Data_Sheet_1_Concealing Untrustworthiness: The Role of Conflict Monitoring in a Social Deception Task.pdf

Deception studies emphasize the important role of event-related potentials (ERPs) to uncover deceptive behavior based on underlying neuro-cognitive processes. The role of conflict monitoring as indicated by the frontal N2 component during truthful and deceptive responses was investigated in an adapted Concealed Information Test (CIT). Previously memorized pictures of faces should either be indicated as truthfully trustworthy, truthfully untrustworthy or trustworthy while concealing the actual untrustworthiness (untrustworthy-probe). Mean, baseline-to-peak and peak-to-peak amplitudes were calculated to examine the robustness of ERP findings across varying quantification techniques. Data of 30 participants (15 female; age: M = 23.73 years, SD = 4.09) revealed longer response times and lower correct rates for deceptive compared to truthful trustworthy responses. The frontal N2 amplitude was more negative for untrustworthy-probe and truthful untrustworthy compared to truthful trustworthy stimuli when measured as mean or baseline-to-peak amplitude. Results suggest that deception evokes conflict monitoring and ERP quantifications are differentially sensitive to a-priori hypotheses.

欺骗相关研究强调了事件相关电位（Event-related Potentials, ERPs）在基于潜在神经认知过程揭示欺骗行为中的重要作用。本研究在改编版隐蔽信息测试（Concealed Information Test, CIT）中，探究了诚实与欺骗反应时由前额叶N2成分所体现的冲突监测功能。实验要求被试对此前记忆过的面部图片做出三类反应：如实标注为可信、如实标注为不可信，或是隐瞒其实际不可信属性（不可信探测刺激，untrustworthy-probe）。研究者计算了平均波幅、基线到峰波幅与峰间波幅，以检验不同量化方法下ERP研究结果的稳定性。30名被试的有效数据（15名女性；年龄：均值M=23.73岁，标准差SD=4.09）显示，相较于如实标注可信的反应，欺骗反应的反应时更长且正确率更低。当以平均波幅或基线到峰波幅进行测量时，不可信探测刺激与如实标注不可信的刺激，其前额叶N2波幅相较于如实标注可信的刺激更为负向。研究结果表明，欺骗行为会引发冲突监测，且ERP量化方式对先验假设具有差异化敏感性。