THE VOLUNTEERS WERE ENROLLED IN UNDERGRADUATE CRIMINAL JUSTICE COURSES AT MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY IN THE FALL 1977 TERM. SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO 9 GROUPS, EACH CONTAINING 15 MALES AND 15 FEMALES. EACH GROUP USED A DIFFERENT COMBINATION OF PLACEBO AND FEEDBACK. SUBJECTS WERE GIVEN LACTOSE PLACEBOS COUPLED WITH THE SUGGESTION THAT THE MEDICINE WOULD EITHER HELP OR HINDER THEM IN THEIR ATTEMPT TO MISLEAD THE EXAMINER. THEY WERE ALSO GIVEN ARBITRARY FEEDBACK CONCERNING A 'DEMONSTRATION' CARD TEST IN WHICH THEY WERE LED TO BELIEVE THEY EITHER BEAT THE TEST OR WERE CORRECTLY DETECTED. THE CONTROL SUBGROUPS RECEIVED NO SUCH TREATMENTS. A STANDARD FIELD POLYGRAPH WAS USED TO RECORD THE SUBJECTS' RESPIRATION AND SKIN RESISTANCE RESPONSES (SRR), WHICH WERE THEN OBJECTIVELY SCORED. BIOGRAPHICAL, PERFORMANCE EXPECTANCY, AND ATTITUDINAL DATA WERE ALSO COLLECTED. FINDINGS INDICATED THAT THE PLACEBO AND FEEDBACK CONDITIONS DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY EFFECT THE POLYGRAPH'S DETECTION EFFICIENCY. FEMALE SUBJECTS EXHIBITED SIGNIFICANTLY LESS ELECTRODERMAL ACTIVITY THAN THE MALES DURING TESTING. ALSO, RESPIRATION WAS FOUND TO BE AS VALID AN INDICATOR OF DECEPTION AS WAS GALVANIC SKIN RESPONSE. LEVELS OF DETECTION FOR THE FOUR PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASURES EXAMINED WERE ALL SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN CHANCE LEVELS. SIX FIGURES, 44 TABLES, 7 APPENDIXES, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY LISTING 153 REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)