Posted: 2/24/2012 5:10:52 PM EDT
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Anybody have any experience with a polygraph examination? I just took one today and I don't know how well I did. I don't lie, I tell the truth and have nothing to hide. The proctor said that I was either breathing too deeply or trying to control my breathing and to just relax. That's kinda hard to do when a potential job is on the line lol. I've also read of guys failing even though they were completely honest. I may have to go back and retake it if my background investigator doesn't like the results.
So. Stories, information, etc? |
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Just remember - it's not a lie as long as YOU BELEIVE IT.
They're not foolproof and people can be trained to beat them, e.g. - Aldrich Ames & Robert Hanssen. I worked with a crooked pharmacist a long time ago and he would take a Valium whenever he was polygraphed about "shortages". |
| I passed mine, but I thought I was going to loose my right arm. I'm not sure if the pressure was off on the arm cuff, or what, but my arm turned purple and splotchy. The chief that gave me mine was pretty cool, and let me know the results before I left. I kinda felt like it was more a formality than anything. |
| There is a reason why they are not admissible in court. I would answer truthfully, but I would also stongly advise you to stick with your answer! This is where they try and catch you in a lie. I took one out in Las Vegas and answered the questions truthfully. However, the person giving the test, once if was done and he was reviewing it with me, kept getting me to try and change an answer. he would say something like, on question #5.....I got a such and such reading. Sorry, I answered truthfully. Well...........this reading, blah, blah. When I was done and walked out the door, it hit me. That SOB was just sweating me, trying to dig up something that wasn't there or hoping I'd admit to something. Stick with your original answer! |
| Thanks guys, I figure he is just trying to get me to say something or elaborate on something else. He may think I am trying to cheat the machine when in reality, I'm just trying to relax and not breathe too deeply, but that's nigh impossible with a job on the line! I guess I'll wait for the results. I'll keep you all updated as the results come through. |
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The whole process is a mental game. The polygrapher is looking for you to change your answer and start you second guessing yourself. His/her job is to get you to second guess yourself and play the mental game of cat and mouse. The reason they ask the same questions, simple as they may seem, in so many different ways is to see if you're consistent in your answers. Like many people have said... in court these test don't stand up, but if your answers change and they suspect you're either lying or have integrity issues kiss the job goodbye.
Best of luck. |
Based on my experiences over the last few weeks, I have absolutely no faith in polygraphs. They just don't work.
It may take more than one try. Focus on the test and don't let your mind wander between questions. Answer honestly and try to relax. Good luck and do not doubt yourself if you answered truthfully on your first test. HTH |
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The first time I took one I was initially a little nervous, but once we started I relaxed and was fine. Regardless of whether they are junk science or not, many places still use them as part of the hiring process. Just relax as much as possible and tell the truth, that's all you can do. |
| During my tests, they went over all the questions beforehand. We discussed any questions I might have had and made sure that I was confident about my answers. That made it a lot easier and no surprises. This was really important with those who have served in the military overseas. Some really strange questions...lol |
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Worst experience of my life. Second worst experience of my life.
I would rather get tazed again. Not sure about pepper spray... He called me a liar several times and even stopped the test because of my breathing. I was hyperventilating I think haha. (told me I was breathing too deep––then too shallow) |
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Pretty much everything you want to know about the polygraph:
http://antipolygraph.org/ It's an intimidation tool. It doesn't detect "Lies". It measures physiological changes in the body. The examiner then interprets those changes as an attempt to deceive. As mentioned before, there's a good reason why the "test" isn't admissible in court. It isn't accurate. |
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Pretty much everything you want to know about the polygraph: http://antipolygraph.org/ It's an intimidation tool. It doesn't detect "Lies". It measures physiological changes in the body. The examiner then interprets those changes as an attempt to deceive. As mentioned before, there's a good reason why the "test" isn't admissible in court. It isn't accurate. Um, for those about to take a test..... You often get asked if you have researched ways to beat the poly, and the above site would qualify for a yes. 
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People don't like lie detection equipment because no one likes to bring up embarassing things in their life. Get over it.
A good examiner will get good results on lie detection equipment. A crappy examiner will get crappy results....just like everything in law enforcement. Don't lie....and hope you get a good examiner!! |
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Quoted: Anybody have any experience with a polygraph examination? I just took one today and I don't know how well I did. I don't lie, I tell the truth and have nothing to hide. The proctor said that I was either breathing too deeply or trying to control my breathing and to just relax. That's kinda hard to do when a potential job is on the line lol. I've also read of guys failing even though they were completely honest. I may have to go back and retake it if my background investigator doesn't like the results. So. Stories, information, etc? How many strips did he run? IME, even when you do fine the examiner never admits it, always playing the game. FF, seriously? |
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How many strips did he run? IME, even when you do fine the examiner never admits it, always playing the game.
Not sure what you mean by strips. He had me hooked up to my right index and ring fingers, two around my chest, and a BP cuff on my left arm that I'm almost positive was intended to make me lose my fingers. One test I answered out loud, the other three were the exact same questions in which I was to answer silently to myself. |
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Pretty much everything you want to know about the polygraph: http://antipolygraph.org/ It's an intimidation tool. It doesn't detect "Lies". It measures physiological changes in the body. The examiner then interprets those changes as an attempt to deceive. As mentioned before, there's a good reason why the "test" isn't admissible in court. It isn't accurate. Um, for those about to take a test..... You often get asked if you have researched ways to beat the poly, and the above site would qualify for a yes.
Yeah. A magician doesn't like you looking behind the curtain. And for the same reasons. 
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Pretty much everything you want to know about the polygraph: http://antipolygraph.org/ It's an intimidation tool. It doesn't detect "Lies". It measures physiological changes in the body. The examiner then interprets those changes as an attempt to deceive. As mentioned before, there's a good reason why the "test" isn't admissible in court. It isn't accurate. Um, for those about to take a test..... You often get asked if you have researched ways to beat the poly, and the above site would qualify for a yes.
Yeah. A magician doesn't like you looking behind the curtain. And for the same reasons.
Not even 10pm yet...... Im off tonight... 
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Pretty much everything you want to know about the polygraph: http://antipolygraph.org/ It's an intimidation tool. It doesn't detect "Lies". It measures physiological changes in the body. The examiner then interprets those changes as an attempt to deceive. As mentioned before, there's a good reason why the "test" isn't admissible in court. It isn't accurate. Um, for those about to take a test..... You often get asked if you have researched ways to beat the poly, and the above site would qualify for a yes.
Yeah. A magician doesn't like you looking behind the curtain. And for the same reasons.
Not even 10pm yet...... Im off tonight...
Tell "Tom Selleck" to shave his mustache  Trust me, we have. He gets shit about it every day. 
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I refuse to ever take another.
I tried my hand at them twice in FL when I was trying for MSO, BPD. Couldn't pass because I couldn't get a definitive read. I'd come up inconclusive........ I guess I just didn't care enough about what I was saying...lol Anyhow, since they treat an inconclusive as a fail, I figure that I can't pass one so why bother taking it. It is really an insult, because I put a lot of time/effort into trying to become a cop and to have it not pan out was a real kick to the balls, let me tell you. |
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Just remember - it's not a lie as long as YOU BELEIVE IT. They're not foolproof and people can be trained to beat them, e.g. - Aldrich Ames & Robert Hanssen. I worked with a crooked pharmacist a long time ago and he would take a Valium whenever he was polygraphed about "shortages". As a non LEO I worked at a CLARK gas station pumpin gas. There was money missing, several days worth. The money was missing from the floor safe. Only one person could get into the safe and I was not one of them but still I had to take the polygraph. The polygraph indicated I probably did not steal the money, it did indicate I knew who did. Of 5 ppl who worked there only one could get into the safe. No damage to the safe but the money was missing. Given that fact and the law of physics I 'believed' the person with the safe combonation, the safe keys, and a cocaine habit stole the money. Myself and the other 3 gas pumpers were fired. The one manager who had access to the safe and a coke habit stayed on. Amazing! VonBarky |
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Just remember - it's not a lie as long as YOU BELEIVE IT. They're not foolproof and people can be trained to beat them, e.g. - Aldrich Ames & Robert Hanssen. I worked with a crooked pharmacist a long time ago and he would take a Valium whenever he was polygraphed about "shortages". As a non LEO I worked at a CLARK gas station pumpin gas. There was money missing, several days worth. The money was missing from the floor safe. Only one person could get into the safe and I was not one of them but still I had to take the polygraph. The polygraph indicated I probably did not steal the money, it did indicate I knew who did. Of 5 ppl who worked there only one could get into the safe. No damage to the safe but the money was missing. Given that fact and the law of physics I 'believed' the person with the safe combonation, the safe keys, and a cocaine habit stole the money. Myself and the other 3 gas pumpers were fired. The one manager who had access to the safe and a coke habit stayed on. Amazing! VonBarky Preemployment polygraphs and circumstance-specific polygraphs are not the same. |
| Well my background investigator called me today. He said that the results came up inconclusive and it would cost them more money to give me another test. He said the polygrapher's notes indicated that I was trying to control my breathing (presumably accusing me of cheating). He had me explain myself and said based on what I said he is going to review my file further and contact me in a few days to let me know what his verdict is. So I'm assuming that he will: 1) have me retake the polygraph or 2) not go through with the rest of the background investigation and not hire me. Only time will tell. |
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Well my background investigator called me today. He said that the results came up inconclusive and it would cost them more money to give me another test. He said the polygrapher's notes indicated that I was trying to control my breathing (presumably accusing me of cheating). He had me explain myself and said based on what I said he is going to review my file further and contact me in a few days to let me know what his verdict is. So I'm assuming that he will: 1) have me retake the polygraph or 2) not go through with the rest of the background investigation and not hire me. Only time will tell. Eh, if you're gonna get into the line of work. More likely, he's gaming you to see if you'll fess up to crap or trip you up. How old are you? Probably trying to see what he can stress you out on. If your background is clean and you aren't some walking experiment in amateur chemistry/pharmacology then you are probably fine. |
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How old are you? Probably trying to see what he can stress you out on. If your background is clean and you aren't some walking experiment in amateur chemistry/pharmacology then you are probably fine.
I'm 23. He did have me explain myself, which was odd. Seems like he wanted to see if I sounded like I was BSing or that something didn't match up. |
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I got asked how many times I had googled it (none) why I was breathing too deep why I was breathing too shallow, etc.
They aren't going to ask you anything you don't speak about beforehand. Kiddie porn, drugs, Stealing, and past criminal history are the big ones I remember. The question that worried me was "have you ever done anything that if caught you could be arrested for." Shooting off illegal fireworks, heck, out playing past curfew as a kid could get me arrested. That was a tough question and I didn't like it. |
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1st step to passing a poly: stop reading about them, nobody has much good to say about them, and you'll be thinking about all the bad shit you've heard the entire time you're hooked up.
2nd step: chill out. personal experience: I've taken 3, all at the same place, for 2 different agencies, all the same questions. 1st time with agency A: fail. i was telling the truth, the guy didn't believe me, and started yelling at me, then wondered why my heart rate etc went up. 2nd time, agency B: pass. all the same questions, different test admin, i gave all the same answers, piece of cake. 3rd time, agency A again (1 year since 1st time): passed, all the same questions, gave the same answers to the same test admin. the 2nd and 3rd time i went in with a clear head, the 1st time my little brother managed to freak me out about it right beforehand. |
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I'm a CVSA examiner. In my opinion, you should not use lie detection indiscriminately for pre-employment. You should bring it out when you find issues during the GOOD background investigation that you can't resolve. If the background check comes back clear or with all the issues addressed, then there is no reason to use the lie detection equipment.
I recently did a pre-employment CVSA. There was a couple concerns with the applicant based on the background check. Applicant took the CVSA, passed with flying colors, and was offered a job. |
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I'm a CVSA examiner. In my opinion, you should not use lie detection indiscriminately for pre-employment. You should bring it out when you find issues during the GOOD background investigation that you can't resolve. If the background check comes back clear or with all the issues addressed, then there is no reason to use the lie detection equipment. I recently did a pre-employment CVSA. There was a couple concerns with the applicant based on the background check. Applicant took the CVSA, passed with flying colors, and was offered a job. this. I failed 1/3, but it didn't keep me from employment, I was 100% open and honest on my BI, and even then, i'm pretty squeaky clean. my buddy is taking a federal one on monday for the same job i am in the academy for now (i barely missed the cut off), if he fails he'll be blacklisted from employment with multiple federal agencies. he has already passed a background a couple years ago, nothing has changed, and he is fresh off an internship with the agency he is applying for. his poly will likely be 4-7 hours long, where as mine was only 1hr for a local LE agency. it is a really shitty deal considering there were people that were fired due to integrity/criminal issues after their background was cleared and they already began employment, i wouldn't be surprised if these same people had passed a polygraph. |
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There is a reason why they are not admissible in court. I would answer truthfully, but I would also stongly advise you to stick with your answer! This is where they try and catch you in a lie. I took one out in Las Vegas and answered the questions truthfully. However, the person giving the test, once if was done and he was reviewing it with me, kept getting me to try and change an answer. he would say something like, on question #5.....I got a such and such reading. Sorry, I answered truthfully. Well...........this reading, blah, blah. When I was done and walked out the door, it hit me. That SOB was just sweating me, trying to dig up something that wasn't there or hoping I'd admit to something. Stick with your original answer! Yes, that might trip me up because I'm finding that with all my acting and on the spot assumption of a character to achieve a momentary improv, I'm shifting on whims for a few seconds such as if I want to get someone's goat. Ie, when I sincerely told a boss where I stood on office loyalty. "I'm loyal.........I know who's bed I sleep in." Or the other week when I was playing my traveler character where I don't think what language I want to say "thank you" in, there are about 5 or so I use, I just instantly say one that time and then another this time. Further, since I both analyze people's interpretations and use it myself, what is truth can be very subjective. Ie, such as various people who question my LE background and whether or not I was ever a cop. I believe I was; further, as a senior LEO once said to me, "I can understand how you can have that viewpoint." (He didn't say if it was right or wrong). Finally, there are times when what is one thing and what is another can depend on a single word. I have trained anti-terrorism troops but I have never trained counter-terrorism troops. To me, the prefix anti means one thing and counter means another but I suspect that there are a lot of people where they mean the same thing. Quoted:
Worst experience of my life. Second worst experience of my life. I would rather get tazed again. Not sure about pepper spray... He called me a liar several times and even stopped the test because of my breathing. I was hyperventilating I think haha. (told me I was breathing too deep––then too shallow) As things go, I never have taken one. I think the closest interview that I've had like that was when I, as a USN "Provost Marshall" had to do a security interview with an NIS agent.......about my belly dancing. Now, the interview wasn't triggered on that subject in itself; one of the girls in my class was an immigrant from a Warsaw Pact country and that, under Cold War security regs, required the interview. Which shows a difference of a point. If one is taking the polygraph for a job and they are worried about failing it, just remember that if one does fail it, it is not the end of the world. Doing a security interview with NIS on the other hand.......................................... Quoted:
Um, for those about to take a test..... You often get asked if you have researched ways to beat the poly, and the above site would qualify for a yes.
Guilty, I'm afraid, but for different reasons. With my extensive psychology and now acting background, I have probably looked at things like this for reasons in those disciplines. For example, ways to learn, know a situation so intense in one's mind that they believe it, that they can use it against an interrogation but yet the situation never occurred. Quoted:
People don't like lie detection equipment because no one likes to bring up embarassing things in their life. Get over it.......... How true! But that's one of those things that may be variable based on age and the times. One may be mortified at 30 to reveal that when they were 25, they let their boyfriend do a modified hanky code on them in bars but at 50, they may not care. Quoted:
I got asked how many times I had googled it (none) why I was breathing too deep why I was breathing too shallow, etc. They aren't going to ask you anything you don't speak about beforehand. Kiddie porn, drugs, Stealing, and past criminal history are the big ones I remember. The question that worried me was "have you ever done anything that if caught you could be arrested for." Shooting off illegal fireworks, heck, out playing past curfew as a kid could get me arrested. That was a tough question and I didn't like it. Questions like that would worry me, too, and the simple answer is "yes" but things are not always as they appear and what one thinks is not necessarily the correct situation. For example, when I got into the Navy, Traci Lords could be found in many a wardroom's VCR. Or, for that matter, considering how some people can see it, 60's era National Geographic could qualify in their minds. One of the big things up to a couple of years ago was had I ever possessed (had, transferred, stored, all sorts of conditions that qualified for "possessed") illicit drugs? Sure. Grass, morphine, bennies, probably others in various official duties. The catch was that up to the point that I learned that "official duties means it is not illicit", I did not know the difference between illicit and illegal. "Have you ever done anything that if caught you could be arrested for" probably should be re-termed as "have you ever done anything arrestable that you did not have license for", but I'm afraid that most people would not understand the question then. Certainly breaking into someone's house if caught by the police could get one arrested.....but it is another thing when one does it under a General's orders. But the catch is, what does one know and what does one believe. Probably best not to think about it too much at all. _______________________________________________________________ ("Yes, that's right. I'm Jack's son........Illegitimate, but some day it'll all be mine. You and I might be doing business, going out to lunch... all right, OK fine, I'm, I'll tell you the truth. Diana's CIA, I'm On Her Majesty's Secret Service, we've got the place surrounded... I'm really from Immigration, we thought you might have some illegal aliens working around here.........I apologize, I've been lying. I'm actually the chairman of the Committee to Reelect the President. I was hoping for a substantial contribution......Now you don't know what to believe, do you?"––Ed, (w,stte), "Into the Night") |
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Quoted: I'm a CVSA examiner. In my opinion, you should not use lie detection indiscriminately for pre-employment. You should bring it out when you find issues during the GOOD background investigation that you can't resolve. If the background check comes back clear or with all the issues addressed, then there is no reason to use the lie detection equipment. I recently did a pre-employment CVSA. There was a couple concerns with the applicant based on the background check. Applicant took the CVSA, passed with flying colors, and was offered a job. I think a lot of agencies just use them to say 'look, we tried to screen our applicants as best we can' so if officer friendly or firefighter bob goes nutso they can claim they tried. Both of my polys (for two different agencies) were at the same place, with the same examiner. He looked at me and was like 'weren't you in here last week? Mine were very laid back and low stress. The guy with the idea of not looking it up, and just chilling has it right. Just answer honestly, that's all you can do. |