Quote:Lethe,
To be sure, I think the best way to avoid a false positive outcome is to refuse the polygraph. Countermeasures can at best reduce the risk of a false positive, they cannot guarantee that one will pass. In any event, I think it is in TnV's interest to educate him- or herself before deciding whether to submit to a lie detector test, and if he/she does submit, whether or not to employ countermeasures.
George, that is a logical and thought out position, and I respect it. Under normal circumstances--indeed, under all other circumstances that come to mind--I would urge people to educate themselves to the greatest practicable degree before making an important decision. But it is one of the great sins of the polygraph that, by learning about it, you could well be harming your own interests.
Perhaps we should engage in another decision-making trick, listing TvN's options. TvN, assuming that you are presently pretty ignorant about how the polygraph works and that you are indeed innocent, I would suggest that your main options are as follows, assuming that no one else confesses first or that the investigation is not otherwise modified from its present course.
(1) Remain largely ignorant of the polygraph and consent to take it. You have a pretty good chance of favorable results, though probably not so good as they would have been if you'd never started investigating the polygraph at all.
(2) Learn about the polygraph in detail, consent to take it, and...
(2a) ...do not employ countermeasures. Your chances of being cleared are much lower than under option (1) and chances of indeterminate results are much higher. I'd guess the chance of you being cleared is only a little better than chance.
(2b) ...do employ countermeasures. Your chances of being cleared are probably about the same as under option (2) and if those attempts are detected you will be worse off than if you had simply produced indeterminate results.
(3) Refuse to take the polygraph, being prepared to fully and vigorously state your reasons why.
All of the above options are mutually exclusive, except for perhaps the last one, from which you could shift to either (2a) or (2b) but not really to (1) since you couldn't really explain why you don't want to take it without knowing how it works, at which point you'd no longer be ignorant (if you are even ignorant now). But along with any of the above options, you can--and probably should--be in dialog with both your superiors and the investigators (assuming them to be different people) along with any help you could get from an attorney, if necessary, or your union, if available. Also, though you'd probably do this on your own, I certainly wouldn't suggest preemptively refusing to go on the box; if you decide to refuse, wait until they come to you insisting you take it. Who knows, perhaps a guy they grill before you will confess? That could happen, and would be a pleasant outcome, eh?
If you decide to educate yourself, just know that that action forecloses certain options to you, as damnable as that is. TvN, I do not envy your position, or look with any sympathy upon those who placed you there--if indeed you are innocent, a matter about which I haven't the slightest information though I will presume you to be so.