sheesh wrote on Dec 2
nd, 2008 at 7:40am:
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...
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.
Quote: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.
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.
Quote: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.
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.
Quote: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?
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.
Quote: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.
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.
Quote: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"....
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.