Lie detector test, also known as a polygraph test, is conducted by a device when someone is dicey about a person’s statements. Poly refers to multiple, and graph means moving paper. A band of paper records the reading of the three indicators that are mainly blood pressure, breathing rate, and skin conditions. To sense an individual’s accuracy, we need a lie detector test to be carried out by evaluating a person’s speech. Lie detection test usually requires validation and allowed by the government of the respected country or state. A truthful person may be dishonest while describing his reports, while a false one may be anxious. It is essential to clear the facts so that the statement will be apparent. But the question arises of do lie detectors actually work? Then it is not always true that an anxious person may be false or untruthful, and a confident person is still genuine and authentic.
The three indicators of an autonomic awakening of the polygraph test are as follows:
-
Heart rate: When a person is said to be lying, he is known to be facing situations of extraordinarily high or low blood pressure. It is generally noted to be healthy when the indicator of a lie detector does not show any increased or decreased heartbeat or blood pressure.
-
Skin: While taking the lie detection test, a person’s skin and hair follicles and known to occur goose bumps while telling a lie and vice versa.
-
Respiration: The person is determined to be lying if his respiratory system fluctuates incredibly, and he breathes heavily during the session. The lie detector or polygraph test will show the levels of breath taken by a person slowly or sluggishly.
Can a lie detector be inaccurate?
The lie detecting test is almost always false and does not provide the right amount of information to the crime branch. A person’s intuitions and feelings while taking the test might interchange, and he might be caught in false accusations due to the inaccuracy of the polygraph test. The person is asked several questions and expected to give the right answers and not to lie even in extreme circumstances.
Type of questions asked in a polygraph test:
There are primarily two categories of issues that can be requested from the suspect, namely, control questions and relevant questions. The control questions are those questions that can be asked regarding past incidents or happening in the suspect’s life. An example of a control question is, “have you lied to your wife ever?” And the relevant questions are asked when he is suspected to be doing a criminal offense and also, to provoke an answer from the suspect. Like “is today a Sunday?” if both types of questions can be interlinked, then it is known to be an indecisive or inconclusive test.
Can drugs make an impact on the answers of the polygraph test?
Drugs such as caffeine, heroin, cannabis, cocaine, or any sort of sedative widely affect the replies that a suspect is going to answer. They make a significant impact on a person’s nervous system by releasing certain kinds of hormones and molecules in the human brain.
The number of questions legit to ask in a polygraph test:
Usually, nine to ten questions are assumed to be okay when doing a lie detector test, and the suspect is given a trial for understanding the technique of the test being conducted on him. Five to six sensors are linked to the suspect through wires while administering a lie detector test. The lie detection test is known to be 90% true, according to the studies. But the public and media say it to be only 70% accurate. But it solely depends on how the test is being conducted.
What is the Guilty Knowledge Test?
This test is an alternative option to the lie detection test and is conducted when the investigator knows that the person has performed a crime of theft, murder, or something like that. He is assumed to be answering the question by given multiple options to select as the right answer. For example, “you killed him at night time or in the morning?” the chances of ‘no deception’ end here. The investigator here is sure about the crime being done by the suspect, and he is just getting the closure to the offense.
