Neo wrote on Sep 10^th, 2003 at 4:22pm:

What caused you to be nervous?  Are there any concerns that were directly related to the relevant issues? Neo

I can't speak for Retest, but when I took my polygraphs, I was quite nervous through the whole sessions (all three of them).  It had very little to do with "concerns about the relevant issues" and a lot to do with fear that I was going to be rejected from job candidacy, or worse, seen as a criminal.  The nervousness especially manifested itself on questions regarding serious crimes.

Perhaps this is something some of those in authority are blind to, but when an authority figure starts questioning you, it can be a tad nervewracking, regardless of whether you've done anything wrong.  I was brought up to respect authority figures, and I don't want them thinking bad things about me (perhaps irrational, but even so).

As I see it, this is one of the fundamental flaws in the polygraph -- especially as it seems to be used right now by certain agencies (Relevant/Irrelevant format).

Skeptic