Dianetics and Lie Detection
The E-Meter in Dianetics
The E-meter is used as a religious artifact in Scientology. It is a kind of skin galvometer comprised of a small box with a meter connected to two metal cylinders (originally ordinary soup cans) that measure the responses of the patient to various questions during the auditing session. Currently, Dianetics is advertised as a stress test, an adjustment to the alleged needs of today's potential members of Scientology.
The First E-Meter, patented in 1951
While the E-Meter measured the physical reactions of the participants, a number of questions were asked that seem similar to police or FBI interrogations. Common questions included:
Are you a pervert?
Are you guilty of any major crimes in this lifetime?
Have you been sent here knowingly to injure Scientology?
Are you or have you ever been a Communist?
L. Ron Hubbard using an E-meter in the late 1960s