CVSA

[Midwest Recruit]

I see alot here on polys and thanks for the info. I am taking a CVSA soon for a police officer position. I really have nothing to hide, I am just concerned of stress making look guilty for no reason. Any insights or advice?

[George W. Maschke]

Midwest Recruit,

The CVSA is nothing more than an interrogation prop, and it's not at all clear that its measurements necessarily have anything to do with stress. The following is purely anecdotal, but perhaps is worth sharing: I recently had the opportunity to play with a genuine National Institute of Truth Verification CVSA-equipped laptop computer. I found that when I simply said, "No" into the microphone while under no stress at all (if I felt anything, it was bemusement), the CVSA indicated stress levels supposedly indicative of deception about one third of the time.

The behavioral countermeasures described in The Lie Behind the Lie Detector should be helpful in a CVSA interrogation as well as in a polygraph interrogation. In addition, you may wish to read through the messages posted to the CVSA forum.