wisdom of crowds

the gain in accuracy achieved when many individuals’ estimates are averaged. The phenomenon was first identified by Francis Galton after he examined the responses of contestants attempting to judge the weight of an ox; the average of all of these independent estimates was more accurate than were the individual estimates of experts.

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Psychology term of the day

November 21st 2024

guilty knowledge test

a form of lie detection in which knowledge about the details of a crime is tested. A polygraph examiner presents examinees with multiple-choice questions concerning the crime, to which only the guilty party should know the correct answers; it is assumed that innocent examinees will see all options as equally plausible. The polygraph examiner measures the examinees’ physiological arousal as each option is presented and identifies which option produces the highest physiological response. Over a series of questions, if an individual consistently shows the greatest response to the correct option, the examiner may identify that person as untruthful in his or her denial of knowledge of the details of the crime. See also control question test; relevant–irrelevant test.