Baseline Familiarity in Lie Detection

Subjects judged the veracity of truthful and deceptive communicators after viewing 0, 1, 2, or 4 case-relevant baseline exposures (familiarity) of truthful communication. A positive linear relationship was found between detection accuracy and amount of baseline familiarity. More specifically, observers who viewed four samples of baseline information judged deception more accurately than observers who viewed zero samples of baseline information. Results also indicated an increase in the frequency of truth judgments across familiarity conditions. This increase, however, only approached statistical significance. Results are discussed and future directions in lie detection research are suggested.