1.) Does each control question during the polygraph examination have to be answered in combination with
a countermeasure in order to control the outcome or will answering most control question with a countere measure work sucessfully?

2.) I have read the entire book entitled "The Lie Behind the Lie Detector."  However, I am not sure I can
identify all control questions.  Please, tell me if thist is enough to identify one when it is asked.

           A.)  It differs from a relevant question because it is assumed that the answer is "Yes" for everyone.
           B.)  Any question that could have to answers (ex. Since you were 18, have you ever lied to you mother or girlfriend).

Any comments and answers to these question would be greatly appreciated.

P.S.  Any untruthful answers written by a polygrapher further demonstrates you willingness to use trickery and lies to decieve the public. 

lookingforhire,

With regard to your first question:

Quote:


The answer to this question will depend on the scoring method employed by the polygrapher. Note that the more fundamental question underlying yours is this: to pass a polygraph interrogation, must one's physiological response to each "control" question be greater than one's response to the corresponding relevant question?

In two common techniques, the Zone Comparison Test (ZCT) and the Modified General Question Test (MGQT), the answer to this question appears to be "yes." A 1995 Department of Defense Polygraph Institute document titled Test Data Analysis states (at p. 47 of the PDF file) that in the ZCT, "There must be a '+' in every SPOT TOTAL with a GRAND TOTAL of +6 or more, for an NDI [no deception indicated] opinion. A '-3' in any one SPOT TOTAL will form the basis for a DI (deception indicated) opinion. A '-2' to a '0' in any one SPOT TOTAL, where no SPOT TOTAL is '-3' or greater or the GRAND TOTAL is not '-6' or +6 or greater, equals an Inconclusive exam."

A "spot" is a pair of adjacent relevant and "control" questions. Based on the above, to pass the ZCT, one must produce a greater reaction to each "control" question than to the corresponding relevant question. In scoring a "spot," a positive score indicates that reactions to the "control" question were greater, while a negative score indicates that reactions to the relevant question were greater.

Similarly, with regard to the MGQT, the same document states (at p. 49 of the PDF file): "There must be at least a '+3' in every SPOT TOTAL to arrive at the opinion of NDI. A '-3' in any SPOT TOTAL, regardless of the other SPOT TOTALS will be the basis for a DI opinion. Any other combination not meeting the criteria for DI or NDI is considered inconclusive."

So in both of these techniques (commonly used in crime-related polygraph interrogations), stronger physiological reactions to each "control" question are required for one to "pass" the "test." My understanding is that there are other scoring techniques, however, in which the subject may pass if the strongest physiological reactions in an entire question series are to a "control" question without regard to individual spot scores.

With regard to identifying "control" questions, there is no simple formula like that which you seek. One must understand the rationale for "control" questions and then identify them in the context of the relevant and irrelevant quesions with which they are presented. I suggest you re-read Chapter 3 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector and for further reading on "control" questions, see Chapter 8 of David T. Lykken's A Tremor in the Blood: Uses and Abuses of the Lie Detector (2nd ed., Plenum Trade, 1998).

keep us posted on how it goes!!! Good luck!!