134 REPORT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY COMMITTEE 



tion of the war, devoting their attention largely to these 

 problems. 



''Perhaps the most significant contribution is an instru- 

 ment and a method of measuring acuity of hearing at all 

 pitch levels very quickly and accurately. This is a problem 

 on which Mr. Bunch was working in cooperation with the 

 chairman, Dr. L. W. Dean, and Professor A. H. Ford. A 

 report on this instrument was transmitted by the chairman 

 of the Psychology Committee to the Surgeon General of the 

 Army. 



"Another problem undertaken in cooperation with Pro- 

 fessor Ford, in charge of the school for radio-telegraphers, was 

 the development of a series of tests to diagnose fitness for the 

 radio service before the training of the cadet was undertaken. 

 A report showing the operation of these tests was submitted 

 to the Psychology Committee. 



"The chairman has worked in close cooperation with Pro- 

 fessor G. W. Stewart, who has presented a report to the Re- 

 search Council on the selection of listeners for the detection 

 of aeroplanes." 



12. Committee on Tests for Deception. — John F. Shepard, 

 chairman, assisted by H. W. Crane and Mabel Goudge. This 

 subcommittee was appointed to make inquiry concerning the 

 reliability and practicability of certain procedures proposed 

 by William M. Marston for the detection of deception. 



By invitation of the chairman, Marston presented to the 

 Psychology Committee a summary report on his methods and 

 the results obtained in laboratory experiments. The pur- 

 pose of his report appears in the initial sentence: "I respect- 

 fully submit that three psycho-physiological deception tests 

 (association-reaction, breathing, and blood pressure) are of 

 sufficient proven value to warrant practical application." 



In response to request by Marston that the Committee 

 arrange for adequate trial of his methods, either by the War 

 Department or by the Department of Justice, he was asked 

 to make application of his methods to a number of cases of 

 actual crime, and to report the results to the Committee. 

 This was promptly done, with positive results, and the Com- 



