Infidelity testing

[MrAugust]

Hi all - I'm new here and don't mean to jump into the argument for or against polygraph testing - I really have no clue about polygraphs other than what I read - I just need honest opinions.

I'm concerned that my wife may have cheated on me.  Last week I suggested that she take a polygraph exam to test for infidelity.  Without boring you with paragraphs of details, she finally agreed to it.

I realize that many of you are against polygraph testing for elected government officials, folks trying to join the police force, etc. - but what about a simple test to determine yes or no whether or not my wife has been faithful ?  

Can a polygraph test with a decent examiner at least determine something like that ?  My wife is not the type of person who would take a crash course on learning countermeasures to beat the exam, so I'm not really too worried about that - I'm just wondering if given a normal routine exam with a licensed examiner, could I expect an accurate result for something like this.

Thanks in advance.

[mustbaliar]

MrAugust,

The polygraph will not help you in this particular situation (or ANY situation).  It will not prove or disprove anything.  Your wife could "fail" while answering honestly, or she could "pass" while answering falsely.  Many people often jump at the chance to take a polygraph because they think it will clear their names, but all too often it backfires due to the unreliable and invalid nature of the "test."  What are you prepared to do if she "passes" or "fails"??  What do you believe more-- your own wife or some piece of junk machinery operated by a scam artist?  You may be better off hiring a counselor to help you and your wife through your problems.

Good luck.

[George W. Maschke]

Polygraphy has no scientific basis, and the results are unreliable in any situation.

If your wife takes the polygraph and fails, she could very well be a false positive -- a very common result. On the other hand, if she passes, it wouldn't prove she was telling the truth, either.

I suggest that you download our e-book, The Lie Behind the Lie Detector and that you (and your wife) both read it before going through with any planned polygraph. Hopefully, it will convince you both that it's a very bad idea.

[EosJupiter]

Mr August

Listen to Georges advice and blow off this polygraph nonsense.  Or SUffer the consequences of being railroaded and any chance of resurrecting your relationship. Trust is earned and if your significant other is willing spend your money on relationship counseling, and not lining some polygraphers pocket with your money.    good luck

[MrAugust]

Well, I took a look at the book - well the first 25 pages of it anyway... and to be honest, after reading what the Congressional OTA said in 1983, along with what the Nat'l Research Council Committee said in 2002, and with everything else I've read and/or been told, my gut tells me that the accuracy rate in my situation for testing my wife would be about 90%.  I'm OK with that.  I'm a poker player so gambling is not new to me. =)   She is not going to learn about countermeasures and would likely fail miserably trying.  

I respect what you guys are saying, though, about how testing 1000 people can falsely condemn 50 of them.  I'm a math guy, I get that.

Good luck with the site and thanks for you comments.

[Drew Richardson]

Mr. August,

If your wife is innocent with regard to the infidelity issues you are concerned about, you can proceed under the assumption that she will have roughly a flip-of-a-coin chance of being found non-deceptive about those issues with a control question test (CQT) polygraph exam.

[MrAugust]

Mr. August,

If your wife is innocent with regard to the infidelity issues you are concerned about, you can proceed under the assumption that she will have roughly a flip-of-a-coin chance of being found non-deceptive about those issues with a control question test (CQT) polygraph exam.

Coin flip ?  C'mon now ... the report that I was asked to read even mentions that the accuracy rate is much higher than chance.

I realize the accuracy rate is too low to make it useful for testing thousands of potential police officers, etc. - but please don't skew the numbers.

[Drew Richardson]

MrAugust,

Perhaps you might care to read a brief statement that I prepared some time ago that relates to why a CQT polygraph exam would not be expected to be an accurate discriminator of truth and falsehood (particularly in the case of the innocent (non-deceptive) examinee).  The general thrust of this statement has been testified to in court on several occasions to the benefit of clients (both prosecution and defense in criminal matters and plaintiffs and defendants in civil/administrative matters) seeking to discredit this type of polygraph exam. (http://antipolygraph.org/articles/article-028.shtml).  If you are truly interested in the subject, I would suggest the most beneficial use of your time would be to read Bill Iacono's article entitled 'Forensic "Lie Detection": Procedures without Scientific Basis' (http://antipolygraph.org/articles/article-018.shtml).  Both of the aforementioned should give you some insight into why this methodology would be expected to have precious limited (if any) validity and theoretical basis for practice (even) in the ABSENCE of properly applied countermeasures.  As I understand your situation, it is your wife (not you) who may take a polygraph exam.  You might care to share the previously listed reading material with her.  Regards...

[MrAugust]

MrAugust,

Perhaps you might care to read a brief statement that I prepared some time ago that relates to why a CQT polygraph exam would not be expected to be an accurate discriminator of truth and falsehood (particularly in the case of the innocent (non-deceptive) examinee).  The general thrust of this statement has been testified to in court on several occasions to the benefit of clients (both prosecution and defense in criminal matters and plaintiffs and defendants in civil/administrative matters) seeking to discredit this type of polygraph exam. (http://antipolygraph.org/articles/article-028.shtml).  If you are truly interested in the subject, I would suggest the most beneficial use of your time would be to read Bill Iacono's article entitled 'Forensic "Lie Detection": Procedures without Scientific Basis' (http://antipolygraph.org/articles/article-018.shtml).  Both of the aforementioned should give you some insight into why this methodology would be expected to have precious limited (if any) validity and theoretical basis for practice (even) in the ABSENCE of properly applied countermeasures.  As I understand your situation, it is your wife (not you) who may take a polygraph exam.  You might care to share the previously listed reading material with her.  Regards...

I've already read plenty on control question tests and why folks don't like them.  Again, every theory I've read, including documentation from this site, implies or states that the accuracy rate is much higher than chance when there aren't countermeasures or drugs involved.

[Miss October]

Hello everyone I'm due to take a lie detector test next week on infidelity I wish I could get out of it but I can't because my husband already paid the 600 bucks to take the test... Is there any helpful hints from any of you because I really have to take it and I don't want to lose my husband if this dumb test back fires