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Topic summary

Posted by willboywonder
 - Sep 16, 2005, 05:57 PM
In addition, the examiner could have asked you so many times about the marijuana use as a child because he probably wanted to see if you would break down and admit to more.   There is a belief that people don't tell the truth when it comes to that because of the stigma associated.

Your explanation is a good one as far as I'm concerned and most likely you passed.  If you had failed, you would probably have not been scheduled for the psych.  In most cases, if you fail the poly, you are either scheduled for another poly, or eliminated from further consideration of employment and everything stops right there.  
Posted by polyfool
 - Aug 27, 2005, 03:32 PM
Gatorman:

Download and read ""The Lie Behind the Lie Detector" available free on this site. It will answer your questions and you will walk away enlightened regarding your experience with the faulty screening procedure known as the polygraph.

I'm no expert, but whether you passed or not could depend upon whether your examiner believed you when you told him why you reacted. The so-called test is a subjective one in which the examiner renders an opinion that is supposed to be based on the charts. I would take it as a good sign that your examiner didn't interrogate the hell out of you, but then again, not all examiners exhibit such behavior. I also got the "next step in the process" routine, but still failed. You never can tell for sure if you passed until you receive official notification, but I would guess that you most likely passed since you weren't hounded during the post test.
Posted by gatorman
 - Aug 26, 2005, 12:30 PM
I am hoping that someone can help me. I recently took a polygraph to become a police officer. I was 100% honest during the questioning process. I told the truth in my application and during the poly. My examiner was very nice and professional. He gave me three tests – one unhooked and two hooked up. I was a little nervous during the exam but so is everyone else. I thought everything was going fine until he started asking the same question over and over again. "Other than what you have told me have you used marijuana"? He asked this question 4-5 times and I told the truth. In my application I told the truth and admitted to experimenting 3 times when I was 18-20 (about 12 years ago). Maybe this was a mistake but I felt it would be easier to tell the truth than lie. At the end of the test he unhooked me and said that we are done but he had one more question. He said I had a reaction to the question about marijuana and asked why I had a reaction. Once again I told him the truth- that I was ashamed of my actions when I was younger and if my family ever knew they would be disappointed and maybe that is why I had a reaction. He shook my hand and walked me to the exit of the building (this was not a short walk). While we were walking he said that the next step in the process is the psych evaluation and you will get a call or letter from human resources within 7-10 days. He never said I failed or passed and of course I felt like I passed so I did not want to ask. When I got home I was upset that I had a reaction to a question that I was telling the truth about. I noticed there are many professionals with experience on this website. Can anyone give me their professional opinion if it sounds like I passed or failed? And why did I have a reaction to a question I told the truth about?