Recently I took a pre-employment polygraph for a law enforcement agency on the local level and it was interesting.  The usual pre-test questions were presented and I was also told there would be a mathmatical problem presented to me during the test.  The equipment was explained and the process began.  Three charts were run with about twenty relevant questions asked in a different order during each test segment.  Each began with a sacrifice relevant question and several irrelevant questions were also asked of me.  What was interesting was that no control questions of the directed lie or probable lie types were presented during the exam.  I could only conclude that he used his "baseline" for comparison purposes from the anxiety created during the math question which was a positive number subtracted from a smaller positive number creating a negative number result.  I was not expecting this type of math question but perhaps one more complicated such as a square root problem.  It did take a little time to think about it, longer than I thought it would creating a bit more anxiety.  No post-test session was asked and he seemed eager to have me leave.  At no time did he stop the test except at the end of each segment before he was ready to run another chart.

As of this date I do not know if I passed the test but hope to know within a week or two.  If I advance to the next phase of the selection process I know that I will have passed.    

BNSF wrote on Jun 24^th, 2007 at 11:47pm:


Strange testing protocol...sounds like a VSA P/Employment format.
Are you sure this was polygraph? Were there 2 pneumo tubes around
your upper body; BP cuff on arm; fingerplates on..? or was there only
a microphone involved...?

BNSF wrote on Jul 3^rd, 2007 at 6:27pm:


Strange. Sounds like he was disinterested, or in an almighty hurry.
Maybe the donuts were getting cold.

BNSF wrote on Jul 4^th, 2007 at 5:23pm:


This is the easy part. But whatever you do, keep secret that story about the little people that live inside
your ears and pop out to wave at passing trains.

BNSF wrote on Jul 21^st, 2007 at 3:51am:


Hi There, Are you referring to the Voice Stress test? ie To do two-in-one simultaneously?
I think there are agencies that do so. What about the lafayette LX4000 - does that not
incorporate a Voice Stress recording 'add-on'??

Now that the testing is all over with and I was hired, the agency that did the polygraph is the Lake Havasu PD in AZ.

Sounds more like the BSBB technique.
Most important thing is that you got the job.