Lie Detector Tests

Introduction: The science project I chose to do is called “Pinocchio’s Arm.” It is a lie detector test figured out by the force given out on your arm. The purpose of my experiment is to see if when someone is lying they have a greater or less force on their arm when telling a lie. I think that if someone tells a lie they will have a greater force on their arm because they are nervous about telling a lie. A goal I hope to achieve after doing this is to be able to easily tell if someone is lying or not just by feeling how much force they have on there arm. The reason why I wanted to do this project is because I always wondered if a story I was being told, or if I asked a question, if I was being given true information. My prediction is that when you lie, the pressure on your arm will increase when being pressed down on. This is something that’s always been curious on my mind and excited to find out.
Background Information: There is a certain study called “theory of mind” and it is the ability to understand all of the different mental states and understand that everyone’s intentions are different from our own (Lee, Klang). One of the mental states is pretending, which goes along with lying. When someone lies it’s considered to say that they are “role-playing” and make believing what could of happened. Another way some scientists describe this is empathy. Empathy is to put able to put yourself in place of someone else (Merriam-Webster). Lying is a integral part of the “theory of mind” so parents shouldn’t be afraid or upset once they first lie because it is all a part of the developmental process (Osmoslka). So it is very healthy for kids to lie once in awhile. There is a marked increase for kids between ages 3 and 5 to start devolving these lying strategies (Morgan). One interesting fact is that most autistic kids lack this part of the theory of mind and are