Christie Nicholson on fMRI
Science writer Christie Nicholson has posted her informative article, “Thinking It Over: fMRI and Psychological Science” (Observer, Vol. 19, No. 9 [September 2006]) to her blog.
Symposium Casts Doubt on fMRI “Lie Detection”
Emily Singer reports for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Technology Review in “Imaging Deception in the Brain” (Wed., 7 Feb. 2007). Excerpt: Polygraph tests are notoriously unreliable, yet thousands of employers, attorneys, and law-enforcement officials use them routinely. Could an alternative system using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a technology that indirectly measures brain activity, … Read more
Classic CBS 60 Minutes Exposé on the Polygraph
In this 1986 exposé of the polygraph trade, CBS 60 Minutes set up a test in which three polygraph examiners chosen at random from the New York telephone directory were asked to administer polygraph examinations to four different employees of the CBS-owned magazine, Popular Photography, regarding the theft of a camera and lens. In fact, … Read more
Oregon Police Chiefs Seek to Overturn Polygraph Ban
Oregon is one of five U.S. states that have wisely enacted a total ban on polygraphy in the workplace. But some Oregon chiefs of police are seeking an exemption for law enforcement agencies, as Maxine Bernstein of the Oregonian reports in “Police Push to Polygraph Hires”: Anyone interested in wearing a police badge in Oregon … Read more
More on Republicans’ Push for Polygraphing Sandy Berger
Washington Times reporter Jerry Seper reports in “GOP Urges Berger Lie Test” (24 January 2007). Excerpt: Eighteen House Republicans have urged the Justice Department to proceed with a polygraph test for Samuel R. Berger, the former national security adviser who agreed to take the test as part of a plea of guilty of stealing documents … Read more
Final Exam: CBS 60 Minutes II Report on Polygraph Screening
On 12 December 2001, CBS 60 Minutes II aired an investigative report on polygraph screening. Produced by Shawn Efran and reported by Scott Pelley, the report takes an in-depth look at the U.S. Government’s misplaced reliance on polygraph screening. The concerns raised in this report remain as valid today as they were five years ago. … Read more
Republican Representatives Seek Polygraph of Democrat Sandy Berger
Fox News Channel reports that Representative Tom Davis (R-VA) is leading a group of 18 Republican members of Congress in asking the Justice Department to exercise its right under a plea agreement to polygraph former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger regarding his theft of classified documents from the National Archive: WASHINGTON — The Justice Department … Read more
George Maschke on How to Beat a Polygraph Test
In 2003, AntiPolygraph.org’s George Maschke was interviewed by Nick Frost for the tongue-in-cheek 2003 British television series, Danger: Incoming Attack. This segment, which aired as part of episode 5, may now be viewed here:
Association for Psychological Science Remembers David Lykken (1928-2006)
In its January 2007 issue, the Association for Psychological Science periodical Observer has published a tribute to David Lykken, the late eminent psychologist and polygraph critic.
FBI Dodges Senator’s Questions on Polygraph Screening
The FBI obfuscates and evades in a written response to questions posed by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) regarding the Bureau’s polygraph screening program. Senator Grassley’s questions, and the FBI’s responses, appear at pp. 47-50 of a document submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee on 30 November 2006 and made available by the Federation of American … Read more