Polygraph Control Questions

[jonny5]

Hey Everyone,

I am going to be taking a polygraph at somepoint in the near future for the Los Angeles County Sheriff, and I am looking for some sample control questions that I can study and identify, that are different from those in TLBTLD.  If anyone has any that they would like to share with me, I would appreciate it much.  

[Fred F.]

Jonny5,

The LASD's primary focus is on drug use, nothing else. If you have never used drugs, they still may throw a curve at you for drug use.  The LASD likes to DQ for drug use and their failure rate is about 60%.

You should study TLBTLD and get very familiar with the information. The LASD has a high failure rate as they use the poly as a background screening device. If you look at this link
http://www.antipolygraph.org/documents/lasd-polygraph-pamphlet.pdf

you can read the polygraph pamphlet put out by the LASD

Good Luck

Fred F.

[George W. Maschke]

See Appendix D of DoDPI's Law Enforcement Pre-Employment Test examiner's guide for additional examples of "control" questions:

http://antipolygraph.org/documents/dodpi-lepet.pdf

[jonny5]

My understanding of a control question, is a question that has no relevance to a specific event.  Is this correct?  So a question beginning with, "have you ever" is an example of a control question?  Are they the same as "comparison" questions?

[George W. Maschke]

None of the questions in a pre-employment polygraph screening examination involve a specific event (that is, one that is known to have occurred). Both relevant and "control" (and even, possibly, irrelevant) questions could begin, "Have you ever..."

To gain a better understanding of "control" questions, review Chapter 3 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, where they are explained in detail along with other aspects of polygraph procedure.

[Monique Moreno]

see i dont understand why they make a big deal about stuff that you did when u were underage... i understand if u have misdameanors and what not but i have a clean background... but my problem is i have tried marijuana and also stolen something from my job when i was young... so because of that im not going to pass?

[gary davis]

hi.. the use of marijuana alone should not disqualify you from the job..lying about is should..most agencies have a time frame..i.e. 3 years with no use.. check for the Dept's standards..as for theft from a job..most of us have stolen.. unless the value of property taken is excessive.. it is no big deal.. there are two problems with lying during the employment process..first if at some later point it is discovered you lied to get hired you can be terminated, if you are the victim of employer misconduct you may lose your rights to damages because of your were not qualified for employment second.. rest assured if you get involved in a BIG case you back ground will be reviewed by Private Investigators with more money the the PD. any dirt hidden however minor will be exposed (ask Mark Furman) and your credibility in court will be compromised.

Finally when a person applies for a job they appear at their very best.. if the best includes lying, hiding and other acts of dishonesty then you can't expect better on the job.   the world is not a perfect place if you don't meet the qualifications for one agency there are many others that have different qualifications.

gary

[T.M. Cullen]

But when taking a preemployment polygraph, with some formats you are EXPECTED TO LIEl when asked a control question.

Also, polygraphers KNOWINGLY LIE to the applicant to trick him/her into volunteering information.

TC

[george hamilton]

is that true for the fbi? will the fbi forgive if a person used it a few times when they were 19?  I hear different stories:

yes so and so agency will forgive
no don't confess because they will not forgive

can someone clarify which is the best move?

hi.. the use of marijuana alone should not disqualify you from the job..lying about is should..most agencies have a time frame..i.e. 3 years with no use.. check for the Dept's standards..

[polytek]

is that true for the fbi? will the fbi forgive if a person used it a few times when they were 19?  I hear different stories:

yes so and so agency will forgive
no don't confess because they will not forgive

can someone clarify which is the best move?

hi.. the use of marijuana alone should not disqualify you from the job..lying about is should..most agencies have a time frame..i.e. 3 years with no use.. check for the Dept's standards..

If I experimented with marijuana a few times when i was 19 I would not admit to it now, because as sure as nuts the system will hold it against you.

When in doubt, chicken out and deny, deny, deny.

[polytek]

My understanding of a control question, is a question that has no relevance to a specific event.  Is this correct?  So a question beginning with, "have you ever" is an example of a control question?  Are they the same as "comparison" questions?

Control Question = Comparison Question
"Have you ever...." sounds like the prefix to a Relevant Question
in a screening type test.
Control Questions prefixes are, " Before the age of......"
& "Between the ages of....." and "In your entire life did you ever...."

[Lethe]

My understanding of a control question, is a question that has no relevance to a specific event.  Is this correct?  So a question beginning with, "have you ever" is an example of a control question?  Are they the same as "comparison" questions?

Control Question = Comparison Question
"Have you ever...." sounds like the prefix to a Relevant Question
in a screening type test.
Control Questions prefixes are, " Before the age of......"
& "Between the ages of....." and "In your entire life did you ever...."

Control questions can begin with "have you ever..."  As in "have you ever told a lie to a loved one?"  (It's assumed everyone has.)

[T.M. Cullen]

Just ask the examiner:  "Is that one of those control questions I am expected to lie on?  But, I thought we were going to be completely honest with each other.  Now I'm confused.  MR. EXAMINER!"   8-)

TC

[Lethe]

If there is just one or two questions that have you confused as to whether they are control questions or relevant questions there is an easy way to determine with high likelihood of success which they are.

It involves the pretest phase where the questions are reviewed.  Simply call attention to the question that you are not sure of; ask for clarification of it.  The polygrapher will answer your question, and then he'll call attention to another question, as if to see if you understand it correctly.  If the first question that you asked about was a control then the question the polygrapher will bring up will be a relevant; and if the first question that you bring up was a relevant, the one the polygrapher brings up will be a control.  So, if you have already identified the question the polygrapher brings up as a control question, you can be sure that the first question that you mentioned and were confused about is a relevant, and vice versa.

This works because polygraphers try very hard to make sure that the magnitude of the control and relevant questions will appear approximately the same to (uninformed) subjects.  But, whenever a question has attention called to it, that tends to enhance the response the subject produces on it, whether they respond honestly or not.  To counter this effect, the examiner must equally enhance an opposing question so that they'll be comparing apples to apples.

Obviously, this will only work if there is only one or two questions out of the lot that you're unsure of.  If you're confused about half of them, you probably won't be sure of the status of the second question that is brought up and so will have gained nothing.

[polytek]

The Control questions used nowadays are not as subtle as
"Have you ever lied to a loved one...." etc
Those are far too easy to identify as CQ's.
An examiner could ask, " Have you ever driven under the influence of alcohol ?" / and " Have you ever used a controlled substance without a prescription ?"
Either of these could be CQ or RQ - it is situation dependent and you will get the same intensity of definition during question review.
No examiner is going to spell out for you which is which.
The examinee has to decide for himself during a Pre-Employment screening which might or not be CQ's, dependent on the level of employ / position applied for. Usually you can asusme that the wider and vaguer a question is - the more likely it is to be a CQ.

During an issue test (a Did you it type) the CQ's are easier to identify. They will refer to an earlier age (..before the age of...--which is a Backster control) or " In your entire life, --Reid Universal Control)
The poly industry is constantly trying to re-invent the wheel iro CQ's
as a means to circumvent the use of CM's (which are applied during the CQ scoring window) - but it is a difficult task for them as most would not recognize a decent CM if it bit them in the ass.