my first poly

[calicoast]

well i have an up coming polygraph in a few weeks down from today. All i keep hearing is how easy it is to decieve this instrument, i have read your ebook, about 5 times and i actually ordered a few books off line to familiarize myself with this process.

my question is , if i am not sure of the question as being either a CQ, RQ or IRQ type of question, and i only react to the only CQ's that i know for a fact is a CQ, could i still pass the test? just by that one question.

I am just so lost in this process, everytime i think i have an understanding something comes up and says that i should be truthful and believe that the polygrapher wouldnt do me wrong, and then there is another part of me that knows this atrocity and proctect myself from it,

any suggestions.

[bang]

I dont know enough to answer your questions, but I had a horrible time with a recent poly.

My only advice to anyone, is when you have the  pre exam Q&A session, dont give your examiner enough info to beat you on the head with, thats what I did.

Not saying to lie, just dont expand on the questions to much, because the examiner can use any extra info to draw conclusions about you that you may not want.

[calicoast]

did you pass or fail, if you dont mind me asking?

[nunyun]

if you don't know what the question is do not react in anyway.

You are correct in only reacting to a question if you know for sure that it is CQ.

Yes, I past mine and it does work...

[calicoast]

so basically if i react to just one CQ i will pass . and dont show reactions to the RQ?

so if the CQ is a "yes" or "no" i should show a reaction no matter what i answer that question with?

i dont mean to sound redundant or stupid to this but i have to break this down barney style,


so if i am only able to distinguish one CQ out of the whole 2-3 hours of "polygrapher and me" time, they wont find that odd at all. and i will still be alright?

so what is the best sure fire way of deciphering what a CQ is vs. a RQ, just seems like there is too much room for error, and if i misinterpret a CQ to a RQ then i am screwed?

[calicoast]

also what methods did you use, and would it be acceptable to just stick to one breathing technique, i have a feeling that i am going to be so nervous that i am going to forget how to use these, any advise?

[calicoast]

thank you so much for your response i really apreciate it. that tongue technique sounds interesting, ill have to give it a shot, but one thing i am set on is that what i did in the past i accept, i admitted to the BI'r, i too dont wan to be a statistic to this system. i am especially nervous becuase obviously there is so much riding on this. i really appreciate all your advise , thank you so much

[bang]

did you pass or fail, if you dont mind me asking?

I was told the best i could hope for was for it to be labeled inconclusive by HQ.

[calicoast]

yeah everything is starting to make scense, i guess it is just the fear of the unknown playing a part.

i have been diligently reading antipoly posts and pro poly posts to kinda get an idea. and they are 100% conclusive that if you try you will be caught and you will fail.

but it is all starting to make scense alot more now that i think about it.

so if i am accurate about this, a control question is just a question that has nothing to do with the job at hand or something so broad with a large lapse of time, and thus i should react to it to take the heat off the relevant question that is the reason that i am taking the exam in the first place.

so these would be CQ?

1. other than what we have talked about did you .......?

2. have you ever been embarassed about anything in your past that would hurt you if it ever came to light?

3. do you plan on liying to me during the coarse of this exam.

just thinking about what could possibly be asked as far as those questions.

[calicoast]

thank you for your insight , it is greatly appriciated

little by little i keep reading away at the TBTLD book, i have read that book over and over, i think what i really need to start doing though is focusing on just chapters 3 + 4.

thank you so much nunyun i really appreciate your help, i took have spent so long building a career that i will not let be tarnished by an unreliable or credible test. my theory is when polygraphs are admissible in court, ill do away with CM's thanks again

[George W. Maschke]

calicoast,

As nunyun correctly pointed out, the fact that a question is prefaced with, "Other than what you told me..." is no clear indication of whether it is a relevant or "control" question.

However, the question, "Do you plan on lying to me during the course of this examination?" is not an irrelevant question. It usually serves as a "sacrifice" relevant question (that is, one that is not scored). "Sacrifice" relevant questions are discussed in Chapter 3 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector (at p. 95 of the 3rd edition).

In addition, a question about driving while under the influence of alcohol has actually been used as a probable-lie "control" question by federal agencies (and, I suspect, many state and local ones). I was very surprised that this would be the case, but it's true: it's one of the "control" questions that was included in my FBI pre-employment polygraph "test" in 1995. The FBI and other federal agencies have actually assumed that even persons they would want to hire have driven while drunk and will lie about it during a pre-employment polygraph examination.

Interestingly, this question is not included in the list of "control" (or "comparison") questions provided in DoDPI's Law Enforcement Pre-Employment Test dated January 2002 (see p. 17), and it is to be hoped that it has been discarded by federal agencies. But I suspect that even if it has been abandoned by some or all federal agencies, it is still being used as a "control" question elsewhere.

For more on "control" questions and how to recognize them, review pp. 96-105  and 139-143 of the 3rd edition of TLBTLD.

[nunyun]

yes, yes sacrafice I remember now, either way I did not want him to react to it I just did not get my terminolgy straight......

[George W. Maschke]

nunyun,

The correct spelling is "censored." Unfortunately, the free message board software that we're using does not include a spell checker.

By the way, your links had some typos, too. Message boards that censor posts that provide to much truth about polygraphy include:

http://www.polygraphplace.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi

http://www.911jobforums.com/vB/

and also:

http://forums.realpolice.net

[nunyun]

yes I am laughing at myself and your perfection
thanks George we'll talk soon...

[calicoast]

thank you both so much, i think with alittle reading and perserverance i will get it, thank you again