There is no evidence that altering one's breathing effects the outcome of a CVSA "test" in any way.  While polygraph chart readings are easily manipulated in the examinees favor through the use of simple countermeasures, this does not seem to be the case with regard to CVSA. Trying to countermeasure the CVSA is more akin to trying to countermeasure a coin toss.

If I were in your shoes, I would breathe normally and not worry about which questions are relevant, irrelevant, or "control." Remember, CVSA has no validity whatsoever. It's merely an interrogational prop intended to get admissions from you. If you'd like, I could e-mail you Chapter 7 of the CVSA operator's manual, which covers pre-employment "testing." If you'd like to receive it, please send me your e-mail address by private message through this board.

One thing that might help is to avoid behavior that could tend to make you "look" deceptive in the interrogator's mind. To that extent, the behavioral (and only the behavioral) countermeasures outlined in Chapter 4 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector may be helpful.

dchozn1 wrote on Jun 1^st, 2006 at 9:43am:


If you send me a private message with your e-mail address, I'll be happy to pass it along.