Re-taking Polly "very soon". Please help with a few questions.

[Q]

After an inconclusive test result on a Polly for a police department that I took a few months back I'm up for my retake and had a few questions I was wondering about, any help would be appreciated. I read TLBTLD beforehand and understand the concept of control vs relevant questions for the most part but have a few questions.

Are there certain countermeasures that are more effective? I tried tongue biting and respiratory manipulation and tried thinking exciting thoughts a few times. Are there others that would be more effective ? Should they be used together at the same time?

Should the same countermeasures be used throughout the whole poly session or should you continuously use different ones on the control questions?

I also read somewhere on applying countermeasures on relevant questions. I think this was only on Probable lie tests. Can anybody elaborate on that?

And finally did my somehow using countermeasures in the wrong way lead to my inconclusive test result?

Please post responses promptly as poly is coming up very soon. Appreciate the help.

[stefano]

I read TLBTLD beforehand and understand the concept of control vs relevant questions for the most part but have a few questions. 

I think you would be wise to read it a couple more times.

[George W. Maschke]

Are there certain countermeasures that are more effective? I tried tongue biting and respiratory manipulation and tried thinking exciting thoughts a few times. Are there others that would be more effective ? Should they be used together at the same time?

I'm not aware of any research ranking the effectiveness of various countermeasures. In research by Honts and others (cited in the bibliography of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector), mental countermeasures and tongue-biting appeared to be about equally effective.

Should the same countermeasures be used throughout the whole poly session or should you continuously use different ones on the control questions?

It's not necessary to use different techniques on different "control" questions. But if you apply breathing countermeasures, it would be beneficial not to make each reaction look identical (e.g. precisely the same duration, same reaction, and same change in depth of breathing). Polygraphers may interpret what they sometimes call "cookie cutter" responses as a sign of countermeasure use.

I also read somewhere on applying countermeasures on relevant questions. I think this was only on Probable lie tests. Can anybody elaborate on that?

You're thinking of a countermeasure strategy for the relevant/irrelevant technique used by federal agencies such as the NSA and CIA. Never augment a reaction to a relevant question in a probable lie "control" question "test."

And finally did my somehow using countermeasures in the wrong way lead to my inconclusive test result?

I have no way of knowing. But if you mistook a relevant question for a "control" question and produced a reaction to it, that may have been a factor.