I have taken one polygraph before which I failed because the guy giving me the test thought I was controling my breathing. Actually I answered all his questions truethfully! This test was to become a police officer at a municipal agency. I later got a job as a police officer at another agency that did not give polygraphs and have a flawless record! 

I have to take a polygraph for another job I am applying for. Can you guys give me some suggestions. I really want to get this job! I have told the truth before and got the "shaft".
I have answered the pretest very truthfully and have included minor things I had stolen as a child. Is this a good idea?  Should I use mental counter-measures when ask general info questions? Can you give me some control questions I may need to look for?

Some of the questions I thought may be a control are listed below:

1. Are you an honest person?
2. List everything under $100 you have stolen?


I hope one day they will pass a law against polygraphs. I know first hand what crap they are!

Please reply soon. Feel free to email me at radarlove8@yahoo.com

Officer,

Jane Doe III is right, I would refer you first to The Lie Behind the Lie Detector. In particular, you'll learn to identify "control" questions in Chapter 3 and how to protect yourself against a false positive outcome in Chapter 4.

Your having listed minor childhood thefts is fine, and no doubt expected. But when you ask whether you should use mental countermeasures when asked "general info questions," your choice of terminology suggests that you might not be clear on the distinction between relevant, irrelevant, and "control" questions. If you do choose to employ countermeasures, be sure to do so only when answering those that you clearly recognize as "control" questions.

The question "Are you an honest person?" is an example of a commonly-used probable-lie "control" question.

Since all questions in the "in-test" phase of a polygraph interrogation must be answered "yes" or "no," your second example, "List everything under $100 you have stolen?" could not be used. However, a commonly-used probable-lie "control" question is: "Did you steal anything from an employer?" or "Did you steal anything of value?"

You'll find more examples of "control" questions in Chapter 3 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector.

Feel free to post the questions listed in your pre-test questionnaire, and I'll be happy to provide commentary on them.

Regarding passing of a law against polygraphs, merely hoping for it won't make it happen. Our elected representatives need to hear from us. See the Get Involved page to learn what you can do to help abolish polygraphy.

Last modification: George Maschke - 03/04/01 at 01:47:05

Officer,

No problem.  We are glad to be of assistance.  Feel free to contact us again, either through this message board or via e-mail, if you have any further questions after reading the book.  Incidentally, print shops like "Kinko’s" will often spiral bind the book for easy handling at a cost of less than $5.00. Another alternative is to use a 3-ring hole punch and put the pages into a binder.

I suggest that you follow up your e-mails to your representatives with typewritten "snail mail" letters.  Due to the overwhelming volume of e-mails that elected officials receive (from constituents and "spammers" as well),  e-mails do not receive the same attention that traditional letters do.  Furthermore, elected officials also know that e-mails can easily be forged to make it look like a large number of people are interested in a topic.

Suggestions for writing your representatives (and several prominent Senators) can be found on our get involved page at:
http://www.antipolygraph.org/get.shtml

I urge you to take the few minutes needed to do this when you have the time (after you deal with the polygraph at hand, of course).

Best,