title: Detecting lies about consumer attitudes using the timed antagonistic response alethiometer.
abstract: The Timed Antagonistic Response Alethiometer (TARA) is a true-false statement classification task that diagnoses lying on the basis of slower average response speeds. Previous research (Gregg in Applied Cognitive Psychology, 21, 621-647, 2007) showed that a computer-based TARA was about 80 % accurate when its statements conveyed demographic facts or religious views. Here, we tested the TARA's diagnostic potential when its statements conveyed attitudes-here, toward both branded and generic consumer products-across different versions of the TARA (Exps. 1a, 1b, and 1c), as well as across consecutive administrations (Exp. 2). The results generalized well across versions, and maximal accuracy rates exceeding 80 % were obtained, although accuracy declined somewhat upon readministration. Overall, the TARA shows promise as a comparatively cheap, convenient, and diagnostic index of lying about attitudes.
authors.affiliation: University of Southampton, Southampton, UK, aiden@soton.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Aiden P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Gregg
authors.forename: Nikhila
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mahadevan
authors.forename: Sonja E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klymowsky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008014:Lie Detection; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult