In partial reply to Dash, but with my own comments:
I got the same thing from my last polycrap too with regard to breathing. The interrogator wanted a constant, regular breathing pattern from me, or so he said. So I did just that. Halfway through the test, he asked why I was controlling my breathing! I must have sounded like Forrest Gump when his DI asked him why he had cleaned his rifle so fast: "Because you told me to, sir."
I am on federal probation, so for the record, I don't have to pay for these tests. Thought you all might like to know that from an experiential point of view.
Also, my experience from last time was interesting, and I would appreciate an analysis from George or anyone else...
-the interrogator did not discuss the questions in detail with me prior to the "test". He just alluded to topics that he would ask about (he did keep to those topics).
-he asked all the RQ's first, before accusing me of using CM's (breathing, supra).
-he then went off about me being the type who might be investigated again for whatever, blahblahblah. However, he did not try to extract a confession from me.
-he then asked me questions about lies I might have told, etc, to friends, trusted persons, and so on. It was prep for the CQs, and I knew that. However, he did not discuss specific CQ's with me, and only tried to narrow his focus ("other than what you have told me...") during the actual questioning.
-after that, he abruptly ended it with "all right, I'm done with you." He then proceeded to misrepresent what I did to my PO, who was po'ed a little (pun intended), but eventually seemed to calm down about it.
Question to the brains here: could this polygrapher have simply not been running the test, just playing with me to gauge responses? Could this have been a "bogus pipeline", having his digital poly set up but not functioning (from Wikipedia, under polygraph)? I ask this because he also inquired about certain sensitive things, such as how any prior polys of mine came out, and was upset when I told him the only one I had had was covered by attorney-client privilege (his reply: "[laugh] I don't give a shit when it was done or why!") Really professional of him.
Input welcome...