I recently sat for an FBI poly, I was told my answers "were all over the place" and the best I could hope for was for them to be labeled inconclusive.
I made the mistake of not using this site before taking the poly and wanted some help in categorizing these questions as control or relevant., etc...
Here they are..............
1. Have you ever lost the respect of someone who trusted you?
2. Have you ever cheated someone for personal gain?
3. Do you intend to lie during this phase of the test?
4. Have you ever sold illegal drugs for profit?
5. Do you understand this test is used to detect honesty and integrity? (or something like that)
6. Did you ever say anything disparaging about a superior officer (While in the Military)?
on questions 1,2, & 6 I tried to get clarity and make a difference between, say having an extra-marrital affair, and telling the wife I was working late (when I was really late from playing golf or something) I was told it was only for "big" things??????
I'll take a crack at this, they don't look too hard (the poly's not hard to understand, if you read chap 3&4 of George's book a few times):
1. Control (very general, leaves you w/an uneasy feeling, because you can't remember everytime)
2. Control (very general, leaves you w/an uneasy feeling)
3) Sacreficed Relevant (usually first relevant Q asked)
4) Relevant (this is an important question)
5) Irrelevant (i.e., not scored)
6) Control (general, leaves you uncomfortable)
Questions 1, 2 & 6 are probable-lie "control" questions.
Question 3 is typically used as a sacrifice relevant question.
Question 4 is relevant.
Question 5 I have not heard of before, and I'm not sure what function it was intended to serve. But it's clearly not a relevant question.
Sluggo,
I see that we are largely in agreement on the categorization of Bang's questions. Number 5 may well have been intended as an irrelevant question, as you suggest, but it seems to me that it's not quite as "neutral" as irrelevant questions typically are.
( I am currently reading your free book) late of course
However should you simply answer Yes to questions like 1,2,&6 and take your chances with them thinking you are a scoundral, but an honest one?
I may not have the wording of #5 correct, but it was fairly close.
What is weird is that up to this point in this year long process all the agents I have dealt with in the hiring ordeal have been over the top( nice, polite, etc) this was definately an interrogation. Like most people I got into very minor trouble in HS, and was being grilled over it 16 years later...................I guess you can make a jump from being suspended from school in 9th grade to selling secrets to Iran?
When answering probable-lie "control" questions during the pre-test phase, it's okay to make very minor admissions that cannot be twisted into something damaging. In fact, such minor admissions are the norm. When such admissions have been made to a question, it will be rephrased to begin, "Other than what you told me, did you ever...?"