nbkriver11 wrote on Mar 6
th, 2006 at 12:09am:
I took my first polygraph test last week. I used the tongue biting and breathing techniques. After the test the guy said that I passed the test on paper but he was going to deem it inconclusive becuase he thought I used counter measures. He said it was due to "unusual breathing patterns". We went through the set of 10 questions twice and then a third round were I had to answer yes to every question (including the one I said no to and lied). I am retaking the test next month. Is there anything I can do to pass it and how do you get around the third series of questions were you have to answer yes to all of them?
If indeed you employed breath
holding (that is, breathing in and holding it), that was a mistake, as polygraphers tend to view this as "unnatural" and a probable countermeasure. On the other hand,
blocking (that is, breathing out and waiting a few seconds before breathing in again) is perhaps the most frequently observed breathing reaction and polygraphers are not surprised to see it. However, if all of your breathing reactions looked identical (same length, same depth of breath), your polygrapher may have taken that as a sign of countermeasure use.
Note also that
none of the breathing reactions desrcibed in Chapter 4 of
The Lie Behind the Lie Detector call for
deep breathing. On your "re-test," you might try using mental countermeasures and letting the breathing reactions take care of themselves.
As for the series where you were asked to answer all questions "yes," this is a counter-countermeasure technique called the "yes test." It is designed to trip up unsophisticated examinees. With the "yes test," the key to passing remains to show stronger reactions to the "control" questions than to the relevant questions. The "yes test" is addressed at pp. 157-58 of the 4th edition of
TLBTLD.