First of all... like many others say. Wow! I wish I had come here before I took my polygraph.

I'll put as much info as I can if it helps anyone, so bear with my story.

I made it through the FBI selection process up to and past the phase two interview. I was really excited, and my friends and family were getting pretty excited about the fact that I'd be a Special Agent soon.

I got called in for the security interview, drug test, and fingerprinting... but was told the polygraph would be at a later date. I arrived early and eager, and when I got there I was told that my polygraph would be today since they had a spot to squeeze me in. I though that was great, since I wouldn't have to drive up to the office again. My experience was a little different that what I have been reading of others.

After the paperwork and peeing in the cup I was told an agent would conduct my security questionairre. I waited until he arrived and we went through my application. Anything I was unsure of that I filled out prior I made sure I asked about it... and I put as many little details as I could in there as relevent or irrelevant as they were. There were a few small changes to my application... but most of the time the agent said that he doesn't need to add this... but he will just incase. Every experience with the FBI up until then was with really nice people. This agent was pretty dry and had kind of a demeaning undertone in some of the things he said... I didn't let it bother me and kept going.

When we were finished he went over to speak with the polygrapher to let him know I was ready. I shook hands with the polygrapher and we walked into the polygraph room. Just like others have said... small room, one way mirror, cold... kinda like an empty office with a few chairs.

There was a wristband, finger things, chest straps, and whatever that is on the seat that he said measures how much i move around. He had me sit in a chair in the corner and asked me about how I was raised, the people I hung out with, and my answers on the questionairre. The only bad thing I have done was used pot 3 times in high/school college which was well within limits... so I figured I had nothing to worry about.

After strapping me in the chair he went over the questions that would be on the test, and said it would start in a bit. He asked if I had ever lied about anything important, and I told him yes... back in college my (now) wife and I had split up for a bit and I had relations with another woman once but didnt tell her when she asked me... eventually I did. He seemed to have been turned off by that answer. He asked if I had ever cheated, and I told him the truth that I had test answers in high school and used them. He stopped and seemed angry mentioning that this isnt what the FBI wants and how can we trust cheaters etc...

He was pretty nice and talkative besides those prior reactions until one question. It was about espionage, he asked me if I knew what it meant, so I said yes spying. He corrected me saying that it meant selling secrets. I replied "yeah like that couple in WW2 who sold secrets to the russians about nuclear technology". With that... he stopped and changed his tone in a way that was extremely serious and mean to the point where I was like.. whoa. He said " this is about you, not them... these aren't hard questions, do you understand?" From then on I was silent and didn't say anything unless he spoke to me. I didn't get nervous or anxious... but I was thinking wow what a butthead.

Then came the test itself. We went through maybe about 10 questions for security purposes and he repeated them differently 3 times, with a little break each time to move around and get comfortable and get some blood back in my hand... which was pretty blue haha.

He moved on to prior history questions... same thing about 10 questions repeated 3 times differently with breaks. I was pretty calm throughout everything. I could feel my pulse moving around every now and then... but not that much, because of the armcuff.

During all the questions the only other things he said to me were "breathe normally" and "try and stay still" only a few times. Nothing else.

He turned the machine off, moved me to another seat and said, so what do you think? I was suprised we were done and said that it wasn't that bad. Then he said "you know you failed"?

I was pretty shocked and told him i was suprised. Before I could say anything else he said.. I know you're lying... now is the time to confess. I had nothing to lie about so I told him so. He said if there is something that we can use to figure out why you reacted negatively we might be able to get you through.. but I need to know.

I went through everything I could think of... since he didn't tell me what he thought I was lying about. None of my thoughts seemed to interest him. Then he went over drugs... crime... arson... espionage... pornography... EVERYTHING! It was like he didn't know what I was lying about but wanted to get anything he could.

After a while I said... I dont want to sound bad, but we have gone from one topic to another and they don't even relate... what did it say I was lying about. I'll try and dig my brain to see... he said "you tell me, you're the one that is lying".

Then he started saying like... made up statements like... maybe one time the pot you used was laced with something, or maybe you broke into a building as a prank and lit a few things on fire. Then he went to pornography. When asked if I have ever looked at it I said yes. He asked how old the girls were... I said I don't know.. it says they are over 18. He said.. how old did you imagine them? I said my age... I don't know.

I had two foreign friends in college... one I listed as a reference.. so he went on about if I knew anything about him or if he was planning to do anything to the government. I went to a flight school in FL... so he asked if I was harboring terrorists.. or if my foreign friend was (who was bulgarian btw... who helped us on the war on terror). Or he said.. maybe one time the police were looking for terrorist and you knew one and you kept him hidden..

Then he went on about downloading songs on napster... and that turned into him assuming that I have broken into stuff online or did something fraudulent.. or hacked into something.. Lots of his statements were "Well maybe you did this...."

Then he asked a series of questions that I am sure are set up in this order... How was your father? How did he treat you? How well did your mom and dad get along? Then he said... Were you ever abused as a kid? I replied that my father never hit me, and he responed... I never asked if your father abused you, only if you were ever abused. But it was like an association chain... because he then went on to ask if I had any emotional problems that I had hidden that were painful to bring up... it was like he was trying to get me to direct myself into those questions.. then it went on to relatives.

I said somethign about playing football with the neighborhood gang... earlier in the discussion which then went on to... "so you said you were in a gang?" I said no... i meant the kids in our neighborhood who I would play football with. He said.. were they in a gang? I said no... i just used the wrong word, and my town is a little town... im not sure if there are even gangs in the town. He said.. "well you would know better than me"... that went over into a bad area about 30 minutes from my town... where he said.. you know... this town has gangs.. did you have any friends from this town? No? did your friends have any friends from that town?

The stuff he was saying was just all over the place... I really think he didn't know, and was just trying to get anything. 

Finally I said... listen I've done everything you told me... you asked me to breathe normally and i did.. you asked me to stop moving around and i did.. you asked me to tell the truth and i did. I want to pass and if there was anything I can think of I'll tell you but I wasnt lying about anything and we can keep going for hours. If im not going to pass then we are just wasting time.

He said ok if thats what you want... so he made me gather everything and he escorted me outside without saying anything on the way down. Strange thing was once we got outside he tried to give me helpful and detailed directions on how to get home... totally unlike him in the room.

So... im so confused now. Obviously I failed, as he told me flat out first thing. But... we went through the test super quick and he didnt make a peep about anything or say I was reacting to certain questions during the test or in-between... just a "you failed" at the end.

He never told me what I failed, even though I tried to find out. The only thing I can think of is that I reacted to some general question like "do you plan on lying to me today". Thats the only reasonable thing I can think of... that or because I really had nothing bad to say... maybe he thought I was lying about how little bad things I have done in my life... My answer to his question "what is the worst thing you have done in your life" was that I punched my friend in the face when i was 15 and broke his jaw over some stupid football game we were playing.

well i guess my career as an FBI agent is over... i wish i came here first. It's strang though... all these other posts have reasons as to why they failed... I wasn't given one at all.

EDIT: also... forgot to add. Since I thought I just had the fingerprint, paperwork, and security interview I thought I wouldnt be long. The recruiter said about 2 hours. I figured I would eat lunch right after. I ended up getting hungry right in the middle of the test with hunger pangs. Some answers i remember thinking "damn i cant wait to eat" I told him this after the test... he asked why i didnt tell him before and I said that it happened during the test. He asked why i didnt eat and I explained... he ended up saying that that wouldnt affect the test either way... just wanted to add that.

No... although he mentioned that I did fail immediatley after the test, but before asking tons of questions.

I did not sign anything... there was nothing I wrote down saying that I changed answers... there were no stories that were unclear... nothing. Just an abrupt ending when I finally said that we are just wasting time continuing.

It was just odd that he changed his mood the second I got outside and wanted to give me detailed directions home, he even had a little smile on his face. I remember him saying something like... I just want to make sure you find your way home safe. Or something along those lines... I can't remember I was pretty sullen at that point.

If anything that gives me hope... thanks for the comment.

Hey guys, i've been reading your posts about the failed polygraph. I just wanted to jump in and mention that I took a polygraph exam today for a state agency. I was told by the examiner that I seemed to have a problem with two questions that were drug related. He asked if I had any involvement with drugs in the past three years? the only thing I could tell him is that I had spontaneously been around drugs and around users, but I never used, sold, purchased, or trafficked drugs. The last time I smoked marijuana was 8 years ago during my freshman year in college!
He seemed to get upset at me, and would give me a smart remark towards anything I would say. I even explained to him that I would not, be wasting his and my time if I had currently used drugs. I also told him I  had just finished my six year contract with the Marine Corps; and that they tested me atleast twice a year. But, that did not seem to matter to him; he just replied that urinalysis can be cheated! I replied that; how can I cheat a urinalysis for 6 consecutive years. 
Another thing I explained to him was that I had just gotten my BA in criminal justice; why on earth would I throw my six years of military experienece, with one tour of duty in Iraq; and a Bachelors degree in criminal justice over a stupid decision of getting high one time? 
The reason why im bringing all this up is because I too am going through the FBI hiring process; Ill be taking my spanish proficiency test, and Phase 2 exam soon! My question is If I can't even pass a state agencies polygraph, how am I going to pass the more detailed FBI exam? Im nervous because, I was completelty honest about everything I said on my current polygraph. Is the same thing going to happen when I take the FBI polygraph? I dont know what to think, im pissed!

Applicant searched for and viewed pornographic images on his official work computers when employed by four separate government contractors during the periods from 1992 to 1996, 1996 to 1999, 2001 to 2004, and 2005 to 2007. Applicant knew his employers had policies prohibiting the use of office computers to access pornography. He also knew that by using his workplace computers to access and view pornography, he was violating his employers’ policies and his agreements to abide by those policies. He preferred to access and view pornography at work because he feared discovery by his wife or children if he used pornography at home. When he elected to access and view pornographic images and movies in the workplace, he took steps to hide his behavior from his employers. If he had a private office, he stayed late and viewed pornography after regular work hours. He also stated that after viewing pornography, he involved himself with masturbation in his office or in a workplace bathroom. Applicant did not tell his employers about his use of pornography in the workplace because he feared losing his job and other possible adverse consequences. (Ex. 2 at 5, 8; Tr. 54-

sheesh wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2008 at 7:40am:


The questions about having ever lied about anything important and having ever cheated were both probable-lie "control" questions, answers to which are secretly expected to be less than completely honest. In fact, the more honestly one answers these questions, and as a result feels less anxiety when answering them, the more likely one is to wrongly fail, because reactions to these questions are used as a basis for comparison against reactions to the relevant questions (the ones they really care about), which are about drug use or sales, the completeness of your application, and counterintelligence issues.

The polygrapher's apparent anger at your admissions was no doubt feigned, part of a routine spiel intended to cut off admissions.

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Your experience is unlike most that have been reported. Usually, FBI applicants are accused of deception with regard to specific questions. It's possible, of course, that you "failed" them all, leading to the wide-ranging post-test interrogation.

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That line of questioning seems atypical (and rather voyeuristic) for FBI pre-employment polygraph screening. I would be interested to hear from any other FBI applicants if they have been asked similar questions.

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That is really Kafkaesque. While I would recommend that any FBI applicant who has wrongly failed the polygraph should file a Privacy Act request for his or her file, I think you especially will need to do so. Your polygrapher sounds like just the kind of person who might inflate -- or even fabricate -- an admission.

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That's not unusual. The "in-test" phase, when the examinee is hooked up to the polygraph instrument and the question series are asked, is typically brief. It is only after the charts have been scored (typically out of sight of the examinee) that the polygrapher returns and, if the charts have been scored "deception indicated," delves into a post-test interrogation.

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That question was likely a "sacrifice relevant" question -- a question that, although relevant, is not scored. If indeed you failed, then it would be because your reactions to the scored relevant questions were stronger than your reactions to the "control" questions. See Chapter 3 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector for more information on polygraph procedure.

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Several people here have reported the same thing.  Why the hell did you tolerate that?

If you were in a job interview and the interviewer insisted on interviewing you while stepping on  your toe, would you allow that?

Did you tell the polygraph operator your arm was going numb?  If he refused to loosen it up, it would have been within your right to pause the polygraph, and insist on speaking to your personnel rep.

As for breathing, you should have just breathed like you normally do.  They have no control over how you breath.  He was probably worried you were employing "countermeasures" which would have just shown what a dumbass he is, as deep breathing is not a CM!  CMs are meant to INCREASE your response to control questions.

Incidently, if the FBI were to hire you, you'd have the pleasure of taking the polygraph every five years, I believe.  With your employment status on the line.
TC

Well... all I can do is laugh about it now. 

They lost a candidate they determined was credible until this test. 

I believe they were doing a background check on me. Once that's finished they'll find out I have a perfect record, excellent credit, my employers have wonderful things to say about me, and so do my friends and family. It's silly... how all of those evidenced facts will mean nothing compared to a subjective test that measures my reactions to questions. Even funnier... is that based on the tests theory, my reactions are still no proof of a lie.

Oh well, I told the truth and I guess that is that. I've already moved on, just came back to see what others ideas were on what happened.

And last thought... if there is supposedly a 50% pass/fail rate, I wonder how many people are good at lying, don't react to lies... and vice versa... how many people are terrible at telling the truth, or just genuinely have reactions to certain questions. Once you understand the logic, and see those ratios... your eyebrows raise.

Even after reading up on polygraphs though... I still don't know what happened or why I failed (And yes I told the truth on every question). I guess I'll put it into a category of one of those questions you can never find the answer to:

What is the meaning of life?
How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?
Ect... 

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The reactions the machine measures are controlled by the unconscious mind (through the brain stem and lthe brain's lymbic system).  You really have no direct control over them.

But that is not the point.  The point is NOT to let them convince you that reactions equate to deception, and use that as a pretext to get you to volunteer information they can then blow out of all logical proportion to use against you to rationalize the reaction.  It is an INTERROGATION!  Volunteer nothing concerning a "relevant" question".   

They use upside down logic.  If you react, they assume it is a lie, and must then get an admission or other info from you to MAKE IT A LIE.  If that makes sense.;

Employment polygraphs are "fishing expeditions".  So don't act like a fish!

TC