Superman,

Doug is mistaken about this.

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Ya know i asked doug about this and he said that it would not work, so who do i believe?

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You're right. The technique involves lying to the examinee, telling them the "box" works. Even though the machine produces a graph, there's no way for the examiner or the "uneducated" to say what is and what is not a truthful response or a deceptive response. Of course, the examiner will try to convince you with card tricks and other stim tests that it does work, but it's all show. If we can get enough people educated, polygraph will be an exhibit tucked away in a dark dusty hallway near the Clinton Legacy display at the Smithsonian.

  I personally believe the polygraph is a great tool for interrogation of the uneducated but nothing more.  The readings that the machine records should be destroyed after the examination, as they are worthless.  It's sad that people are accused of lying because of an examiner's ability to interpret physiological responses to questions.  It's a witch-hunt not all that different than Arthur Miller's story of The Crucible.

Thanks for your help!

CalifMike,

Yes, self-induced fear while answering the control questions can be a highly effective (and undetectable) countermeasure. You'll find this addressed at pp. 77-78 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector:

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In peer-reviewed research conducted by Professor Charles R. Honts and others (see the bibliography of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector for citations and article abstracts), such mental countermeasures and physical countermeasures were equally effective.

???  Thank you for your response Mr. Maschke.  I have read "The Lie Behind the Lie Detector" and Doug Williams' "How to Sting the Polygraph" several times.  However, these publications do not mention whether the victim that must undergo a polygraph "test" can simply think about something unrelated to generate fear.  For example, let's say I was asked a control question, "Is there anything in your background that you are afraid that our investigation might find out?"  By nature, this would immediately induce fear.  The next question is relevant, "Have you violated this department's Standards for Drug Usage?"  If I were to lie, or felt uncertain, my response would be similar to that of the control question.  Therefore, is it possible to manipulate the polygraph results by thinking of something fearful during control questions?  i.e. thinking to yourself that the investigator might found out something negative about you or totally unrelated such as falling down an elevator shaft.

It seems to me that it should be possible to induce fear without using conscious countermeasures such as constricting the anal sphincter and changing your breathing? Some polygraphers have made claims that they can tell when their subjects are using these countermeasures.
Are mental countermeasures, such as thinking yourself into fear, simply not enough?  Or is it truly easier to use the prescribed countermeasures as described in the various publications mentioned above?

Note that polygraph "tests" cannot truly detect deception: polygraphers make inferences regarding a subject's veracity based on their physiological responses to a set of questions. The technique has not been proven to work better than chance under field conditions.

The outcome of a polygraph "test" can be manipulated by the subject through the use of countermeasures which you'll find explained in The Lie Behind the Lie Detector. Reducing one's fear of the polygraph through understanding of the trickery on which polygraphy depends (and knowing how to subtly augment one's physiological responses to the so-called "control" questions) could certainly help one to pass, regardless of whether one is telling the truth or not.

???  My question is in regards to fear and its role in the polygraph examination.  If I were able to control my fear would that prevent the detection of deception?