I have been reading TLBTLD and the message boards for the past week.  I will be taking a polygraph test regarding theift pretty soon.  I have a few questions; 1) When the polygrapher is asking "control" questions, do i just use countermeasures (anal sphincter, biting tounge, mental thoughts)  to increase my reactions? 2) How exactly do they increase the reactions? 3) Do I just maintain my breathing while relevant questions are asked? Or can I use another countermeasure? Any additional tips and advice is welcome. I'd like to thank antipolygraph.org for providing  an exceptional amount of info. Will post results of poly somtime next week. Thanks guys!

George,
I recently read the book published online about the whole polygraph process, its history, and countermeasures. I have an upcoming test with a large LE agency in the state of Arizona(which ive heard horrible things about on this site). I have nothing to hide, however, I have heard horror stories of honest people failing these tests, so naturally I began to research countermeasures. From what I've read, the mental calculations seem to be th best fit for me(counting by 7s backwards from and arbitrary number). The only information I have found, however, is to use this when ANY control question is recognized. I suppose I was hoping for more hands-on examples in the book, such as a sample test which tells you when to use the calculations, or something of that nature. 
Maybe Im just confused since my understanding of the control question concept is a little fuzzy. They are designed to make you lie? one of the sample questions the book gave was, "have you ever lied before?" to me, it would seem reasonable to answer this one truthfully, so why would I want to augment my reactions to that? or am I just missing the whole concept. If possible Id just like some clarification on this matter. Ive read a lot of other posts searching for this info and you seem to be the best person to answer these questions. Maybe a test sample which tells when to employ the measures and when not to, anything like that. Im not sure how to use personal messages on this site, but feel free to send one and I will figure it out. I just dont want to blow this opportunity because of some dumb machine. To me it seems almost as dumb as it would be for colleges to use the "magic 8ball" for admission decisions. thanks for your time and I look forward to your response.

This message has been edited to protect your anonymity. Specifically, information about your testing arrangements was removed. -- AntiPolygraph.org Administrator

george,
thank you very much for the advice. i actually just returned from arizona after taking the written and physical tests for the police officer position. after passing both of these tests the remaining candidates received their background packets. i noticed when the officer was explaining our packets, he was already preparing us for our polygraph interviews by telling us how it is important that we are honest above all else and how reliable the machine is. i have nothing to hide but even in there i think i was only taking about 5 breaths a minute! i hope i dont get tripped u by this.
francis

Francis,

Polygraphers expect everyone to breathe at 15-30 breaths per minute. If you breathe at a rate of only five breaths per minute, you can expect to be accused of attempted polygraph countermeasures and removed from the hiring process.

And as you correctly surmised, "comparison" and "control" questions are different terms for the same thing.