Since the dawn of civilization, mankind has sought ways to distinguish the truth from the lies in those individuals suspected of wrongdoing. Various inventive techniques have been tried over the centuries, many of these being ridiculous and cruel. Despite their primitiveness, each technique was based on the assumption that some form of physiological reaction occurred within a person when confronted with certain stimuli regarding a specific event. This physiological reaction would, in turn, be manifested in certain recognizable symptoms that were indicative of either honesty or deception.