As with the SVA, so with the polygraph: Vrij agues that it should not be admitted as a substantial, reliable and valid, piece of evidence in court but could be used to advance investigations if treated cautiously.
The last chapter (Chapter 8) is entitled Guidelines and Implications for Detecting Lies in Professional Practice. I must admit I found this chapter a little disappointing and tepid. The chapter discusses seven characteristics of a good liar; recapitulates Chapters 2ยฑ7 under the subheading `Three ways of detecting lies' and restates the poor quality of detection in both lay and professional people, and the impotence associated with training methods in deception detection.
The Guidelines comprise pp. 222ยฑ225 and are somewhat anodyneรbe suspicious, probe, do not reveal important information, be informed, ask for repetition of what has been said before, watch and listen carefully and abandon stereotypes, and lastly, compare liars' behaviour with their natural behaviour. In terms of the espoused target audience these guidelines will not be received with wild enthusiasm because they are either already being exercised, are incapable of execution, or are known to lead to situations where it is even more difยฎcult to detect deception.
Overall, this book was very well written with only the frequently appearing `I shall return to this issue later' grating a little. It is a model of research explication and a useful guide to researchers on how to approach ambiguous, paradoxical or even conยฏicting ยฎndings. The book should prove to be an invaluable contribution to the ยฎeld and will be a goldmine for the numerous undergraduates undertaking forensic courses at core or option levels and for the ever-increasing number of Masters students in forensic psychology.