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                                     July 11 1953
                                                                        ON
          fCO1,9@ENTS ON THE FINAL REPORT OF
              RESEARCH ON SIDE TONE DELAY AS AN INTERROGATIOIT DEVICE
        The comments given here cover some of the background  and  several
        as ects of the results of the research which appear to merit further
         p
        consideration.
        The possible use of side tone delay in interrogation procedures was
   C_--conoeived by the undersigned while employed in the
                 during the early months of 1951.  Preliminary contacts were
        made with tvvo          laboratories to ex              sibility of a
        coordinated investigation of the matter*                 expressed
        interest and demonstrated in the 2discussion his  understanding  of
        scientific methods, techniques, etc-.  @lle thereupon performed pre-
        liminary experiments and subsequently obtained support for the
        investigation.
        Because of the uncertain status of the undersignod arising from his
        employment in the                           ancl, i,urthermore, the
        imniinence of a leave of absence to enter into another research contract,
    (@'-,ttie pr2ime contract was undertaken by             *itti trie work of the
        undersigned carried out by means of a subcontracto
        The objectives of the program as laid out,,,'in a meeting of the support-
        ing agency with the investigators covered the following:
             1. Research to determine the conditions, if any, under which
                side tone delay could be utilized to advantage in interrogation.
             2. An invest2igation of the possibility of concurrent use of side
                tone delay with the polygraph in a feed-back arrangement.
             3. The d-evelopment of a side tone delay method not requiring
                attachments to the subject.
               final report contains one objective conclusion that the side
        tone will not produce false confessionse  Otherviise, th.e report oon-
        sists of several opinions which cannot be considered substantiated 2in
        a satisfactory manner.  The report does not demonstrate an understanding
        of the funderm-ental difference between a research and development project
        on the one hand and a project for field testing a developed instrument
        on the other hand,
        The conclusions reached.in an analysis of the ten cases described from
        page 19 to pase 27 fall into one of two categories depending upon
        whether a confession was or was not obtained; "t0he STD did not help

                                          -2-
          to'i.-nprov- the polygraph records, nor did it help to gain S. con-
          fe3sion't when the subject did not confiass, or "the interrov-ator
          believed that          would have confessed without tqe STDif when
          the subject did -&orife s.  These conclusions are not objective.
          Viith respect t2o the apparatus requiring no subject attachment,
                               riacl no experimental basis for the statement on
          page 33 that "it is  believed that this arrangement will not help to
          obtain confessionselt
          The most serious defect in the experimental work was that the investi-
          gators did not clearly recognize what is per@-iaps the outstanding single
          observation of t2heir work -- that they were gaining an effect in those
          cases where no stuttering  existed.  Recognition  of  this  fact  should
          have led to an investigation of delay times in ever-y case below
          those necessary to produce stuttering.  It is presumably not
          necessary to block completely the subject's speoc.@i in or-der to
          subject hiin to mental difficulty.  Clearly, t2he optimuri amount of
          delay is that required to produce a more or les3 unformulated
          thought within the mind of the subject that he is betraying the.
                                   'Nhen a subject r--raerks "Stop trying to  fool
          fact that he is lying.
          nie with this," the desired threshold  obviously  has  been  overstepped
          seriously.
          It is the belief of the9 undersi,;ned that much remains to  be  dorie  on
          t',-,Ie gubject and that no concliisive statement on the degree of utility
          of side tone delay can be made at this time.