polygraph...

how is the poly graded? i'm sure they issue a score rather than a pass /or fail?

thx in advance.

It is more pass/unsure/fail than a score. It is scored, deception/apparent deeption/no deception. Whatever issues or concerns (ie. the specific problem areas or questions would then be noted.

An example poly report would be:
Evaluator noted apparent deception. Evaluator noted irregular respiratory responses in addition to marked BP and galvanic skin response consistent with deception when applicant was questioned in areas concerning employee theft and recreational drug use.

A second interview was conducted and the applicant was advised of the apparent deception noted and those questions were disclosed. The applicant advised he had not disclosed a minor incident of theft in his background packet. He said he had forgotten about this theft until the test began. The applicant advised this involved a conspiracy to steal a case of beer from his employer at a restaurant job he had in high school (August 1998).

Applicant advised he had no explanation for apparent deception noted in questions relating to recreational drug use. A second battery of recreation drug use questions was administered and applicant continued to exhibit marked indications of deception relating to questions 9-12 in appendix B, as noted. These responses are similar and consistent with the responses to questions 21-24 in appendix A. All of these noted responses were inconsistent and dissimilar to the responses noted in control questions 1-4, 7, 12, 14, 17, 18 and 25 in appendix A and control questions 1, 3, 5-7, 13 and 15 in appendix B.

Finding: Deception

*cough* Polygraphs measure stress, not deception. Someone may find a question about e.g. employee theft and recreational drug use highly stressful because they did it and are lying; because they think that the examiner thinks they did it but are innocent; because their mom died from it; because they are about to fart; because they think the examiner looked at them weird and are nervous about the situation and worried they won't pass; etc. There is no way for the polygraph operator to conclusively discern which is the case.

(I highly recommend Paul Ekman's books on this subject. Very interesting stuff. )

But, interesting to know what they look like in practice; thanks for the info, mm4l.

During my hiring process at one department I took a polygraph -- and yes I told the truth -- and yes, I failed.

At another place, I again (of course) told the truth, and got a "neutral finding." The poligrapher could not come up with a decision. I went to another poligrapher for that department, answered all the same questions (or similar) in all the same ways, and passed just fine.

At the department I now work at, I passed the first try with flying colors; Again, answering truthfully.

In the end it is important to remember that polygraphs are as much a part of the interpretation of the readings from the poligrapher, as they are a part of the person taking the test.

I personally hate the things -- I always thought "no big deal," but when I "failed" one while telling the truth, I stopped liking them... heheheh.

Motorman is right in how the test is conducted though....

interesting...stress huh. i was in good shape til after my poly and psych, but then got put on the eligible list; hence, they asked me to re-apply.

The examiner asked me the questions twice. and each time she asked, she paused for what seemed like an eternity. stressful.

any tips? and i did tell the truth, or at least what i remember to have been true.

Just tell the truth... that's all I know.

saizai said:

*cough* Polygraphs measure stress, not deception. Someone may find a question about e.g. employee theft and recreational drug use highly stressful because they did it and are lying; because they think that the examiner thinks they did it but are innocent; because their mom died from it; because they are about to fart; because they think the examiner looked at them weird and are nervous about the situation and worried they won't pass; etc. There is no way for the polygraph operator to conclusively discern which is the case.

(I highly recommend Paul Ekman's books on this subject. Very interesting stuff. )

But, interesting to know what they look like in practice; thanks for the info, mm4l.

Click to expand...

The polygraph is a machine. The real measure is the skill of the polygraph operator. The operator conducts an interview with the person beng polygraphed. If the operator is any good they figure out what areas they want to probe during the interview. In reality they typically only ask about 8-10 questions will the person is actually hooked up to the machine. The person knows exactly what questions will be asked. Its typically during the interview that the polygrapher gest the information they want and not during the actual polygraph test. I've worked with soe really great polygraphers and soom pretty poor ones. Its all about their investigative skills, interview skills, and people skills. Same goes for voice stress analyzers.

antarius said:

Just tell the truth... that's all I know.

Click to expand...

oh i did; but, i'm one of those people that get a lil iffy when probed, even tho i am telling the truth. i can lie better than tell the truth i guess. lol.

dunno. but thx for all the insights folks.

stunna, I hear ya. I get nervous everytime I take them; And even more so because I've failed to pass one before (and yes, as I said, I did tell the truth on that one as well)....

Nonetheless, all you can do is tell the truth, think hard and be as thorough in your answers and possible!

Good luck!

silversvs - You're absolutely right, it depends a lot on the operator. Which of course makes it non-objective...

If, for example, the operator can CONVINCE the testee that they will be TOTALLY COOL if they tell the truth and ABSOLUTELY FUCKED if they lie, then that will tend to set up the right stress response.

But of course it has the same pitfalls as all other interviewing. Viz. false memory creation techniques.

i studied about ploygraphs a little in psych class in college. they are subjective and stupid. they make more innocent people look guilty than they do actual guilty people! why do u think they aren't admissible in court? it's really just a worthless machine, IMO.

Burner said:

i studied about ploygraphs a little in psych class in college. they are subjective and stupid. they make more innocent people look guilty than they do actual guilty people! why do u think they aren't admissible in court? it's really just a worthless machine, IMO.

Click to expand...

hence, why i think its a point based system...i think. damn, no barf polygraphers up in hea???

Well, I haven't taken a poly, and from what I hear they are a whole different animal than the "voice stress analizer" that I took here VERY recently.

To be honest, I was finding the whole thing rather amusing (I had nothing to hide), and it showed - my results were unusual, but only because I showed a lot less stress than most people do. Yes, I needed to pass, but I just couldn't get over how amusing the whole process was!

The only question I got a really weird response on was regarding domestic abuse - granted, I think my voice caught in my throat a little (I had been coughing on and off prior to this), but also my parents had issues with DV - never involved us kids, but I saw and experienced it nonetheless - even though my hubby and I haven't even ever had a fight of any kind (my dad still has trouble believing that).

I can see how someone who is a compulsive lier (like my father), who creates in their mind an "alternate" version of events, could easily pass one of these tests, while someone who was innocent, but stressing out would fail...

Just to follow up on what saizai said....they can also give false positives if the question just psychs you out...like if you know someone who committed a major crime and saw how it affected their life, and you are an all around honest person, you might show a response to questions about that type of crime even though you didn't commit it.

Also, don't let the examiner psych you out...like they might say "Well, I detect some deception here, so I'm going to have to retest you on a few of these." Just assume they are lying to get a response out of you, which I heard they sometimes do on random questions just to see if you fess up to anything. Go in there thinking it is all bullshit and with the assumption that you can get around a thumbs down from the examiner. I know someone who got a thumbs down and worked with the department to get around it and get hired. My understanding is that if the department likes you they'll try to get you past the polly.