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The authors investigated the reliability of confessions obtained under the influence of sodium amytal. Nine subjects were selected at random from a volunteer group of university students and professional persons. These individuals were asked to tell the true story of some shameful episode in their lives to one examiner; to another, they told a 'cover story' which concealed or distorted the original incident. The second interviewer later administered amytal and sought to obtain the correct facts.
The personalities of the experimental subjects were ascertained on the basis of life histories. Results showed that the three individuals diagnosed as normal were able to maintain their cover stories despite the influence of the drug. Of the six others diagnosed as neurotic, two promptly revealed the truth; the others confessed in part, mingling truth and fantasy. The investigators conclude that neurotics with strong feelings of guilt, depression, and anxiety are most likely to confess under sodium amytal. Correspondingly, the value of testimony obtained by such means is of dubious value for courtroom procedures. These experimental results may also serve to throw some light on perplexing confessions at public trials in totalitarian countries.