Polygraph's

[drew]

Why do they even use these things in the hiring process? It has been proven over and over again that they can make an honest man look like a liar and vice versa. I know there just trying to find out if people are honest or not but I don

[Delta_V]

Some places give more weight to poly scores than others, and some have eliminated the poly from testing all together.

One large agency here will not disqualify someone based on how they do on the polygraph. What they do is tell the applicant that they didn't pass some of the questions and ask for an explination. Basically they are trying to get the applicant to admit to lying (or not being totally forthcoming). Once they admit to not being completely honest ("oh yeah, maybe I did smoke weed just ONE time back in high school..."), they're out. Answer the same as they did on the poly? They pass.

The advice I've been given for polygraphs is to be honest and NOT EVER change your answer to any questions after the test is over. This is when the examiner tells you that you indicated deception on certain questions and wants some clarifiation. Say anything other than what you said during the test, and you can kiss passing the polygraph goodbye.

Also, a lot of the results can be attributed to the examiner. A polygraph is only as good as the person giving the test. Your cousin should request a re-examination with a different examiner, his results could be completely different depending on the competency level of the original examiner.

A good book written on polygraphs is "A Tremor in the Blood" by David Lykken. While this book does cause some debate among polygraph experts, I found it very informative.

[ 09-09-2002, 05:09 PM: Message edited by: PatrickM98 ]

[Sam]

They are good for scaring people. Maybe they hope to scare off some of the bad ones. When I took my test they told me I had a problem, I told them I think the machine had the problem because I told them the truth. The fellow before me was told the machine showed a problem, he cussed and shouted and cried. He didn't make it, I did, go figure.

[Mikey911]

I failed my poly the first time and was ****ED... I think it was due to the interviewer.. he failed me on the same questions he failed 3 other people on that day.. so, I was wondering what was up with him. Other than being a burned out ***** that deserved to rot in the pits of.. well, you know where. I thought he should of been fired. Anyway, I retook it in 30 days and passed.
PERSONALLY. I think the polygraph is the BIGGEST joke of a test. PERIOD.

[drew]

I know they say you

[Evnings]

If a background is done right, there should be no need for a polygraph. I think it is quackery. Along with every polygraph, you should get a bottle of snake oil.

[Bearcat06]

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[VANMAN]

I agree, I took a polygraph test from two different exaiminers. A couple of the questions I passed on the first, I failed on the second and vice-versa. They are not very reliable at all.