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I have taken and "passed" multiple polygraph examinations by US state-level agencies. Providing truthful answers would have disqualified me in each test, and I

I have taken and "passed" multiple polygraph examinations by US state-level agencies. Providing truthful answers would have disqualified me in each test, and I have never been disqualified. This book is very accurate, and has been my only influence/guide/assistance in every polygraph I have submitted to(ie I have no "training" in this field). I have not read this new edition, but I can't say enough good things about the prior ones.

gnu8 8y ago
I can’t see how it would be in your interest to post this. Are you not concerned that this comment could be tied back to your working identity and used against you? Another possibility is that you are a lying fed stirring the pot. For instance, a fed could point to your comment as evidence that antipolygraph.org is inciting people to break the law, which is a gambit they have used before.
- module0000 8y ago
  Read my comment again please - I'm not a lying fed, a troll, or anything else malicious. I'm not in the industry I once was, which involved regular polygraph examinations. I have no plans to return to the industry. Posting my comment carries zero-to-low risk for me. If it helps even 1 person, then it's worth it. All I'm saying is... if you are about to take a polygraph, or think you will in the near future: it is in your best interest to read this guide. On another note, after you read the guide and possibly benefit from it...you might find your attitude towards them changed. If the polygraph remains the de facto "lie detector", then we can all rest easy: because they are trivial to pass.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    Why would I rest easy if they’re trivial to pass? That’s great if I ever have to take one, but it really sucks if, say, someone passes one while falsely accusing me of a crime.
    - module0000 8y ago
      Polygraph examinations aren't admissible in that way. Otherwise crime would be as simple as pass/fail not-guilty/guilty. This is why a (good) defense attorney advises you against taking a polygraph if one is offered during a trial. If you pass, the case is not magically dismissed: it's useless. If you fail, you aren't automatically convicted, but the jury has their view of you negatively influenced by your failure of the test. You have nothing to gain by taking and passing one in court, but you have an undefined jury sentiment to lose should you fail.
      - mikeash 8y ago
        That’s only because they’re not considered to be a real lie detector in that context.
      - int_19h 8y ago
        Isn't the jury view of you also negatively influenced by the refusal to take it, though?
        sverige 8y ago
        That would not come into evidence as long as you have a minimally competent lawyer. The jury would never know.
      - philg_jr 8y ago
        Kind of like talking to the police. It can never help you and most likely will be used against you in court.
    - jackpirate 8y ago
      That's why polygraphs are not allowed as evidence in the courtroom.
    - OscarCunningham 8y ago
      The real problem isn't whether they are easy or hard to pass, it's that they're easy but people believe that they're hard.
sytelus 8y ago
Just curious... did you developed specific techniques or did you just sailed through without even thinking/planning?
- module0000 8y ago
  The part that resonated in the guide for me was the control questions, and identifying the expected lies. Dealing with those is all I ever did. Your goal during the test is to raise the output from the control questions as high as possible. For example, the control question I got in at least 7 examinations was the same: "Have you ever stolen anything in your life?" When I heard the question, I did three things at once: 1) Mentally tried to divide 1717 by 3, over and over, knowing that I would not solve it and allowing that to make me anxious. 2) Increase my rate of breathing(pretend you are inflating party balloons). 3) Tense my entire body, by imagining fire ants crawling up my legs, about to reach my groin. A few seconds later(don't wait to long), I answered "no". The examiner pauses, and asks if I have told him the truth. I confess to petty crimes such as stealing candy from my sister as a young child, and further confess I knew it at the time I answered, but was ashamed to tell him. There will be several more control questions, and some of them(obvious ones) will be of that type(an expected lie, but not relevant to the topic of the examination). When you give the expected lies, you want to raise the baseline. When you give expected truths(such as "Are the lights on in this room?"), you want to answer normally. The end goal, is that any response your body has to a real conceived lie, should be lower than what you exhibited during the control questions for expected lies.

gnu8 8y ago

I can’t see how it would be in your interest to post this. Are you not concerned that this comment could be tied back to your working identity and used against you? Another possibility is that you are a lying fed stirring the pot. For instance, a fed could point to your comment as evidence that antipolygraph.org is inciting people to break the law, which is a gambit they have used before.

module0000 8y ago
Read my comment again please - I'm not a lying fed, a troll, or anything else malicious. I'm not in the industry I once was, which involved regular polygraph examinations. I have no plans to return to the industry. Posting my comment carries zero-to-low risk for me. If it helps even 1 person, then it's worth it. All I'm saying is... if you are about to take a polygraph, or think you will in the near future: it is in your best interest to read this guide. On another note, after you read the guide and possibly benefit from it...you might find your attitude towards them changed. If the polygraph remains the de facto "lie detector", then we can all rest easy: because they are trivial to pass.
- mikeash 8y ago
  Why would I rest easy if they’re trivial to pass? That’s great if I ever have to take one, but it really sucks if, say, someone passes one while falsely accusing me of a crime.
  - module0000 8y ago
    Polygraph examinations aren't admissible in that way. Otherwise crime would be as simple as pass/fail not-guilty/guilty. This is why a (good) defense attorney advises you against taking a polygraph if one is offered during a trial. If you pass, the case is not magically dismissed: it's useless. If you fail, you aren't automatically convicted, but the jury has their view of you negatively influenced by your failure of the test. You have nothing to gain by taking and passing one in court, but you have an undefined jury sentiment to lose should you fail.
    - mikeash 8y ago
      That’s only because they’re not considered to be a real lie detector in that context.
    - int_19h 8y ago
      Isn't the jury view of you also negatively influenced by the refusal to take it, though?
      - sverige 8y ago
        That would not come into evidence as long as you have a minimally competent lawyer. The jury would never know.
    - philg_jr 8y ago
      Kind of like talking to the police. It can never help you and most likely will be used against you in court.
  - jackpirate 8y ago
    That's why polygraphs are not allowed as evidence in the courtroom.
  - OscarCunningham 8y ago
    The real problem isn't whether they are easy or hard to pass, it's that they're easy but people believe that they're hard.

sytelus 8y ago

Just curious... did you developed specific techniques or did you just sailed through without even thinking/planning?

module0000 8y ago
The part that resonated in the guide for me was the control questions, and identifying the expected lies. Dealing with those is all I ever did. Your goal during the test is to raise the output from the control questions as high as possible. For example, the control question I got in at least 7 examinations was the same: "Have you ever stolen anything in your life?" When I heard the question, I did three things at once: 1) Mentally tried to divide 1717 by 3, over and over, knowing that I would not solve it and allowing that to make me anxious. 2) Increase my rate of breathing(pretend you are inflating party balloons). 3) Tense my entire body, by imagining fire ants crawling up my legs, about to reach my groin. A few seconds later(don't wait to long), I answered "no". The examiner pauses, and asks if I have told him the truth. I confess to petty crimes such as stealing candy from my sister as a young child, and further confess I knew it at the time I answered, but was ashamed to tell him. There will be several more control questions, and some of them(obvious ones) will be of that type(an expected lie, but not relevant to the topic of the examination). When you give the expected lies, you want to raise the baseline. When you give expected truths(such as "Are the lights on in this room?"), you want to answer normally. The end goal, is that any response your body has to a real conceived lie, should be lower than what you exhibited during the control questions for expected lies.