# Polygraph?



## Wildbill

Has anyone have any information on Polygraph Testing? Or has anyone taken a Polygraph for a LE job?


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## Gil

I took one for VASP and it was a fairly simple process. It all depends on the type of person you have conducting the test. The guy I had was decent and just asked the questions and marked on the sheet. I have heard that other examiners will question your answers over and over again like "Are you sure that is the correct answer" or "I don't think you are telling me the whole story" anybody that has to sit through an exam with a guy second guessing your every answer is going to feel uncomfortable.

One thing that I did think was odd with my exam is that I was instructed that if I could not remember the specific date and time of a particular question to answer no.


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## EsxPD319

I have taken one issued by NH State Police they are not bad at all to take. 



Ed


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## 725

I've taken it twice . . . both times out of state for a LE job. Passed both times. Its not difficult . . . they tell you ahead of time what the questions will be. They give you every chance in the world to come clean prior to taking it. As long as you are honest with them ahead of time you shouldn't have any problems.


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## bpd145

As everyone has said, the tester will give you the questions and a chance to explain your answers ahead of time, but just be aware that the tester may ask some pretty 'off the wall' questions. I was 19 years old when I took a polygraph test for a NH department and I will admit that a couple of the questions were really shocking.


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## Gil

Question: "Have you ever masturbated in front of a mirror" He had to tell me to stop laughing :wow:


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## extremesgs

...and you thought nobody saw you!

lol


I've taken a few. One was a breeze, the other was a grill session. Depends where you go and who gives it.


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## Mikey682

lololol


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## Burner1

If it's built by humans...it's fallible. Since the test is given by a human...it's definitely fallible.


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## Wildbill

Thanks


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## mcdonagh

Check this site out www.polygraph.com. It's pretty interesting!


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## Scooter

TEST IS EASY AS LONG AS YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE!!!!!!!! I TOOK THE TEST 2 TIMES BOTH FOR FEDERAL LAW POSITIONS AND IT WAS A PIECE OF CAKE!!!!!!


GOOD LUCK


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## pguitard

I have a polygraph coming up for the DEA, anyone know about how long these things take? I've heard rumors of a 3 hour grill session


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## ntvs

i took one for a le job out of state. i had a 3 hr grill session and was allowed to use the bathroom. i was then hooked up to the CHAIR and run through the questions that they chose. the last part was an hour long. i think it was like 10 questions ..." other than what we have discussed have you ever..." 



on another note i observed that a job in rhode island was posted in here that mentioned a requirement of a polygraph. there are no polygraphs allowed in mass or ri.

Statutory Provisions
Employers may not "require or subject" applicants and employees to polygraph examinations. RI Gen. Laws § 28.6.1-1 (1979).


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## Irishpride

ntvs said:


> on another note i observed that a job in rhode island was posted in here that mentioned a requirement of a polygraph. there are no polygraphs allowed in mass or ri.


I noticed the same thing when I posted the job here, not a bad bluff though.


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## Irish Wampanoag

I had an interview with a NH police dept that asked me if I ever had sex with dogs cats mice, sheep, cows, pigs or horses or any other barn kinda animals. I nearly fell off my seat. I said to the interviewer why is this a problem up here in the NH Police Departments. I dont think he like the response oh well F him.


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## ntvs

I noticed the same thing when I posted the job here, not a bad bluff though.[/quote]

i figured you noticed :wink:


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## union1

oppinions please..... 

is this test fool proof? I have to go for one coming up and im worried as shit! 

If its not fool proof, does anyone have ANY good pointers?

and please dont answer "be honest" because I plan to


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## 725

Union1,

I've taken it twice out of state and passed both times . . . other than "being honest", the only advice I have is to stick to your answers no matter what. In one of the tests I took, the examiner messed with me big time at the end of it, trying to make me think that I was being dishonest and that I had failed the test. I left the site thinking I had failed but found out later I passed. Best of luck.


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## LeadDog17

Could someone maybe post the typical methodology/procedures for the tests? I'm curious to know how the test is set up and conducted. Does this vary by location? Are there standards for administration?

Thanks,
Eric


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## John J

union1 said:


> I have to go for one coming up and im worried as shit!


Whats the matter Rob......Do you have something to hide?


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## Irish Wampanoag

They will interview you and ask you a thousand questions but before they do that they will tell you the history of lie detector machine and how reliable and accurate it is and how nobody can fool it. They are full of shit its a investagory tool only. When they used in the investigation of the disappearance of Molly Bish they had 11 suspects that failed the test. I dont know about you but I doubt that 11 people killed her. I think it might be like 1 or 2 people who did the crime. So this goes to show you the machine is a piece of junk. PS oh yes they will also ask you if drank any alcohol, caffine or drugs such as cold medicine etc.. Which goes to show the reliablity of the machine, but some police departments make thier cases soly on this machine.


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## union1

John.. too much 

what kind of things do departments out of state desqualify you for? Common Class D usage Drinking, or what?


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## Harley387

Ahhh....the Polycrap machine. This is a voodoo science at best. I can say from experience. I took one for an out of state position. I sat in that friggin' chair from 9 am until 2 pm. I was asked all the usual stupid questions....."have you had sex with a farm animal?" etc...etc... Long story short, I passed the test. However, I firmly believe that the whole thing is BULLSHIT, and should be illegal in any state for employment purposes. I'm sure it has a use as an investigative tool, you know, for stuff like..."So, O.J, did you kill your wife?" By the way....he passed it...what's that tell ya? Just my 2 cents.


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## pguitard

So how can this be used to make a decision on whether or not to hire someone? So if I fail this piece of crap machine then all the hard work I've done for the last two years in the hiring process is worthless? Seems foolish to base an employment decision on this.


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## jmazz34

I took one in Maine and it wasn't so bad. The guy who gave it to me only asks for Yes or No answers. You'll get through it  [Make one move and I'll smack the taste out of you mouth][/quote]


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## LeadDog17

Check out this article regarding the validity of the polygraph. I know it is LONG, but it's interesting. PLEASE, post comments related to the article in THIS thread - NOT the tread containing the article.
Thanks,
Eric


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## Guest

Please see my earlier post under Burner1...enough said.


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## Crvtte65

BHCCPD said:


> PS oh yes they will also ask you if drank any alcohol, caffine or drugs such as cold medicine etc.. Which goes to show the reliablity of the machine, but some police departments make thier cases soly on this machine.


I think this is because it changes your blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate etc leading to an invalid test. But yea it's fairly crazy to solely rely on it


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## koze

Any of you ever take a MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)? 600 questions of the same questions over and over and over and over... 

Do you like blue? do you dislike blue? do you only like yellow and red? do you dislike colors that start with blue? if you were stuck in a blue room, would you enjoy it? if you like red and dislike yellow, do you dislike any other colors? is blue your favorite color?...


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## Irish Wampanoag

Koze,
yes your right it was about 600 questions which took about 4 to 5 hours. The polygraph only asked me 10 maybe 15 questions but they kept asking me them over and over again in different sequences. :shock: 

Leaddog,
Good article it concluded my suspicions about the polygraph "PIECE OF JUNK" :x


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## LeadDog17

koze said:


> Any of you ever take a MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)? 600 questions of the same questions over and over and over and over...
> 
> Do you like blue? do you dislike blue? do you only like yellow and red? do you dislike colors that start with blue? if you were stuck in a blue room, would you enjoy it? if you like red and dislike yellow, do you dislike any other colors? is blue your favorite color?...


The way I understand it, MMPI is a pretty accurate psychopathology assessment. It is widely accepted and validated in academia and high profile corporate and government security screenings. It is also only about a 2 hour test, if I remember correctly.

Slightly t: but:
Koze,
What happens when you get to the 8 question and decide you don't like the color blue anymore? Or when you get to the 100th and become bored and want to move on to a different test? :L:

-Eric


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## pguitard

For those that have taken the polygraph, isn't there also a device that measures whether ot not your pupils dilate? I guess dilating pupils is a sign of lying?


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## LeadDog17

I remember hearing some research about the use of pupil/retinal scans as well as facial scans. The idea was that deception can be detected through small changes in facial/muscular response. I can't seem to find evidence to support this, however.

You also may be thinking about some psychological observations about eye reaction. People tend to glance in different directions when giving an answer based on where in the brain the answer comes from. For example, the person who looks up and to the left is looking for then answer from the left brain, which where more creative thought comes from. These are nothing than observations and are pretty far fetched as a method of detection. Plus, again I can't find any way to cite it.

One method that has been publicized lately is "Brain Fingerprinting". The concept uses a particular trace from an electroencephalograph (EEG) that measures recognition in the brain. When shown familiar objects/pictures/scenes, the brain recognizes them and this shows up in the trace. If you don't recognize them, it doesn't show up. I have yet to find any validated research on this method.

Also, here is a link to another  polygraph article  This one is from the The National Academies  of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

-Eric


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## pguitard

well, I've got my polygraph Monday for the DEA, all I can say is stay calm, tell the truth, whatever happens happens, no sense in getting sick over it. I think by reading all these articles on how to beat the test and how so and so failed only adds more stress which can mess you up.


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## PATS246

A few years back a buddy of mine had a polygraph test w/ the Secret Service, he said it was the one of the toughest experiences of his life. He said that they made him feel like he was a criminal and was a suspect in a capital murder case. He said it was rough. Not that he had anything to hide, thats what made it worse he said. I think I saw an article in the Boston Globe today that was talking about the validity of polygraph tests, I didn't bother to read it though.


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## pguitard

The article went on to say that am individual was applying to the DEA and had openly admitted to smoking pot when he was a teen and the polygraph examiner managed to manipulate the questioning so that the applicant looked like a liar regarding his drug use. I cannot for the life of me understand why this happens. Those of us that are applying to these jobs are law abiding citizens, not criminals and I know that they are stressful jobs but to make someone feel like a criminal and to admit to things they have never done is foolish. This is why I am not looking forward to the test, I refuse to be made to feel like a criminal and to be manipulated.


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## tomahawk

pguitar, I can see one positive side of surviving a difficult polygraph test -- if he cannot get you to twist your answers, hopefully some scumbag defense attorney will not be able to do it when you are testifying, either... just a thought.

-Mike


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## pguitard

And a good thought too. I guess by the philosophy behind the twisting of the answers by the interviewer is to see how you survive under pressure. If you stick to the original answers you should be fine I think. Besides, polygraphs still aren't admissible in court right?


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## extremesgs

From what I've read and been told of, the machine is supposed to "...detect signs of deception.... changes in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate...." 

in other words, you may not show signs if you're being deceptive (if you're good at it), but you may show signs of deception if you're not being deceptive. I showed a spike on the restraining order question- good thing it wasn't the "have you ever killed anyone" question! Needless to say, I passed and was hired. 
Anyhoo, point being that if you show "signs of deception" on those *special* questions, or consistent signs of deception on certain questions, you're screwed! ;-)


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## Guest

Does anybody have a clue as to what states dont use a polygraph for LE employment? Seems like every state but Mass does a polygraph are we the only state that doesnt use this? Every out of state LE job description I ever read or applied too uses it.


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