personal history

[therock]

i have the concept of relevant and control down, but let's say the departments policy was that one is qualified as long as they are 21, 30 hours of college, no felony convictions or domestic violence.  Now if a question pops up during the poly about one's psychological history, would this be considered control rather than relevant, this confuses me since I know that if one has been counseled, diagnosed, you can bet the department will not take you, which makes the question serious ie relevant, but since it's so broad and not outlined on their policy of requirements confuses me whether it's control or not?  Please if one has a clue i would appreciate the info, i have a poly soon really soon and i don't think I am gonna use countermeasures b/c I only have 85 percent of the idea down, and from what I can conclude if you don't have the whole thing down, you're going to do more harm than good, but then again, so many people report lying their ass off and making it, which makes me think that going in there with the being calm technique is what I should employ, i will be reading up on this for a while before test to see if i should do it or not, but please if one has the answer to my above question your help is greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance

[therock]

anybody?

[therock]

while questions about felonies are relevant questions and for the most part dq's what about questions about committing misdemeanors since most departments only dq one if he or she has a felony or domestic violence?

[G Scalabr]

while questions about felonies are relevant questions and for the most part dq's what about questions about committing misdemeanors since most departments only dq one if he or she has a felony or domestic violence?

Rock,

With most departments, any felony conviction is an automatic DQ. This should not be taken to mean that only those with a felony conviction are DQd. On many departments, a person with no convictions whatsoever--misdemeanor or felony) but a large number of arrests (8-10) will still be disqualified despite his clean record. Misdemeanors are evaluated on a case-to-case basis. As you know, domestic violence misdemeanor is an automatic DQ (federal law states that those with any DV conviction cannot carry a gun). Most other misdemeanors will usually be found acceptable if they are far enough removed and you explain them properly (i.e. take responsibility and admit that you were wrong).

Polygraph questions (relevant or otherwise) on one's psych history or misdemeanors are extremely uncommon to say the least. I would not expect any. The only misdemeanor question I have ever heard being used on a polygraph "test" is "Have you ever driven under the influence of alcohol?" As you know, this is a control question.

i don't think I am gonna use countermeasures b/c I only have 85 percent of the idea down, and from what I can conclude if you don't have the whole thing down, you're going to do more harm than good,

I don't know where you are getting this. If you positively recognize a control question (i.e. "Have you ever lied to a supervisor/loved one, etc?") and you think exciting thoughts during it, you still vastly improve your chances of "passing."

I think you are reading way too far into a lot of this stuff (which is good in the way, because it shows you have been diligent in your preparation). A lot of the questions you bring up appear to be from a background packet. Remember, during the whole test, the examiner will likely have only 5-7 relevant questions (usually spread over two charts). Wait until the day of the "test" before you make your decision on using countermeasures. From the amount of time it appears you have spent on this, I have the feeling that you will be pleasantly surprised to see the questions on your "test" to be shockingly similar to those described in The Lie Behind the Lie Detector.

[therock]

Yes sirree bob, I will be using the CM'S, bite the tongue technique, have practiced it on some occasions to make it not noticable, I'll let you know the results.

[AMM]

The Rock:

This is obviously unsolicited advice, but I would recommend downloading/ordering Mr. Doug Williams manual "How to Sting the Polygraph" from his website www.polygraph.com to complement information found in "The Lie Behind the Lie Detector."  Mr. Williams is a former police polygrapher, periodically updates his manual, and will promptly respond to your emails.  

Mr. Williams' techniques are consistent with those described in "The Lie Behind the Lie Detector", but I believe the addtional information on relevant and control questions and countermeasures can only increase your chances of success. The $50 pricetag may seem a little high, but it gives you near instant access to him.  I employed his cardio/breathing techniques (in addition to the behavioral countermeasures found at this site) successfully to prevent a second "false positive" outcome on my LAPD polygraph.  I believe that constriction of the anal spinchter muscle is superior to tongue biting in that it is impossible to detect.  (Just don't squeeze too hard; a little squeeze can have a BIG effect.)  If you have adequately prepared yourself and understand all the information in "The Lie Behind the Lie Dectector" you will have no problem identifying control from relevant questions.

I don't want to sound like a salesman for Mr. Williams, but simply put, you can't have too much information.  

R,

AMM