The notorious polygraph test (also known as the "lie test") is often regarded as a cause of nervousness and fear, even for genuinely innocent people and should be able to pass without cheating or manipulating the results. If you need advice on how to pass the lie test on a polygraph test, you've come to the right place.
Step
Part 1 of 4: Before the Polygraph Test
Step 1. Understand how the polygraph test works
The polygraph test can't actually detect a lie, but it can recognize physiological changes that occur in your body, such as blood pressure, pulse, breathing patterns and sweating. That's why this test can detect physiological conditions that occur when you lie.
When you arrive at the test site after making an appointment, all equipment and processes will be inspected. It's okay to learn the basics yourself beforehand, but avoid reading the scary stories about polygraph tests floating around the Internet, as these will make you too nervous
Step 2. Try not to think too much before taking the test
If you worry too much about the polygraph test before taking it, you run the risk of confusing the test results and making yourself unnecessarily blamed.
- To avoid unnecessary worry, don't ask anyone who has had a polygraph test about their experience, don't think too deeply before the test, and don't try and guess what questions will be asked.
- Don't spend too much time studying websites that oppose polygraph tests, as these often mix facts with exaggerated conspiracy theories and can cause unnecessary panic.
Step 3. Treat your body appropriately the night and day before the test
You must feel comfortable during the polygraph test, in order to give an accurate physiological response. In order to feel good, you need to make sure that you are getting enough rest and that your body is really feeling good.
- Do your usual routine as precisely as possible. Even if these include activities that can affect your heart rate, such as drinking caffeinated coffee or a morning run, you should still do them, because your body has trained itself to function properly under such physiological conditions.
- Try to get seven or eight hours of sleep the night before the test.
- Make sure that you are not feeling hungry and that you are wearing loose and comfortable clothing.
Step 4. Complete any form given to you
Depending on why you need to have a polygraph test, you may need to complete a security declaration form or an authorization form. Fill out these forms without rushing. Read it carefully and put your signature only when you are ready for it.
Step 5. Tell us about any condition or treatment you are currently experiencing/undergoing
If you are sick, the examiner may need to reschedule the test. Certain medications, such as blood pressure medications, can also affect test results. That's why, you have to tell these conditions to the examiner.
- Illness can make you feel uncomfortable, thus confounding test results.
- If you are on prescription medication, before the test you should still take it as prescribed by your doctor.
- Contrary to what many believe, most anti-depressants cannot affect the results of the polygraph test and get you passed. You should still tell the examiner this medication, if you are currently taking it, as these medications can actually produce abnormal results.
Step 6. Study the questions without rushing
The examiner in the polygraph test is required to tell you these questions before the test. Take as long as you need, and don't be afraid to ask the examiner to clarify the meaning of any unclear or confusing questions.
You must ask clarifying questions before the test begins. In most cases, you will not be allowed to ask questions during the test. In fact, your answers will be limited to just “yes” and “no” during the polygraph test, so any discussion you need to have about the test questions should take place before the test begins
Step 7. Know the form of the test to be used
The standard polygraph test is in the form of a CQT ("Control Question Test"). However, sometimes you will be asked to take a test in the form of a DLT ("Directed Lie Test") or GKT ("Guilty Knowledge Test").
- In the CQT polygraph test, control questions will be included in the relevant questions. A control question is a question that almost anyone will answer with a “yes”, although many will be tempted to answer “no”. For example, "Have you ever lied to your parents?" or “Have you ever borrowed or taken anything without permission?”
- In the DLT polygraph test, you will receive several questions from the examiner and are directly asked to lie when answering them. In this way, the examiner can identify your physiological responses to lying by studying the questions he or she knows you answered with a lie.
- In the GKT polygraph test, you will be asked multiple choice questions about various facts that only you and the examiner know. Most of these questions are about the case under investigation. Your verbal responses will then be compared with your physiological responses.
Part 2 of 4: Undergoing and Passing the Polygraph Test Normally
Step 1. Allow yourself to be nervous
In today's world, it is impossible for anyone to be expected to remain in perfect composure during a polygraph test, even if he or she is completely innocent and has no secrets. By allowing yourself to be nervous, you can give the examiner an accurate picture of your physiological state of statistical data both when you're telling the truth and when you're lying.
- The lines on a polygraph screen are unlikely to be even and smooth, even when you're telling the truth.
- Surprisingly, only people who are nervous about every answer will appear most honest on the polygraph test.
Step 2. Speak the truth
If you don't have any secrets or anything you're embarrassed about, give honest answers to every question that's asked of you. This includes control questions, to which many people are expected to lie. The more often you tell the truth, the more accurate your test results will be. This is certainly a good thing, if you are innocent.
- While people often believe that there are trick questions designed to trick them into giving seemingly guilty answers, the current administrative ethics of polygraph testing actually requires that each question be honest and not misleading. Similarly, there will be no surprise questions at all.
- Listen to each question completely and thoroughly, then answer correctly. Don't just listen to part of the question or answer the question based on your assumptions about what it really means. You must answer each question based on the true meaning.
Step 3. Don't rush
You can ask the examiner to repeat the question two to six times, depending on who the examiner is. Make sure that you know how often you can have a question repeated, before the test begins. Don't rush to answer when a question is asked, as this kind of rush can mess up the test results and make you look guilty.
Question sessions usually last five to ten minutes, but can be longer, depending on how often you ask the question to be repeated, how long you think before giving an answer, and the nature or nature of the test itself
Part 3 of 4: Manipulating Polygraph Tests
Step 1. Put pressure on yourself when answering control questions
If you need to cheat or manipulate a polygraph test, one of the things most people advise is to put yourself under both mental and physical stress when you are asked to answer a control question. This will give you a higher pressure response threshold, so that when you do lie about the case or situation, your body's fluctuating response will appear to be more trivial than the previous response you purposely answered when answering the control question.
- Think of something that scares or excites you when you believe you're dealing with a control question.
- You can also increase your heart rate and increase sweating by trying to solve difficult math problems by heart. For example, 563 divided by 42, or similar problems.
Step 2. Remain calm when answering relevant questions
When receiving questions that are relevant to the case or situation at hand, keep yourself calm when answering them. By keeping yourself as calm as possible, you can prevent any spikes in your physiological responses from starting.
- Subconsciously, a lie only counts if it elicits a stronger physiological response than when you say a “white lie” in control questions. As long as your physiological responses to the other questions result in only a more subtle reaction than your reaction to the control question, that response will not count as a lie.
- Maintain a steady breathing pattern and remember that polygraph tests can be wrong, and that you can control your own physiological responses.
- Daydream about something relaxing, like cuddling under a warm blanket while drinking hot chocolate on a cold night, or taking a relaxing shower or bath.
Step 3. Avoid easy-to-know tricks
If the examiner finds that you are attempting to cheat, you may be asked to retest at a different schedule, or the examiner may be overly wary of possible subsequent acts of manipulation. Furthermore, attempts to manipulate the polygraph test may cause the examiner or examiner to give a harsher assessment when you finish the test.
- For example, don't put certain objects in your shoes and try to step on them every time you try to manipulate your vital sign response when answering control questions. Often, the examiner will ask you to take off your shoes during the test, to avoid these kinds of tricks.
- In fact, while physical pain can cause a spike in vital signs, it's usually easier to spot than psychological stress. Tongue biting, muscle tension, or other similar tactics can easily be caught if you are dealing with a professional polygraph examiner.
Part 4 of 4: After the Polygraph Test
Step 1. Talk to the examiner after the test
After you have completed the polygraph test, an examiner will study your answers and determine if you need to undergo a further questioning session or if there are things that need clarification.
- The examiner is very likely to ask about your answers if the results are inconclusive or if he suspects that you are lying.
- When studying your test results, examiners and examiners will also consider your emotional, medical and physical condition, as well as the factual details of the case or situation under which your test was administered.
Step 2. Wait until you receive the official test results and further instructions
Your test results need to be formally and professionally analyzed before being concluded. If you are suspected of lying or if your test results are inconclusive, you will be called and asked for a repeat polygraph.
The American Polygraph Association Standards and Ethics Committee requires examiners to share test results with test takers upon request, so if these test results are not provided to you after a week or two, you may contact the examiner for ask for it
Tips
Plan your time properly. Usually, the entire polygraph test procedure from start to finish takes 90 minutes to 3 hours
Warning
- Avoid using manipulation. If you are innocent and don't have any secrets, the best option is to always tell the truth and the truth during the test.
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Identify the conditions under which you should not have the test. Do not take this test if you:
- Forced to do it
- Have a serious medical condition for the heart
- Ever officially declared mentally disabled
- Pregnant
- Suffering from respiratory disease
- Suffering from nerve damage, paralysis, or stroke.
- Feeling physically sick
- Suffering from epilepsy
