symptomatic question??

[marie_t]

I've just completed a pre-employment polygraph for a sheriff's office.  After the poly the examiner seemed to focus in on two questions.  One seems like an control question.  "Have you ever lied to a supervisor?"  which I answered honestly, "no."  He insisted everyone does, but I have never lied and couldn't think of an admission to give him.  The other was am I "worried he will ask you me question that we didn't go over earlier?"  From reading the book, that's sounds like a symptomatic question.  He indicated I reacted strongly to that.  I told him that I might have reacted because I don't whole heartedly believe people when they tell me something.  He hammered away at these two issues and then indicated that "something was bothering me" and I really should tell him what it was.  I didn't offer him anything.  Before I left, he inferred I failed the poly.  What do you make of him focusing in on these two questions if neither is a relevant question?  

[George W. Maschke]

Your categorization of the two questions is correct. "Have you ever lied to a supervisor?" is a probable-lie "control" question, and, "Are you worried I will ask you a question we didn't go over earlier?" is a commonly-used "symptomatic" question.

If you were not subjected to any post-test interrogation regarding any of the relevant questions, that is a good indication that you passed. I suspect that the polygrapher questioned you about these non-relevant questions because you showed strong reactions to them, and he was simply fishing for admissions.