The horror.........the horror!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[False+]

I have had my first ever run-in with the polygraph, and it did not go well.  I applied for a position and was falsely accused of drug use and an incomplete application.  I have years of negative employment-related drug tests to back me up.  I also attached additional information to my application, including information the employer didn't even ask for because I wanted to make sure they knew everything.  I wonder, how could this have happened?  Here are two possibilities that came to my mind:

By the way, I knew nothing about the polygraph before I took this one and I never knew anyone who had ever taken one.

1. The polygrapher asked me something like "have you ever let anyone down?"  I said no, but I told him that I am sure he could find someone who would say I did.  He told me several times during the polygraph that if I couldn't think of a specific example (which I couldn't) I shouldn't worry about it.  But, I did worry about it.  I couldn't get that (or similar) questions out of my head.  So, throughout the exam I kept going back to it in my head, even though I tried not to.  I thought about the other questions a bit when they were asked, but when he got to the two infamous ones (drugs and the completeness my application) I didn't really think about them.  I just said no because they were so black-and-white to me.  I have never done any drug in my life (no, not even once) and added extra information to my application to ensure I gave them all possible information.  I think the problem was that instead of really thinking about those two questions I went back in my head to the (what I now know as) control questions.  I was thinking things like:  Did I ever let down my mother?  Did I ever let down my father?  I am sure this increased my responses on the polygraph chart to at least the same level as when he actually asked the question.  Maybe more so because I was getting more and more anxious about them trying to think of something, but there was nothing.  I was pretty much racking my brains to find even a small instance where I might have let someone down (or whatever the question was).  I just wanted to be completely honest about everything, and it really seems to have backfired.

2. It could also be that the polygrapher even asking those questions made me react.  I am not a boy scout, but I am close to it (if I do say so myself).  So, even the thought of such things could have gotten me going.  I know this type of thing applies when someone has a friend/relative that died of drugs etc. too.

The other weird thing is I think the polygrapher believed I was telling the truth.  He gave me the usual number of questions, and then left the room with my charts to talk to one of the other polygraphers.  I know now sometimes this is used for other reasons (including scoring), but I still believe he was telling me the truth about why he left.  When he came back he told me that it seemed like my mind was wondering (it was because of my concern about the control questions) and I told him it was.  He made up new questions gave me another battery and then left again.  He said it was happening again and made up more questions and gave them to me again.  I honestly tried to concentrate, even repeating the question he just asked me in my head until has asked me another one, but to no avail.  I was too concerned about the control questions.  In the end he said that I had failed.

I hope I can get some constructive feedback on this.  I have been on both the anti and now the pro poly sites.  I think the truth is somewhere in between the two.  The anti are not as bitter and misguided as they are sometimes portrayed there.  The pro side isn't as evil as they are sometimes portrayed here.  Just my opinion.

However, the poly has (possibly) screwed me over.  You see, I am already in the field for which I was applying with a different employer.  I already have had a complete background, etc.  And, to be honest it does piss me off.  For an employer to believe a machine when there are easily obtainable facts that directly contradict it seems ridiculous to me.  The polygraph says one thing, but 10 years+ of negative employment drug tests and a complete background by a sister agency of the hiring agency say the opposite.  Should the poly results be believed over verified facts?

I wonder what should be done about the ones like me that are falsely accused and likely will have negative effects with the current employer or future employers?

Lots of questions in there.....hope you can help and that I have helped you!

[polyfool]

False+,

I can totally relate to your polygraph experience. I also had difficulty letting go of certain control questions during the procedure even though the examiner had moved on to other questions. In other words, even though the examiner was asking a new question, my mind was still focused and thinking about a previous one that worried me--what I now know are control questions. I knew very little about polygraphs and was trying to answer every question with complete honesty, which I falsely believed was the way to pass. My examiner said that I was "zoning" and not paying attention to the questions, even though I had been. Polygraphs don't take into consideration that people are different and the complexity of the human mind.  

[Johnn]

The same thing happened to me.  I was accused of drug usage but I've never touched drugs once in my life.  I had my polygraph in late August, and occassionally, I get overwhelmed by the experience of injustice that was committed against me.   The experience plays over and over in my mind, although less frequently now than back in August.

[mustbaliar]

False+,

I'm sorry about your experience and completely understand where you're coming from.  It's unfortunate that good people are routinely victimized and falsely accused by these ridiculous machines and their operators.  I don't remember having issues with the control questions, but in fact one of the irrelevant questions ("Is your name...") bothered me because the polygrapher kept mispronouncing my name and I continued to think about it.  In any case, no matter what the question, the polygraph is worthless for employment screening.

Good luck