Just the word polygraph makes me picture someone being interrogated in an underground bunker in some out of this world spy film. While I know this isn’t traditionally the case, we can thank Hollywood for that instant visual. In all honesty, my view of the polygraph has never been a positive one and reading many articles written by folks who are much more versed on the subject, their opinions don’t seem to be any more positive than mine. John Lykken, a polygraph expert and a professor at the University of Minnesota, is pretty blunt when it comes to his opinions about the tool. "Polygraphs are little more accurate than flipping a coin."(Stein, 1995) If this is the case, why are they used? If they aren’t accurate, how do double agents such …show more content…
In the second round of questioning, the polygraph operator probably shouldn’t have been so friendly and engaging with Ames. This definitely helped put him at ease which could have resulted in readings that looked normal even if he was not being truthful. Why is this the case? Many believe that there are flaws with how the test is designed. That is by having control questions and non-control questions. Drew C. Richardson from the F.B.I. contributed to a report that essentially says that the Control Question Test is severely flawed. At a conference he stated that, (Stein, 1995) “he had successfully taught his 10-year-old son the techniques to beat the Control Question Test.” From my research, I was able to find many sources that provide techniques to beat a polygraph. All of them seem to reference things such as controlling your breathing or finding ways to get your heart rate up. In a paper put together by AntiPolygraph.org, their first tip regarding how to beat a polygraph is very similar to the suggestions provided by Ames’ Russian handler. They state, (Maschke, 2000) “Your polygrapher’s subjective opinion of you may influence the outcome of your polygraph interrogation. Look your best. Make sure you have a conservative haircut; dress professionally, polish your shoes. If you’re a woman, wear makeup, but not too much. Be friendly. Smile. Keep good eye contact with your polygrapher, but don’t stare. Your polygrapher may interpret …show more content…
The closest I have ever come was a game my friend had in early 90’s that was supposed to be able to detect if you were lying or not. If I remember correctly, it only monitored your heart rate. If your heart rate went up suddenly when you were asked a question, it would alert the other players that you were lying. Essentially we used it to ask our friends really awkward questions to hopefully figure out if they were telling the truth or not. I was probably in 5th or 6th grade then, so most of our questions revolved around figuring out the girls our friends had a crush on. While the game wasn’t very accurate, it still made me nervous every time I was to be questioned. I’m sure I would have similar feelings if I had to take a real polygraph test. Richard Nixon is quoted as saying, (Smith, 2015) “I don’t know anything about lie detectors other than they scare the hell out of people!” I think most of us would
A professional deception detector, and author, Pamela Meyer points out the fact that, “ Lying is complex. It 's woven into the fabric of our daily and our business lives. We 're deeply ambivalent about the truth…. It 's as old as breathing. It 's part of our culture, it 's part of our history. Think Dante, Shakespeare, the Bible, News of the World”, in a TED Talk in which she details certain clues about how to
of the lie detector in criminal investigation. John Larson, a “college cop”, student of Vollmer, who built the first lie detector in the Berkeley department, later said that he felt the technique had
Another issue was Loftus and Palmer didn’t have valid consent from their participants which is unethical but this type of deception is acceptable as no psychologically or physical harm came to the participants. There are social implications as many people have been convicted wrongfully as a result of eyewitness testimonies. This has led to people being sceptical about testimonies. Loftus and Palmer’s research means that less compensation is being paid out. The biggest social implication is that the real perpetrator is still free.
There are many instances in which the polygraph is proven to be at fault such as with Cleve Backster. He was a polygraph examiner and believed strongly in the polygraph and its results. Backster one day decided to attach a houseplant that was in his office to the machine. He then would light the plants leaf on fire to see if the polygraph would have a spike in action. To his surprise as he struck the match the polygraph jumped signifying a response (Eells). Instead of considering that the polygraph went off randomly Backster instead assumed the plant had feelings and could even read his mind. This discovery lead to many scientific research projects in which scientists were unable to replicate Backster’s results. Rather than dismiss the event and polygraph as unreliable Backster dedicated the rest of his life to proving his discovery. The polygraph has been drilled into the minds of people as credible that taking it out of the justice system
Then I read the article called Lies that Fail by Paul Ekman and Mark G. Frank (Ciulla, Martin & Solomon, 2014, p.61) which discusses the ways to detect lies and ways that the truth would leak out of a lie. Which led me
However, although this is useful for social interaction, it is a serious problem in other areas. Deception can be a problem when people actively deceive in job applications, giving evidence and in court. Being able to detect whether a person is lying or
Polygraph- an electronic instrument Taft records physiological arousal from multiple channels, it is often used as a kid detector the signals are kicked oh by denies attached to different parts of the body. Rubber tubes are strapped around a suspects torso to measure breathing, blood pressure cuffs are wrapped around the upper arm do measure pulse rate abs electrodes ads places on fingertips to record sweat-gland activity or perspiration these signals are send by amplifies and can be seen usually it's to detect deception. But not full-proof sometimes truthful people fail the test and people who understand the test can fake the
In the data-collection phase, the examiner will complete polygraph charts, the charts and questions will vary depending on different cases. The examiner then analyzes the collected data in the data analysis phase. The examinee then has the opportunity to explain or rationalize answers to different questions asked during the exam. Although some may criticize the polygraph tests, advances in technology, and science improves the polygraph exams. Multiple factors play a key role in the accuracy of a polygraph, including the experience of the examiner, the obediance of the examinee, and the way the exam is constructed. It is important to consider body language when interviewing examinees as well. This includes things that examinees may be saying, how they say it, and when they say it. One’s body does things that it cannot control, both inside and out, which plays an essential role in exams. When a polygraph test is administered perfectly, and appropriately the accuracy rate is above ninety percent. On the other hand, false positives on the polygraph exams may happen. A good examiner will try to identify, and get away from false positives. When Ruby has a false
In eyewitness identification, in criminal law, evidence is received from a witness "who has actually seen an event and can so testify in court.” (Law.com Legal Online Dictionary) While this could be an important piece of the investigation, it can never take the place of DNA, or forensic evidence. Unfortunately, that happens all too much, with our overburdened legal and criminal justice systems. “Eyewitness misidentification is widely recognized as the leading cause of wrongful conviction in the U.S., accounting for more wrongful convictions than all other cause combined.” (Boston College Journal of Law and Social Justice, Volume 35:1, p.2) While we have been aware of this problem for many years, innocent people are still being convicted daily. Too many people
Facts of the case: Imagine you are an HR manager and your boss and owner of the company, Bill, comes to you suspecting his assistant, Paige, is stealing money from the company. Bill would like a polygraph test conducted to see if Paige is stealing from the company. He would also like you to conduct electronic surveillance on Paige’s work e-mail for anything suspicious.
lie have grown exponentially, and ways to catch someone in the act have only been amplified.
Credibility- Now, I would like to consider myself an expert lie detector, but apparently binge-watching 12 seasons of Criminal Minds in 3 months does not give me those qualifications. So to better inform and assist you, my lovely audience, I did some research, mostly utilizing online materials.
Polygraph tests are simply not reliable enough to determine a person 's punishment that can be life changing. There are quite a few things that make a polygraph test tick and not all of them are as reliable as they may seem. There are a few different factors that come into play when someone is taking a lie detector test. “William M. Marston invented the first lie detector in 1917,” (Hammiett, 2016 p.1). His attentions were great, and he thought that it would be accurate and efficient with no problems. “However, in 1923, the D.C. Court of Appeals stated that there was not enough scientific evidence to support Matson’s lie detector machine,” (Hammiett, 2016 p.1). If there wasn’t enough evidence, then what makes us think that there is now? It is the same as it has always been and if the D.C. Court of Appeals says that there isn’t enough scientific evidence to support it, then we shouldn 't use something that is
Having to go to the bathroom can also be causative. There are also a number of medical conditions such as colds, headaches, constipation, or neurological and muscular problems which can cause the physiological changes measured by the polygraph. The claim that an expert can tell when the changes are due to a lie and when they are due to other factors has never been proven. Even if the device measures nervousness, one cannot be sure that the cause of the nervousness is fear of being caught in a lie. Some people may fear that the machine will indicate they are lying when they are telling the truth and that they will be falsely accused of lying. Furthermore, even the most ardent advocate of the polygraph must admit that liars can sometimes pass their tests. One need only remember the spy Aldrich Ames, who passed the polygraph test several times while with the CIA. This lesson was lost on the FBI, however, who started requiring polygraph tests of its employees after spy Robert Hanssen was caught. Heretofore, the FBI had only used the polygraph on suspected criminals. Apparently, the FBI thinks that they could have prevented Hanssen's betrayal if only he had been made to take the polygraph.
After the primary test to check the attitude and state of mind of the suspect the polygraph examination moves to the actual test. The principal purpose of the machine is to measure the different variations of each the individuals answers the questions. So in order to establish this for each of the suspects Keeler developed several different techniques to measure their emotional responses to the questions. One of the approaches that he administered was the "Slim Test." (CourtTV.com) The test involves the polygraph examiner making the suspect pick one card out a deck of cards and put the same card back in the pile without letting the examiner see it. After the suspect put the card back in the deck the examiner would show the suspect each card one by one. The examiner them would advise the suspect to say no to every card that was shown to him. This examiner would then would analyze the emotional response to each answer given by the suspect. With the information that was collected the examiner would show