EntertainmentHow to Cheat a Lie Detector
Tue, Jan 22 2007
While some people believe that polygraph (lie detectors) tests are reliable, there is little scientific evidence to buttress this claim. For example, while some claim the test to be accurate in 70% - 90% of the cases, critics charge that rather than a "test", the method amounts to an inherently unstandardizable interrogation technique whose accuracy cannot be established.
Polygraph tests record physical data, such as pulse rate, perspiration, blood pressure and skin resistance. If a person tells a lie, he will definitely have some abnormal neurological activity which will result in an altered physiological state.
Well, if you find in a situation when you must confront with a lie detector, first and most important you must do is learn about polygraphs as much as you can. The dirty little secret behind the polygraph is that the test depends on trickery, not science. Generally speaking, perspiration is easiest to control by individuals attempting to cheat the polygraph, but pulse, blood pressure and especially skin resistance are very difficult to master. A typical polygraph test starts with a pre-test interview to gain some preliminary information. Therefore you may not confront the subject with a "did you do it" style inquiry.
There are three basic types of questions you will be asked: relevant, irrelevant, and control:
1. The Irrelevant questions are obvious ones, kind of introductory question such as "What's your name?"
2. The Relevant questions are the ones that are connected with the actual events of the murder for example. A question of this kind would be, "What were you doing during the murder?"
3. The Control questions are the most important ones. An example of a commonly used control question is, "Did you ever lie to get out of trouble?" The polygrapher steers the examinee into a denial by warning, for example, that anyone who would do so is the same kind of person who would commit the kind of behavior that is under investigation and then lie about it. But secretly, it is assumed that everyone has lied to get out of trouble.
Also a good note is that during your examination you need to find out what the tester is looking for. After you can prepare yourself in advance by thinking about what confessions they are looking for, that you can know what things to admit and what things to deny.
No matter what you do, beware of the Control questions. They are such types of questions that basically are answered with "yes", but still are uncomfortable honestly answering. Such an example is "Have you ever lied in order to get out of trouble?" or "Have you ever told a lie?" I'm sure your answer will be "yes". Control questions are those against which your reactions to relevant questions will be compared.
It is interesting to note that, so far, no scientific study has been published that offers convincing evidence of the validity of the polygraph test. Polygraph tests have also been criticized for failing to trap known spies such as Aldrich Ames, who passed two polygraph tests while spying for the Soviet Union.
If he can pass it two times, maybe you can pass it at least one time!
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