Passedbutfailed,
I'm saddened but not surprised to learn of your FBI polygraph experience. The FBI pre-employment polygraph failure rate is reportedly near 50% at present; there can be little doubt that many truthful persons are being falsely accused of deception and wrongfully disqualified. I hope you'll consider joining us in working to expose
and end polygraph waste, fraud, and abuse. (Sharing your experience here, as you have done, is a good first step.)
I suggest that you promptly appeal the FBI's decision in writing and request copies of all FBI documentation related to your application, including your polygraph "test," under the Privacy Act. See Chapter 5 of
The Lie Behind the Lie Detector for suggestions on how to proceed. You might also wish to contact attorney Mark S. Zaid
<ZaidMS@aol.com>, who is representing a number of plaintiffs who are suing the FBI, DEA, and U.S. Secret Service over their polygraph policies.
It is interesting that you were not administered a "stim test," as including one seems to be standard operating procedure for FBI polygraphers.
With regard to the procedure where you were asked not to vocally respond to questions, it appears to have been a technique commonly referred to as the "Silent Answer Test." James Allen Matte describes it in Chapter 19 of
Forensic Psychophysiology Using the Polygraph (J.A.M. Publications, 1996). The following excerpt from pp. 514-15 helps explain the rationale for this technique:
Quote:
Research conducted by Frank S. Horvath and John E. Reid (1972) revealed that the Silent Answer Test produces better respiratory patterns by eliminating causes of distortions from the examinee who prepares himself or herself to answer each question aloud by inhaling a great amount of air; from the examinee who loudly bellows his or her answer to emphasize his or her denial; from the examinee who feels compelled to give an elaborate answer instead of a simple "yes" or "no" as instructed; and from the examinee whose throat is dry or irritated necessitating the clearing of his or her throat or coughing at intervals during the test.
Their research further indicated an enhancement of the utility of the electrodermal (GSR) recording. The SAT not only produced a chart with greater purity of tracing but also acted as an effective stimulation test for the subsequent polygraph tests/charts requiring a verbal answer.
The stimulating effect of the silent answer test on the guilty examinee may be due to the dilemma encountered when told he or she is not to answer the questions aloud but truthfully and silently to himself or herself. Previously the examinee has geared his or her defenses so that his or verbal answer to the relevant questions would not betray him or her. Now the examinee wonders whether he or she should answer those questions truthfully to himself or herself and presumably not show a reaction, which may reflect a different pattern than the previous charts, or silently answer them the same way as before and perhaps show a strong reaction as he or she may have on previous charts. This causes an inner conflict, a feeling of helplessness, which carries over into the subsequent test requiring a verbal response. The guilty examinee must now readjust his or her defenses again in preparation for his or her verbal responses to the relevant questions, which causes his or mind to race inasmuch as the two tests are administered back-to-back. The examinee's concern is on the relevant questions, which are now an even greater threat to his or her well-being which increases the strength of his or her psychological set onto the relevant questions and creates greater and clearer responses. The Silent Answer Test has the effect of enhancing the threatening power of the relevant questions to the guilty examinee, and conversely also enhances the innocent examinee's concern over the probable-lie control questions inasmuch as the relevant questions should be of no concern to him or her.
While most polygraph techniques employ the Silent Answer Test as a stimulation test and/or countercountermeasure, usually after the second chart, some polygraph techniques use the SAT as the very first test prior to the administration of the relevant issue test and include the SAT data in their decision-making process.
Whether the subject is told to answer the questions verbally or "mentally," the key to passing is still to produce stronger physiological responses to the "control" questions than to the relevant questions.
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FBI Polygraph Experience (Read 2687 times)
