pre-test questionaire - control questions

[purplecow]

I have received my pre-employment pretest questionaire already and am trying to identify possible control questions.  I have found one about stealing things, (different from the other questions about stealing things over a certain value).  

The one I have a question about though is about drinking and driving.  The section starts out by explaining that it is illegal to drive while intoxicated and that consumption of one beverage within one hour of driving could and will make you meet the legal criteria for that.  The question then asks how many times have you done this in the last two years and when was the last time?  I know the TLBTLD manual explains that it is assumed that anyone that drinks alcohol and drives a car likely have driven while under the influence and therefore this is a control question, but couldn't this also be a relevant question?  Obviously they wouldn't want to hire someone that has driven intoxicated 200 times in the last two years (not that I have).  I also know they dont' want to hire people that might be arrested doing this kind of thing while off duty and bring a bad reputation to the department.  There are other questions in this section that are obviously relevant (such as have you been convicted of DWI, etc...)  What does this sound like to everyone?  It seems like a fairly find line.

Also, is it possible there will only be two questions that are controls, or will they add some more during the pre-test interview?

thanks

[George W. Maschke]

purplecow,

As we note in The Lie Behind the Lie Detector (at page 139 of the 3rd edition), you shouldn't attempt to characterize each question in your pre-polygraph questionnaire as a potential polygraph question. Your polygrapher will use the information you provide to select "control" questions for the examination, and it is during the "pre-test" phase of the polygraph examination that you should focus on identifying relevant, "control," and irrelevant questions.

In answer to your questions, yes, substantive admissions to questions commonly used as "control" questions may indeed lead to disqualification.

As for the number of "control" questions asked, there are usually more than two. See the DoDPI Law Enforcement Pre-Employment Test document for sample question series.

[purplecow]

Thanks George, the link helped me understand it better.