CIA polygraphers will employ the minimization technique to elicit confessions from the subject. This means they minimize in the subject’s eyes the severity of any kind of conduct they confess, to attempt to extract more damaging details and admissions from the subject. They might tell you the conduct isn’t bad at all, in fact most people do it or they know people who do it. The goal is to make the subject feel like their conduct isn’t disqualifying so they will share more damaging information to the polygrapher. It is numbing their sense of morality and conscience to get them to keep spilling more disqualifying information.