Polygraph’s Relationship with Afrocentricity in South African Workplace: Deception Detection Parity, Or Parody?
Abstract:
South Africa has a diverse and multicultural Afrocentric population. A large proportion of this diversity is represented in, amongst others, the private security industry where polygraph is ubiquitously consumed for vetting purposes, and to discover and expose workplace duplicity. Since polygraph procedure retains a distinctly Westernized rigor, the objective of this treatise was to examine the potential for examinee victimization/prejudice where cross-cultural veracity/deception determination is concerned and where crucial knowledge may be deficient. This review article specifically examined the research questions relating to whether culture/beliefs/values can affect the way in which individuals respond to polygraph procedure in any way; whether the polygraph instrument can distinguish between responses across cultures; whether Afrocentricity/ethnography is specifically catered for in polygraph examinations, and whether polygraph can act as a vector for cultural/ethnic victimization during its conventional application? Utilizing electronic databases, we chose for appraisal, scholarly works from several electronic databanks, including secondary sources, published journal articles and relevant information on websites as a source of information. It was revealed that culture, customs, values, and beliefs can have a fundamental impact on the way in which polygraph is conventionally perceived and applied. Accordingly, the article advocates that a critical Afrocentric awareness be cultivated amongst South African examiners, and that polygraphy, at best, be handled with perspicuity.
Keyword:
Afrocentricity, ethnography, culture, belief, bias, polygraph, veracity, deception, victimization, private security industry, South Africa.