I took a poly a few weeks ago as a part of a security clearance, and it didn't go so well. The entire time, the polygrapher insisted that I was withholding information about one of the questions, and that I was having problems with answering it truthfully on the in-test phase.
Well, I went into the test knowing all about how the scam worked, so while I went into detail about everything that was already in my file or easy to obtain from public sources, I stuck to my story (which by the way was the absolute truth).
Here is my question. Was I just enduring a very persistent series of bluffs, or is it possible that the polygrapher actually believed the squiggly lines were telling him something? I'm scared that the latter might be the case - it would mean that I had no way out, either make up a bogus "admission" to satisfy his suspicion, or get stuck with a negative polygraph result.
snarpes65
Anyone who knows that they have told the truth can be damn sure they are facing a bluff. It's really sad that a bluff can ruin an applicant's future. The only plus is one day the unscruplous polygraph operators will have to face the higher Power. Then they will find out the hell that they put on innocent people.
I ran with a lot of pseudo-counterculture-wannabe sorts in college. I did admit to some some minor offenses in my application (like underage drinking in high school), but I always abstained from any drugs my friends were sometimes using.
My hope is that he went into the polygraph with a lot of preconceived notions about what those years must have been like, and was just going to hammer me on drug questions before he even met me or saw the squiggly lines. If this is the case, that he was just using an elaborate series of bluffs, then maybe my insistence on my story will pay off in the end. If not, I guess I'm OK with finding a job where I won't be penalized for living in the same college dorm with a couple of Phish fans.