raymond.nelson wrote on Jan 16^th, 2008 at 9:21pm:

nopolycop wrote on Jan 15th, 2008 at 7:46pm: [ Correct me if I am wrong, but a poly exam is supposed to be able to tell if a person is lying or telling the truth correct?   Well, strictly speaking, you are wrong. Unless you insist on having this conversation in vague and inaccurate colloquialisms. It is common when discussing complex or unfamiliar phenomena to borrow concepts and language from more familiar contexts, but it is both reductionistic and inaccurate to stop there. Polygraph, is casually referred to as a lie detector, but that term does not adequately define or describe the test. The term psychophysiological detection of deception, though chunky, is better better because it describes what is intended - the detection of deception through the measurement of physiological response to a stimulus. The stimulus is in the form of a question about involvement in a behavior or event. In the language of testing, polygraph is simply intended to measure whether physiological reaction to the stimulus fits a model at some expected level of statistical significance. sergeant1107: Quote: When one takes a polygraph test, what is supposedly being tested is the subject's answers with regards to truth or deception. Not quite. What is being tested is the subject's reactions to the stimulus, and whether those reaction are a good or poor fit for a model. r

In light of your comments, (above) and your comments to George, I find it preposterous that a member of the American Polygraph Association, an association with a motto "Dedicated to Truth" would be making these claims.

And if that wasn't enough, the Mission Statement of the American Polygraph Association, of which you are a member, (according to their web site, makes reference to "the truth" at least three times, as indicated below:

Mission
Established in 1966, the American Polygraph Association (APA) consists of over 2500 members dedicated to providing a valid and reliable means to verify the truth and establish the highest standards of moral, ethical, and professional conduct in the polygraph field.

The American Polygraph Association continues to be the leading polygraph professional association, establishing standards of ethical practices, techniques, instrumentation, research, and advanced training and continuing educational programs.

Goals
The goal of the American Polygraph Association is to provide mankind with a valid and reliable means to verify the truth of the matter asserted by:

Serving the cause of truth with integrity, objectivity and fairness to all persons
Encouraging and supporting research, training and education to benefit members of the Association as well as those who support its purpose and by providing a forum for the presentation and exchange of information derived from such research, training and education
Establishing and enforcing standards for admission to membership and continued membership in the Association
Governing the conduct of members of the Association by requiring adherence to a Code of Ethics and a set of Standards and Principles of Practice