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The Lie Behind the Lie Detector

The dirty little secret behind the polygraph is that the "test" depends on trickery, not science. The person being "tested" is not supposed to know that while the polygraph operator declares that all questions must be answered truthfully, warning that the slightest hint of deception will be detected, he secretly assumes that denials in response to certain questions -- called "control" questions -- will be less than truthful. An example of a commonly used control question is, "Did you ever lie to get out of trouble?" The polygrapher steers the examinee into a denial by warning, for example, that anyone who would do so is the same kind of person who would commit the kind of behavior that is under investigation and then lie about it. But secretly, it is assumed that everyone has lied to get out of trouble.

The polygraph pens don't do a special dance when a person lies. The polygrapher scores the test by comparing physiological responses (breathing, blood pressure, heart, and perspiration rates) to these probable-lie control questions with reactions to relevant questions such as, "Did you ever commit an act of espionage against the United States?" (commonly asked in security screening). If the former reactions are greater, the examinee passes; if the latter are greater, he fails. If responses to both "control" and relevant questions are about the same, the result is deemed inconclusive.

The test also includes irrelevant questions such as, "Are the lights on in this room?" The polygrapher falsely explains that such questions provide a "baseline for truth," because the true answer is obvious. But in reality, they are not scored at all! They merely serve as buffers between pairs of relevant and "control" questions.

The simplistic methodology used in polygraph testing has no grounding in the scientific method: it is no more scientific than astrology or tarot cards. Government agencies value it because people who don't realize it's a fraud sometimes make damaging admissions. But as a result of reliance on this voodoo science, the truthful are often falsely branded as liars while the deceptive pass through.

Perversely, the "test" is inherently biased against the truthful, because the more honestly one answers the "control" questions, and as a consequence feels less stress when answering them, the more likely one is to fail. Conversely, liars can beat the test by covertly augmenting their physiological reactions to the "control" questions. This can be done, for example, by doing mental arithmetic, thinking exciting thoughts, altering one's breathing pattern, or simply biting the side of the tongue. Truthful persons can also use these techniques to protect themselves against the risk of a false positive outcome. Although polygraphers frequently claim they can detect such countermeasures, no polygrapher has ever demonstrated any ability to do so, and peer-reviewed research suggests that they can't.

Polygraph Countermeasure Challenge Clock On 28 January 2002, retired FBI polygraph expert Dr. Drew C. Richardson reiterated his challenge to the polygraph community to prove their claimed ability to detect countermeasures (techniques for passing -- or beating -- the polygraph). This clock figure shows the number of weeks Dr. Richardson's challenge has gone without takers. What are the polygraph operators afraid of? (Listen to a personal message from Dr. Richardson.)

442 weeks

Polygraph Dragnet Planned in Clayton County, Georgia Sheriff's Office
Kevin Rowson of WXIA television news in Atlanta reports on Clayton County sheriff Kemuel "Kem" Kimbrough's plans to subject 40-50 employees to polygraph screening in an attempt to determine who anonymously e-mailed reporters a complaint about work conditions in the department...

The Truth About the Polygraph (According to the NSA)
The National Security Agency (NSA) has produced a video about its polygraph screening program. Watch it here, along with AntiPolygraph.org's commentary...

Kaiser Fung on Lie Detectors
AntiPolygraph.org has received a complementary copy of statistician Kaiser Fung's new book, Numbers Rule Your World: The Hidden Influence of Probability and Statistics on Everything You Do (New York: McGraw Hill, 2010), a short primer on statistics written for a general audience.

Polygraph Operator Sally VanBeek Doesn't Think Sociopaths Can Beat the Lie Detector
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Seattle 911 blog today featured a video report by Parella Lewis of KCPQ-TV's Washington's Most Wanted show. Lewis interviewed Detective Sally VanBeek, a polygraph operator with the Everett Police Department, who opined that sociopaths cannot beat the polygraph.

Lee Evans, Cleared As Suspect by Polygraph, Arrested for 1978 Murders
WCBS TV reports that Lee Evans, an early suspect in the 1978 disappearance of five Newark, New Jersey teenagers, has been arrested for their murder along with another as-yet-unidentified man. The Associated Press reports that Evans had earlier been eliminated as a suspect after passing a polygraph test.

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I was set to graduate in May of 2009 from a great school with a Bachelor's Degree in Law Enforcement. I have wanted to be a police officer for a long time and growing up I was always doing things with the police and staying away from drugs and crime.

Dueling Polygraphs in Pittsburgh Beating Case
Three Pittsburgh police officers who stand accused of wantonly beating 18-year-old honor student Jordan Miles have all passed lie detector tests. But Miles also passed a lie detector test regarding the incident. So whose lie detector is lying?

Customs and Border Protection Polygraph Failure Rate Pegged at 60%
On Thursday, 11 March 2010, in testimony before a subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, it was disclosed that the failure rate associated with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pre-employment polygraph screening program stands at 60 percent.

Didn't believe the hype until today, failed the polygraph
So I read some information about polygraphs before I went to take mine. I am taking a test for Fairfax County Dispatcher testing, not a police officer, not the CIA but a dispatcher. I saw some of these websites around and thought wow they are just a bunch of paranoid, conspiracy theorists who obviously have some character flaws. I admit, this was my thought when i first looked at your website.

NSA Leaflet: Your Polygraph Test
AntiPolygraph.org has obtained a copy of an NSA leaflet titled, "Your Polygraph Examination: An Important Appointment to Keep." This leaflet, which has blanks for filling in the time, date, and place of an appointment, merits some discussion.

DOJ Rationalizes Away Polygraph's Failure to Catch Alleged Anthrax Killer Bruce Ivins
On Friday, 19 February 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the conclusion of its investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks. The DOJ maintains that Dr. Bruce Edwards Ivans, who in 2002 passed a polygraph test regarding the anthrax attacks, was the sole perpetrator.

It ended everything
It's been a long time since I spoke of this.Maybe I figured that now since everything's in the past that one of these days I'd be out of its shadow. This sadly, is not the case....

Polygraph Operator Ronald P. Bae Indicted for Felony Sexual Abuse
Polygraph operator and criminal justice professor Ronald Phillip Bae of Cottonwood, Alabama has been indicted by a grand jury on a felony charge of sexual abuse.

 

 

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