Can someone beat the test?
The polygraph works by recording changes in a person’s Sympathetic Nervous System, part of the Autonomic Nervous System, which operates independently of conscious thought. For example, your lungs and heart continue to operate even when you are asleep – you don’t have to think about it. These systems can be consciously controlled only very slightly, and attempts to change these systems are usually picked up by the examiners, who are trained to identify such things. It is highly unlikely that someone can alter the outcome of a polygraph exam, but it is not impossible. A verified accuracy rate as high as 95% attests to this fact.
(back to top) The polygraph works by recording changes in a person’s Sympathetic Nervous System, part of the Autonomic Nervous System, which operates independently of conscious thought. For example, your lungs and heart continue to operate even when you are asleep – you don’t have to think about it. These systems can be consciously controlled only very slightly, and attempts to change these systems are usually picked up by the examiners, who are trained to identify such things. It is highly unlikely that someone can alter the outcome of a polygraph exam, but it is not impossible. A verified accuracy rate as high as 95% attests to this fact. Use of certain drugs and medications can also affect the exam, but such use generally results in an “inconclusive” test. It is virtually impossible to change a result from “deceptive” to “truthful” through the use of drugs or medications prior to an exam. If drugs are suspected, a pre-test (or post-test) drug screening is advised.
