I am preparing to take a polygrpah for a gov't agency..(not CIA, or DOE,).I was wondering if someone could answer a few questions...

1. are all of the questions standardized for all applicants being processed in the pre-exam.

2.how many questions are actually administered while hooked up to the machine?, and are the same questions asked for each applicant?

3. If asked a question like, "have you ever done anything in your life you are ashamed of"..this to me is a stupid question, but should this be left untouched or could you mention something just to appease the polygrapher?

4. This is not to offend anyone, but if a question is asked such as, "have you ever committed any type of sexual crime", if I were to mention having anal sex with my partner (man/woman), would this qualify or should I not go there, I am really being serious about this?

If someone could answer these questions I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

john,

Here are some brief answers to your questions:

1. While the relevant questions you will be asked while connected to the polygraph instrument are standardized, the pre-test interview itself is at best semi-standardized. Your polygrapher will be seeking information about you that he/she can exploit during any post-test interrogation and will also decide which probable-lie "control" questions to use with you based on the pre-test interview.

2. You will be asked a series of about 10 questions while connected to the polygraph instrument, and the question series will likely be repeated three times. These 10 or so questions will be a mixture of relevant, "control," and irrelevant questions. The "control" and irrelevant questions used may vary somewhat from subject to subject.

3. The question "Have you ever done anything in your life you are ashamed of?" is a common probable-lie "control" question. The polygrapher wants the subject to answer "No" and expects that answer to be a lie (but hides that expectation from the subject).

4. I am not aware that any federal agency uses "have you ever committed any type of sexual crime" as a relevant question. I think it would be counterproductive for you to mention what you do in your bedroom to your polygrapher. (It's also nobody's business.) Any admissions you make will become part of a government record and may be spun out of all proportion, especially if the polygrapher interprets your charts as "deception indicated."

I strongly suggest that you download The Lie Behind the Lie Detector and review Chapters 3 & 4. You'll learn in much fuller detail how polygraph testing "works," including the difference between relevant, "control," and irrelevant questions, and the trickery on which the procedure relies. You'll also learn steps you can take to protect yourself against a false positive outcome.

After you've read the above, feel free to post any further questions you have. After your polygraph "test," you might consider posting a note about your experience to the Share Your Polygraph Experience forum.