Control question confusion....

[Dean_O.]

All,

I am confused as to how to answer the "control questions", such as "Have you ever lied"?  Having read the book, it states that the examiner will "steer you into a denial", though it is assumed "everyone has lied"

Obviously, I, too, have told lies in my life-do I deny ever lying?  In a nutshell, the book has been very helpful, but this specific area is of concern.

Some of the control questions are, in my opinion, obviously should be answered "no"; for example, the question "Have you ever stole from an emplolyer" or "Have you ever lied to a person in authority"?.

Can someone please help me clear up the confusion?

I look forward to hearing your responses.

Dean o.

[George W. Maschke]

Although it is okay to make minor admissions to the "control" questions during the "pre-test" phase (as mentioned at p. 128 of the 4th edition of TLBTLD), one should ultimately answer "control" questions with the expected answer after the polygrapher moves to exclude such admissions from the scope of the question (for example, "Other than what you told me, did you ever...").

[infinite]

George..I read over chapter 3 and 4 twice. I am taking kmy polygraph next weem. I am still confuse whether to answer yes or no to the control questions. I have read somewhere that if you are truthful on the control questions...you will definately faill the test.

If i was ask "did you ever steal before?" I should answer "NO" then bite my tongue...to show a strong graph...is this the correct method.?

[George W. Maschke]

infinite,

In most cases, the expected answer to a "control" question is  "no." For example:

Did you ever lie to get out of trouble?
Did you ever lie to someone in a position of authority?
Did you ever take anything that did not belong to you?
Did you ever intentionally hurt someone?

But in some cases, the expected answer is "yes." For example:

Are you a truly honest person?
Are you a completely trustworthy person?

As noted at pp. 141-142 of the 4th edition of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, a question about stealing may be either a relevant or a "control" question depending on how the question is phrased. If it is posed as a "control" question, then yes, one would want to show a reaction to it.