My spouse suspects me of cheating. She has no proof of this, and would like me to take a polygraph test. I am worried that it will produce a false positive result.  Does anyone have experience in this area?
Also - is there a difference between Doug Williams book that he sells online for $47.95 , and The Lie Behind The Detector that is offered on this site?

HarryO,

It seems to me that it would be foolhardy for you to submit to a polygraph "test" and ignorant for your wife to put any stock in the outcome of such a "test." As we note in Chapter 1 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, the procedure has not been shown by peer-reviewed scientific research to work at better than chance levels of accuracy, nor could it, because polygraph "testing" is actually an unstandardizable procedure that is fundamentally dependent on trickery. Your marriage might be better off if you were to print out a copy of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector and read it together with your wife.

In his manual, "How to Sting the Polygraph," Doug Williams teaches polygraph countermeasures that are consistent with those described in The Lie Behind the Lie Detector. Mr. Scalabrini and I cover some additional techniques not included in Mr. Williams' manual, and I think we do a better job of describing how to distinguish between relevant and so-called "control" questions. In addition, we provide discussion of polygraph validity, policy, and grievance procedures that is absent from "How to Sting the Polygraph."

Mr. Williams provides illustrations representing the breathing patterns that may be employed to produce a "truthful" polygraph chart, while we do not. Another key difference is that the price of "How to Sting the Polygraph" includes consultation in the event you have questions. In contrast, The Lie Behind the Lie Detector is free, and Mr. Scalabrini and I make no promise to provide consultation, though we will do our best to answer questions posted to this message board or e-mailed to us.

Nate,

Thanks for your kind words.  Members of the polygraph community have made a lot of comments that false positives are nearly non-existent and that stories are being blown out of proportion in order to sell manuals on polygraph countermeasures.  Many have wrongly attacked Doug Williams in this manner.  This is why we have insisted in providing our materials at no cost to readers.

Let us know if you have any suggestions for the next edition of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector the book.  I am considering making a separate board on the forum for comments and suggestions regarding the book.

Also, thanks for your continued participation on the message board.  You may wish to use your registered account so you can edit post and exchange private messages with other users.

Best,

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Such bragging is standard operating procedure for polygraphers. The ostensible purpose for this is to heighten the deceptive subject's fear of detection while allaying the truthful subject's fear of a false positive outcome. I don't know to what extent polygraphers might come to actually believe their own bragging, but it seems to be a common phenomenon.

While the polygrapher with whom you spoke may believe that he can determine truth from deception with 94% accuracy, in cases where no confession is obtained, he is likely never to truly know whether the subject was truthful or deceptive.

HarryO,

Could you explain precisely what countermeasures you employed during the "stim test?" It is counterproductive to attempt to confound the polygrapher during this portion of the polygraph interrogation, and on the contrary, it is to the examinee's benefit to produce a strong physiological response to the number he/she actually chose, thereby convincing the polygrapher that he/she will show a strong response to any question answered deceptively.

There are ways a polygraph examiner could know what number you wrote without divining it from your polygraph charts. For example, if your polygrapher provided you with a pad of paper on which to write your number, a slip of carbon paper hidden beneath the 2nd or 3rd page of the pad could have left an impression of the number you wrote.

George,

I used the breathing techniques to mess with the pneumo tracing, and sphincter muscle to mess with the blood pressure gage. These were used throughout the entire exam, including the stim test.

It is possible that the examiner watched what I wrote down.

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HarryO,

You goofed by doing this during the "stim test," but it's not a big deal. During the "in-test" phase (the part that really counts), by producing stronger physiological responses to the "control" questions than to the relevant questions, you ensured that you would pass.

I wish you and your wife all the best in sorting out the difficulties in your marriage, and hope that you'll never again feel compelled to submit to this asinine procedure.

I need to add to my last post that I'm not going to download this book because it talks about how to pass a polygraph. My husband is going to have me take another one and I do not need that added to the fire when he is now checking everything I do. Please give me some advice here.