How To Trick A Polygraph

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A lie detector test is commonly called a polygraph. They are used to record a subject's natural reaction, such as an increase in heart rate, to questions. The polygraph tracks and records these factors using multiple smaller devices. It has been built and developed since 1878 (Côté, Michel, Sergeant). The polygraph has its advantages and disadvantages, some people even claim it can be tricked. The United States uses them, but scientist are still uncertain of their accuracy. Many other countries do not use them out of concern for accuracy. In recent years, their use has decreased due to the uncertainty. Polygraphs have always been, and might always be, controversial.
As stated before, Polygraphs aren't used as frequently as one would think. …show more content…

They tend to question, "If I had to take a lie detector test, could I lie my way through it?" Whether you can trick a Polygraph or not is also controversial, but tends to lean more toward not being true. A lot of experts insist it is highly unlikely that a person would be able to trick a Polygraph because you simply cannot control things such as heart rate and breathing (Robinson, Bryan). It has also been said that you cannot trick a Polygraph because the questions are re-worded and repeated. This way, if you do lie, you have to remember your lie and repeat it while still keeping your heart rate and breathing under control (Palmer, Alun). This tactic, like may questioning tactics, originates from regular interrogations where the subject is asked the same question multiple times. It's harder to remember a lie than the truth. One expert says, "I don't want to say it's impossible, I believe it can be done in a highly controlled environment where the subject has been instructed to lie and has nothing to lose." (Robinson, Bryan). This is also a hard thing to test, because if anyone has ever lied their way through a Polygraph, we wouldn't even know unless it was a controlled experimental environment. These types of experiments would be hard to conduct, and therefore have not been done. This is a problem because part of the reason issues with Polygraphs still exist is because they are hard to

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