable comparison of polygraph responses could be made between the irrelevant and relevant (crime) - 6 - --------------·--- .. ··---------·- questions because of the switching on of the The provided image is a scanned page from a document, likely an index or table of contents. It features a clear "INDEX" heading at the top, followed by a list of roman numeral entries and their corresponding page numbers. The entries detail topics such as "Aims and Purpose of this Research," "How the Side-Tone Delay Was Produced," and "The Testing of Criminal Suspects." A "Page" column is aligned to the right, displaying numerical page references for each listed item. No photographs, handwritten annotations, stamps, forms, diagrams, or experimental procedure details are visible on this page. value only when used for its psychological effect because the resulting polygraph records were too distorted for a correct interpretation. Naturally, no dependable comparison of polygraph responses could be made between the irrelevant and relevant (crime) - 6 - --------------·--- .. ··---------·- questions because of the switching on of the STD at the relevant questions. This introdu-ced a strong stimulus that was not present during the irrelevant questions. This procedure was found to be of some value in those cases where it could be assumed before the examination that the subject would be lying about the matter under investigation. This assumption can only be made in those cases where the subject has been implicated in a trustworthy confession by one of his co-conspirators, or when the subject is a prisoner of-war. In the latter case, the subject is probably withholding information about his equipment, deployment of his fellow troops, and other information 1 .. that is of great value to an intelligence unit. 2. Side-tone delay in operation throughout the polygraph tests. In the majority of the cases with this procedure the STD did not materially distort the polygraph recordings so as to prevent a correct interpretation from being made, since the stimulus of the STD was constant throughout the polygraph test. The secondary aim of this project, developed by this laboratory, was to determine if more easily interpreted polygraph records could be ob ' - tained by the joint use of the STD and the polygraph. This procedure, that is,' the STD in operation throughout the polygraph tests, appeared to be the only procedure feasible to determine the value of this aim. After completely reviewing all the records obtained by this procedure it was determined that many times the polygraph records were probably much - 7 - harder to interpret, because of the use of the STD, than they would have been without its use. Sometimes the records were completely uninterpre table because of the use of the STD. Many times the subject's attention and interest were focused on the STD and its effect, rather than to whether or not he was telling the truth on the questions being asked. In fact, the STD caused two subjects, later verified as innocent, to respond during the polygraph test as guilty. These guilty responses were in contrast to their innocent responses on the polygraph tests when questioned without the use of This document page contains typed text with numbered footnotes. There are no photographs, diagrams, stamps, or handwritten annotations. There are several instances of what appear to be smudged ink marks or minor printing imperfections scattered across the page, particularly near the left margin and between lines of text. These marks do not obscure any content. The page also includes a horizontal line separating the main body of text from the footnotes. This document page is a declassified text document, likely a report or research paper, with no photographs, handwritten annotations, or official stamps. There are no forms, diagrams, or tables present. The page is primarily text, discussing the experimental setup for producing a "side-tone delay." There are no visual elements beyond the printed text and a page number "-2-" at the bottom right. The text describes a method involving a microphone, tape recorder, recording head, playback head, amplifier, and earphones, suggesting the visual layout of an experimental setup without depicting it. not he was telling the truth on the questions being asked. In fact, the STD caused two subjects, later verified as innocent, to respond during the polygraph test as guilty. These guilty responses were in contrast to their innocent responses on the polygraph tests when questioned without the use of the STD. This last procedure appeared to be the most desirable of the two r- possibilities listed under this category, Joint Use of Side-Tone Delay and Polygraph Instruments. The investigators originally thought that while the r - STD was operating there might be more difficulty on the part of the subject to answer his question smoothly when he attempted deception. Since the polygraph is believed to record mental conflicts and the fear of detection, it was thought that with the STD these conflicts might be translated into a speech impediment at the points of deception. In ordinary polygraph tests \_ it has been found that some verified guilty subjects experience mental blocks at points of deception. r- But it was found during this experiment that when an STD subject ex perienced mental blocks it had nothing to do with his truth telling. Rather, it was the effect of the STD which caused the subject to have these mental blocks, since they appeared on the irrelevant questions as well as the relevant - 8 - ..... (crime) questions of both the guilty and the innocent. At no time during this experiment did mental blocks occur only on the relevant questions. The following are the types of questions and answers that can be utilized when the STD and polygraph are used jointly: a. Direct, unambiguous questions requiring "yes" or "no" answers. This is the most commonly used type of polygraph question and answer. b. Direct, unambiguous questions with previous instruction given to the subject to use short-term answers. These answers also require the usual "yes" or "no" reply, followed by a very short sentence. Examples of this type answer are "Yes, I do," or "No, I did not". c. Direct, unambiguous questions with previous instruc- ',_ , tion given to the subject to use long-term answers. These answers also require the usual "yes" or "no" \ __ reply, but then a statement follows which repeats the j- essential points of the test question. For example, if the question was "Did you steal that $1, 000 last Saturday night?", the answer would be, to use long-term answers. These answers also require the usual "yes" or "no" \ __ reply, but then a statement follows which repeats the j- essential points of the test question. For example, if the question was "Did you steal that $1, 000 last Saturday night?", the answer would be, "No, I did not steal that $1, 000 last Saturday night. " '- d. Searching-type questions with narrative answers required, e. g. , "Where were you last night at ten o'clock?"; "I was at Kelly1s tavern drinking beer with the boys." - 9 - Of these four types of questions and answers. B, the question requiring a "yes" or "no" answer followed by a short sentenceD appeared to be the most effective when both the polygraph and STD instruments were used at the same time. It was effective because the polygraph records were usually not too distorted to prevent a diagnosis of guilt or innocence while the sub ject experienced the STD effect. However, in some cases with this type question and answer, the polygraph records were too distorted because of the STD for an interpretation to be made. When the subjects answered "yes" or "no" (type A answer). there was no apparent evidence that the STD affected them. Consequently, this type answer with the STD did not help to improve the interpretability of the poly graph records. The long-term answer (type£ answer) was objectionable in those cases involving subjects who experienced difficulty in speaking with the STD, because their resulting polygraph records were too distorted for a correct interpretation. This distortion was caused by several factors. First, the subject's polygraph respiration recording was drawn-out and thereby dis torted because the time required to answer the question was more than usual. Second, the blood pressure-pulse recording was often distorted because the subject, in experiencing speech difficulty due to the STD, attempted to express his thoughts by moving his arms and hands. When these movements occurred, the blood pressure -pulse recorder indicated movements instead of natural responses. - 10 - The narrative answer (type E_ answer) has the same disadvantages as the long-term answer, that is, the resulting polygraph records are often too distorted because of the STD. In addition to this, the polygraph examiner experienced difficulty in having the subject follow instructions, which were to respond with a full and complete answer to the question. Usually the subject's answer consisted The document page consists of typed text, forming sections 75 and 76 of a report. There are no photographs, diagrams, or tables present. Handwritten marginalia appears as a bolded "B" next to the beginning of section 75. Additionally, there are three sets of peculiar, faint markings that resemble small drawings of figures with outstretched arms on the left margin of the page, near the start of numerical references for citations. The bottom of the page displays a page number "- 3 -". This document page is primarily text-based and appears to be a typed report. There are no photographs, handwritten annotations, signatures, stamps, forms, diagrams, schematics, organizational charts, tables, or structured data visible on the page. There are also no redactions or visual evidence of experimental procedures, equipment, or facilities. The page contains a numbered section followed by paragraphs of text. The footer includes a page number and hyphen. the long-term answer, that is, the resulting polygraph records are often too distorted because of the STD. In addition to this, the polygraph examiner experienced difficulty in having the subject follow instructions, which were to respond with a full and complete answer to the question. Usually the subject's answer consisted of one or two words. For example, if the subject was asked where he was last Saturday night, he would reply, "Home", instead of the answer the subject gave before the test, "I was home with my wife and k~ds watching television. " C. Use of Only the Side-Tone Delay Instrument. '·. 1. Manual manipulation of STD switch during the interrogation at the points of possible deception. Because there is no utilization of the polygraph with this procedure, the interrogator must assume beforehand that the subject is guilty. For r . this procedure to be most effective, the interrogator must have the STD on '- whenever he believes the subject to be lying. This necessitates guessing on the part of the interrogator as to when the subject will lie. Obviously, the effectiveness of the procedure is greatly diminished as soon as the interro gator makes an erroneous guess. Probably no confession will result from a guilty subject if many such wrong guesses occur. Moreover, with this procedure the interrogator does not know before the interrogation if the subject is guilty or innocent. In the great majority - 11 - of cases the interrogator will still not know even after the interrogation. 2. The STD operating continuously and purely as an interroga tional device. a. During the interrogation, while the STD is con tinuously operating, the subject is allowed to interrupt in order to make his denials. The examiner may then call the subject to task for his failure to express himself without stuttering and/or hesitation. Again, the guilt or innocence of a subject cannot be reliably determined if this procedure is used unless the subject fully confesses or makes set:ious admissions against his interest. b. While the STD is continuously operating, the interrogator uses the technique of immediately stopping the subject from fully discussing the case while an appeal for the truth is made by the interrogator. When this appeal appears to change the tenor of the subject's denials, he is then allowed to make any explanation regarding his position in the case. In doing so he will ex perience subject from fully discussing the case while an appeal for the truth is made by the interrogator. When this appeal appears to change the tenor of the subject's denials, he is then allowed to make any explanation regarding his position in the case. In doing so he will ex perience difficulty due to the effects of the STD. When this difficulty is brought to the subject's attention it might materially aid in obtaining a confession. - 12 - Of the three possible techniques listed under this category, Use of Only the Side-Tone Delay Instrument, this last technique, Zb. ~ appears to be most effective, providing the interrogator has mastered the art of inoffensively stopping the subject from registering his denials until the interrogator invites his comments. Using this technique the interrogator must also be familiar with the changes that occur in the subject's facial expressions, physical actions, and verbal comments which will acquaint the interrogator as to the proper time to invite these comments. The obvious objection to this procedure is that unless the subject confesses, the interrogator does not know whether the subject is innocent or guilty. This particular drawback, not being able to establish the guilt or innocence of a subject, applies to all procedures in which there is no utilization of the polygraph. In a great majority of cases guilt or innocence can be readily determined by a competently conducted polygraph examina- ,. 4 tion. '. 4 As a matter of fact, all of the procedures proposed in this project fall far short of the effectiveness of the ordinary polygraph techniques. With a compe- tently conducted polygraph examination, the guilt or innocence of a subject can be determined in over 95 per cent of the cases, and over 60 per cent of those reported guilty confessed to the examiner. (These statistics are based upon those of the . laboratory in during a five-year period ending December 31, 1952.) - 13 - VI. Side-Tone Delay Instrument Is Not a Lie-Detector. During these experiments the investigators never considered the STD instrument to be a lie-detector or an instrument to be used in place of the lie-detector. The investigators never found any significant correlation whatsoever between the results of the STD tests and the subject's guilt or innocence. Therefore, the STD instrument should not be considered as a type of lie-detector. , - I, L ,-- r. '- r. - This page is a typed document with a section title "V. Procedures." and an underlined subheading. There are no photographs, handwritten annotations, or official stamps present. One numbered footnote is present, indicated by a superscript "4" after the word "hesitations." Below the main body of text, there is a horizontal line separating it from a numbered item "4" with additional text. A page number "- 5 -" is located at the bottom right corner. There are no visible redactions, diagrams, tables, or forms. The document displays typed text, organized into numbered and lettered sections, discussing the use of polygraph and Side-Tone Delay instruments. There are no photographs, handwritten annotations, signatures, official stamps, forms, diagrams, tables, or filled-in fields visible. There are no redactions or obscured content. The visual content is purely textual and does not offer any unique insights beyond the text itself regarding experimental procedures, equipment, or facilities. be used in place of the lie-detector. The investigators never found any significant correlation whatsoever between the results of the STD tests and the subject's guilt or innocence. Therefore, the STD instrument should not be considered as a type of lie-detector. , - I, L ,-- r. '- r. - 14 - ---------------···-- VII. The Testing of Criminal Suspects. After developing and preliminarily experimenting with these various procedures for five months, in November, 1952, a more suitable arrange- ment was made with the Judge of the Municipal Court The Judge agreed to steadily supply this laboratory with criminal defendants who appeared to be guilty, yet who claimed innocence. Before this time criminal-case subjects were only irregularly submitted to this laboratory by various judges of the Municipal y-·- ; 5 Court f) was in charge of Boys Court, and this court was believed ,./ by the investigators to be the most representative for this laboratory's purposes since it handles criminal preliminary hearings for boys ranging in age from 16 to 21. Also under this court's jurisdiction are adults who have l. .. been implicated in crimes with boys in this age group. Most of the cases referred to this laboratory by Boys Court were of a felonious nature, how- ever, misdemeanors were sometimes included. 5 Throughout the entire contract period many other subjects, besides those arrested for felonies and misdemeanors, were experimented with on the STD in- strument. Mainly in this group were applicants for trusted positions in various companies. These subjects were questioned concerning their general honesty, honesty at former places of employment, previous arrests, and bad habits such as excessive indebtedness, gambling, and drunkenness. Also included in these experiments were those people involved in quasi-criminal matters, such as bastardy cases from the Municipal Court. - 15 - The first of these subjects arrived on November 12, 1952. From that time until January 19, 1953, appointments were made for the examining of 51 of these subjects, of whom 26 appeared and agreed to be tested. During this period the investigators 1 main effort, besides determining the guilt or innocence of a subject, was in having the subject experience speech difficulty because of the STD. The results of these examinations follow: Table One. Outcome of the Examinations* White Colored Innocent 6 12 Guilty 1 ( 1 con 6 (3 con fession) fessions) Indefinite 0 1 {.3 'i'-""-'"1_~- *As determined by the a subject, was in having the subject experience speech difficulty because of the STD. The results of these examinations follow: Table One. Outcome of the Examinations* White Colored Innocent 6 12 Guilty 1 ( 1 con 6 (3 con fession) fessions) Indefinite 0 1 {.3 'i'-""-'"1_~- *As determined by the . Polygraph and/or full confessions. Table Two. Speech Difficulty While STD Operating** '. White Colored '. .. Innocent 2 Fours, 3 Twos, 2 Fours, 3 Threes, 1 One 3 Twos, 4 Ones Guilty 1 Two (con£.) 1 Four (con£. } , ,_ 1 Three, 1 Two (con£.), 3 Ones, (1 con£.} Indefinite None 1 Two ** Scale of Speech Difficulty Five Great difficulty Four Some difficulty Three Little difficulty Two Very little difficulty One No apparent difficult