Hi there, I live in South Africa and want to share my very personal experience being a victim of polygraph testing:

My wife believed that I cheated on her and asked me to go for a polygraph test. I never did cheat on my wife or anything close to that so I agreed.  She got a lady through a private agency which came to us with her equipment.

In the preparational talk I asked her about the legal implications of such a test and various other technical questions on how a polygraph works.

Then the test took place. I haven't done anything close to cheating but I was nervous as I dreaded the consequences of an incorrect outcome of the test - that would identify me as a cheater. The test was hell ! I wasn't allowed to move anything, not even my tongue, which is particularly unpleasant as I was extremely nervous. We were halfway through with the test when I got so nervous that I had a panic attack. We had to discontinue the test without final results.

In a personal talk, the testing lady told my wife that even though she could not get any final results, she sees clear indication for me lying for the following reasons:
- I tried to sabotage the test technically (she was referring to my heavy breathing that came with the panick attack)
- My inquisitive questions before the test were showing that I was already preparing to be convicted and therefore was not believing in my own innocence.
- Besides that, she told my wife, the results of those questions she could ask were indicating that my reactions on critical questions, such as "did you have sexual intercourse with another woman" were clearly stronger as compared to non-critical questions.

Now I ask myself, how fucked up and shallow is this test. Clearly I was a lot more nervous when being asked about having sex with other women as when I was asked these toy-questions to calibrate the machine ! I knew that if that polygraph would turn against me my wife was ready to leave me, regardless of if I really did it or not. So surely I cannot sit there with calm confidence and just say "NO" - I sit there and I cannot breathe and I gasp out "n..o" and all the pointers go up. And this simple, silly, shallow observation is the rocket-science behind a polygraph ?

Anyway, my wife threw me out and I am living in a hotel right now. I feel bitterness for myself and other husbands that may have gone through the same. And I ask myself, do these testers actually realize the injustice and desctruction they are doing to humans ?

For 500 Rands, this lady has destroyed the lives of 4 people (we have two little daugthers), based on a cheat that never happened !