Aviation Security: TSA Should Limit Future Funding for Behavior Detection Activities
[READ IN FULL at gao.gov, both the product page and the accessible full text] United States Government Accountability Office (2013). 'Aviation Security: TSA Should Limit Future Funding for Behavior Detection Activities.' GAO-14-159. THE STRONGEST MATERIAL IN THE FILE AND FULLY VERIFIED. THE HEADLINE FINDING, VERBATIM: 'Available evidence does not support whether behavioral indicators, which are used in the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) program, can be used to identify persons who may pose a risk to aviation security. GAO reviewed four meta-analyses (reviews that analyze other studies and synthesize their findings) that included over 400 studies from the past 60 years and found that the human ability to accurately identify deceptive behavior based on behavioral indicators is the same as or slightly better than chance.' THE FIGURE, stated twice in the body: 'The meta-analyses we reviewed, which collectively included research from over 400 separate studies related to detecting deception conducted over the past 60 years, found that the ability of human observers to accurately identify deceptive behavior based on behavioral cues or indicators is the same as or slightly better than chance (54 percent).' FURTHER VERIFIED FINDINGS: a 2011 meta-analysis 'showed weak correlations between most behavioral cues studied and deception. For example, the meta-analysis showed weak correlations for behavioral cues that have been studied the most, such as fidgeting, postural shifts, and lack of eye contact'; a 2006 meta-analysis of trained and untrained observers 'found no difference in their ability to detect deception'; a 2007 meta-analysis found that increases in hand, foot and leg movements 'are diametrically opposed to observed indicators of deception in experimental studies, which indicate that movements
[READ IN FULL at gao.gov, both the product page and the accessible full text] United States Government Accountability Office (2013). 'Aviation Security: TSA Should Limit Future Funding for Behavior Detection Activities.' GAO-14-159. THE STRONGEST MATERIAL IN THE FILE AND FULLY VERIFIED. THE HEADLINE FINDING, VERBATIM: 'Available evidence does not support whether behavioral indicators, which are used in the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) program, can be used to identify persons who may pose a risk to aviation security. GAO reviewed four meta-analyses (reviews that analyze other studies and synthesize their findings) that included over 400 studies from the past 60 years and found that the human ability to accurately identify deceptive behavior based on behavioral indicators is the same as or slightly better than chance.' THE FIGURE, stated twice in the body: 'The meta-analyses we reviewed, which collectively included research from over 400 separate studies related to detecting deception conducted over the past 60 years, found that the ability of human observers to accurately identify deceptive behavior based on behavioral cues or indicators is the same as or slightly better than chance (54 percent).' FURTHER VERIFIED FINDINGS: a 2011 meta-analysis 'showed weak correlations between most behavioral cues studied and deception. For example, the meta-analysis showed weak correlations for behavioral cues that have been studied the most, such as fidgeting, postural shifts, and lack of eye contact'; a 2006 meta-analysis of trained and untrained observers 'found no difference in their ability to detect deception'; a 2007 meta-analysis found that increases in hand, foot and leg movements 'are diametrically opposed to observed indicators of deception in experimental studies, which indicate that movements
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United States Government Accountability Office (2013). Aviation Security: TSA Should Limit Future Funding for Behavior Detection Activities. GAO-14-159.