Polygraph Test Techniques

Although the polygraph instrument is the center piece of the technique, the ability of the polygraph test to
detect deception also depends critically on other elements of the process.

One is the interpretation of the polygraph chart. Interpretation normally involves comparison of physiological
responses to "relevant" questions, i.e., questions about the issue that is the focus of the examination and
responses to other questions that are asked for purposes of comparison.

Interpretation is often done by the examiner who reviews the chart and may code it according to a standard
protocol. People other than the examiner may also use such a protocol to code a chart. Chart interpretation can
also be done by computer.

Here are the standard protocols typically followed:

1. Pre-test Phase: Before the polygraph examination, the examiner conducts a pre-test interview to
gather relevant information and establish a baseline for comparison. The examiner explains the
purpose and procedure of the test and ensures that the examinee understands the questions and the
consequences of providing false information.

2. Test Phase: During the test phase, the examiner asks a series of relevant, control, and irrelevant
questions. The physiological responses of the examinee, such as changes in heart rate, blood pressure,
respiration, and skin conductivity, are recorded by the polygraph instrument.

3. Scoring and Analysis: After the test phase, the examiner analyzes the physiological responses recorded
during the examination. The examiner compares the examinee's responses to the relevant questions
with their responses to the control and irrelevant questions. Significant differences in physiological
responses may indicate deceptive or truthful responses.

4. Evaluation and Conclusion: The examiner evaluates the overall patterns of physiological responses
and considers other factors, such as the examinee's behavior during the test and the context of the
examination. Based on this evaluation, the examiner forms a conclusion regarding the examinee's
truthfulness or deception.

5. Reporting: The examiner prepares a report summarizing the test results and their interpretation. The
report typically includes the examiner's conclusions and any supporting data or observations.
 Rules in Formulating Test Questions

The phraseology of the test question is an extremely important aspect of the examination. The questions, and
every word used in the questions, must be unambiguous, unequivocal, and thoroughly understandable by the
subject. This area of instruction covers one of the most vital phases of lie detection, the selection of the correct
issue and formulation of questions, which reflect both the needs of the examiners and the concepts of the
examinee.
The hereunder are the rules to be observed in formulating polygraph questions:

1. Question must be simple and direct

2. Must not involve legal terminology, such as: rape, murder, assault, etc.
3. Must be answerable by "Yes" and "No."
4. Must be short as possible.
5. The meaning must be cleared and unmistakable phrase in a language and the subject can be easily
understood.
6. Must not be in the form of an accusation.
7. Question must never contain inference which presupposes knowledge on the part of the subject.8. All
questions must refer to one offense only.
9. All questions must refer to only one element of an offense.
10. Must not contain inferences to one's religion, race or belief.

Formulating the Actual Questions

With the respect to the formulation of the actual test questions, the use of a hypothetical case situation may
serve best to illustrate the procedure. After the test questions have been prepared, each one should be read to
the subject, and he should be asked if he fully understands them. The examiner should then be advised that
only these questions, and no others, would be asked during the test.

In the hypothetical case, therefore, the test questions would be as follows:

1. Have you been called Mario?

2. Are you in Cabanatuan City now?
3. Did you steal Juan Dela Cruz's watch last Sunday night?
4. Are you over 35 years of age?
5. Did you shoot Juan Dela Cruz last Saturday?
6. Did you ever steal anything else?
7. Did you ever go to school?
8. Were those your footprints near Juan Dela Cruz' body?
9. Do you know for sure who shoot Juan Dela Cruz?
10. Did you ever steal anything from a place where you worked?
 Limiting the Scope of Questions

The relevant test question used in any examination should be confined to a single case investigation. The
polygraph technique is not effective for simultaneous testing regarding two more unrelated Occurrences.
Moreover, there is a severe limitation as to the issue that may be explored even in regard to a single incident.
Therefore, the scope of the questions must be limited relevant-irrelevant questions.

Chart Markings Interpretation

The accuracy of instrumental detection of deception is dependent upon the examiner's ability to diagnose truth
or deception by reading and interpreting the chart. Chart analysis is the final and most crucial part of any
polygraph examinations.

This phase of study teaches the student how to understand the physiological phenomena recorded by the
instrument, to make the proper and necessary comparison, and to reach an accurate conclusion of truth or
deception.

General Rules of Chart Interpretation

The following are the general rules of chart interpretation:

1. There must be a specific response; it must form the norm of the subject. The primary use of chart
interpretation is to help in determining whether or not the process in question is stable

2. It must appear in at least two or more charts. The best indications of deception are the simultaneous
appearance of specific responses in the Pneumograph, Cardiosphymograph, and Galvanograph tracings on the
chart.

Typical Polygraph Room

The setting should be quiet and private, and the subject seated. The examiner must be objective and thoroughly
trained, and use procedures that are consistent with accepted standards. The traditional apparatus worn by the
subject during polygraph testing includes a so- called pneumograph tube around the chest to record respiration,
a blood-pressure cuff, and electrodes on the fingertips to record the skin's electrical activity.

The ideal examination room, are as follows:

(1) it must be spacious for two persons;

(2) it must be well ventilated;
(3) it must be well lighted;
(4) it must not be decorated; and
(5) it must be 90 percent sound proof.
 Design of Polygraph Chair

The chair is especially useful for the examiner whose profession takes him into many unknown field-testing
situations. The examiner's desk is designed to provide unparalleled quality polygraph table for convenient of
examiner. It is scientifically designed straight back chair with adjustable arms rest permits recording with
maximum pulse amplitude for both arm and wrist cuff techniques.

It allows the body to set in a proper upright position. Arm rests adjust independently in both horizontal and
vertical plains and friction locks hold the rests in proper position. Design provides the examiner with It can be
used with analog and computerized systems.

Scientific Methods of Detecting Deception

It has been a long way since the days when donkeys and rice were used to predict when a person was lying. And
as man became more scientific, so did the methods.

1. The Polygraph. A polygraph, popularly referred to as a lie detector, is an instrument that measures and
records several physiological responses such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration and skin conductivity while
the subject is asked and answers a series of questions, on the theory that false answers will produce
distinctive measurements.

The polygraph measures physiological changes caused by the sympathetic nervous system during questioning. In
other sense, polygraph is a devise that measures a person's bodily response or recording the internal reactions
from the subject.

2. Truth Serum or Narco-Analysis. A truth drug or truth serum is psychoactive drug used to attempt to obtain
information from an unwilling subject, most often by a police, intelligence, or military organization. The use of
truth drugs is classified as a form of torture according to international law.

It has been reported that "truth drugs" have been used by Russian secret services, successors of the KGB, and
India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). However, the use of Narco-Analysis methods in Criminal
Investigation is not advisable because of the following reasons:

a. Administration of drugs is dangerous if not properly administer. It may kill the subject or damage the brain
and spinal cord in such a manner that the subject will turn like vegetable.

b. Unreliable results, the information taken from the subject is not reliable be true, if the subject gave false
information under narcosis.
c. The information taken from the subject under narcosis is not admissible in court as evidence, although not
admissible; it is quite

useful for further investigation.

d. It deprived the subject of his or her own free will to speak freely, and very few doctors agree to use drug
serum for criminal investigation, unless it will use for diagnosis and treatments.

The substance of truth serum or so-called truth drugs includes ethanol, scopolamine, temazepam, and various
barbiturates including the anaesthetic induction agent sodium thiopental-commonly known assodium
pentothal. All are sedatives hat interfere particularly with judgment and higher cognitive function.

These are the following description of these drugs:

1. Ethanol: Ethanol (ethyl), also known as alcohol, is a psychoactive substance that is commonly found in
alcoholic beverages. It is a central nervous system depressant that affects the brain and can lead to
changes in mood, behavior, and cognition. Ethanol has sedative effects and can impair judgment,
coordination, and motor skills. It is not typically used as a truth serum but may be associated with
decreased inhibitions and increased talkativeness in some individuals.

2. Scopolamine: Scopolamine, also known as hyoscine, is a medication derived from plants in the
nightshade family. It is primarily used to treat motion sickness, postoperative nausea and vomiting,
and to decrease saliva production before surgery. Scopolamine has a long history of use as a potential
truth serum. It can cause amnesia and confusion, making individuals more susceptible to suggestion.
However, the use of scopolamine as a truth serum is controversial and not widely accepted in medical or
legal contexts.

Devil's breath' aka scopolamine

3. Temazepam: Temazepam is a benzodiazepine medication that is primarily used to treat insomnia. It
works by enhancing the effects of a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the
brain, which helps to induce sleep and reduce anxiety. Temazepam has sedative and hypnotic
properties and can cause drowsiness, relaxation, and decreased anxiety. While it can induce a state of
relaxation, it is not commonly used as a truth serum.

4. Barbiturates: Barbiturates are a class of sedative-hypnotic drugs that act as central nervous system
depressants. They were once widely used for their sedative, hypnotic, and anticonvulsant properties.
Barbiturates can induce a state of sedation, relaxation, and sleep. However, they are associated with a
high risk of dependence, tolerance, and overdose. The use of barbiturates as truth serums is not
supported by scientific evidence and is considered unethical.

5. Sodium Thiopental (Sodium Pentothal): Sodium thiopental, commonly known as sodium pentothal, is
an ultra-short-acting barbiturate that is primarily used as an anesthetic induction agent. It is used to
induce unconsciousness before general anesthesia or for medically induced coma. Sodium thiopental has
a rapid onset of action and is used to quickly induce anesthesia. It is not typically used as a truth serum,
and its use for obtaining information or confessions is controversial and unethical.
It is important to note that the use of truth serums or so-called truth drugs is highly controversial and not
supported by scientific evidence. The reliability and ethical implications of using substances to extract
information or induce truthfulness are widely debated.

3. Alcoholic Beverages. Alcohol in the form of beverage maybe use as methods of detecting deception and
usually the hard liquor is one preferred, but other is soft liquor provided it served the purposes. The subject is
to forget alibis and sometimes unveiling the secrets of crime. Nevertheless, the information taken from the
subject under the influence of liquor is also not admissible in court as evidence because of the involuntary
condition of the subject. However, it may admissible if the subject can recall his statement when he was under
the influence of alcohol when confronted again.

4. Stimulus Association Test. In this test, the subject will be interviewed wherein a group of stimulus words or
persons will be presented to the subject. He or she will then be instructed to answer the questions as quickly as
possible, and the time interval between each relevant question and the answer were noted down as well as the
reaction of the subject to the stimulus words or subjects or persons related to the crime.

This test is not reliable as a deception detection method because of the following reasons:

a. A person likes the recidivist and really guilty may defeat the test by telling lies;

b. Sometimes, the test requires the use of intelligence in answering questions; and

c. A nervous person who is innocent may have a long time interval in answering questions and may even have
signs and symptoms of guilt.

The test is a common procedure in psychoanalysis and is used to investigate personality and its pathology. In
this test, the subject is told to state the first word that comes to mind in response to a stated word, concept, or
other stimulus. Then, subject's reaction to emotionally charged memories and ideas provoked by the test
stimuli may produce atypical or revealing associations or more often, unusually long or short reaction times.

5. Brain Wave Fingerprinting. Neuroscientist Lawrence Farwell, who runs a Brain Wave Institute in Fairfield,
Iowa, patented this technique in 1995, which has attracted the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a better way to detect moles. The principle is that different
regions of the brain light up when people tell the truth or lie, and further, that different regions are activated
depending upon the type of lie.

Dr. Farwell's research, however, looks at a specific type of electrical brain wave, called P300 or an Event Related
Potential (ERP), which activates when a person sees a familiar object. For example, if a murder suspect is
claiming an alibi, then their P300 wave will not be activated when they are shown the murder weapon. The
technology is promising in that the research indicates the brain stores visual images. In the P300 test, a
subject wears a headband of electrodes and faces a computer screen.
6. Psychological Stress Evaluation. PSE, sometimes called voice stress analysis, is based on the use of a certain
machine developed in the late 1960s that presumably detects "guilt-revealing", laryngeal micro-tremors which
exist in the voice and are associated with stress and lying. Most research has produced negative or mixed
findings of a relationship between micro-tremors, lying and deception. Like the polygraph, the key to success is
the preparation of prepared test questions. A handful of states, like Arkansas and Louisiana, have licensing
requirements for PSE evaluators, but it's generally conceded that PSE is not admissible in civil or criminal cases
and only useful in investigative settings.

7. Use of Hypnotism. Hypnotism has been defined as "a sleep like state" that nevertheless permits a wide range
of behavioral responses to stimulation. The hypnotized individual appears to heed only the communications of
the hypnotist, even memory and awareness of self may be altered by suggestion and the effects of that
suggestion may be extended, i.e., "hypnotically into subsequent waking activity" understanding the occult.
Hypnosis is a state of human consciousness involving focused and reduced peripheral awareness; and an
enhanced capacity to response to any suggestions; and hypnosis is usually induced by a procedure known as a
hypnotic induction involving a series of preliminary instructions and suggestions. Hypnotism finds its way in
criminal investigation by putting the subject to sleep and then questions will be asked to him in that state. The
subject is now under the control and influence by the hypnotist.

TECHNIQUES OF ADMINISTRATION

A polygraph test may be administered to determine if someone is telling the truth or a lie. A polygraph test is
given by an accredited polygraph examiner in the private practice or by the office of Polygraph divisions of
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) or the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Lie detector tests are a scientific procedure to collect physiological data to determine honesty or guilt.
Polygraph is being used to verify statements and to identify the innocent and the guilty, usually with criminal
and civil matters, government law enforcement, and pre- employment screening.

Phases of Polygraph Examination

The conduct of polygraph examination is consisting of three separate and distinct phases, and these are as
follows:

1. Pre-Test Phase. Polygraph tests are most often performed by independent examiners. During the pre-test
phase the polygraph examiner will explain the basic theory behind the polygraph test. The examiner will discuss
the procedures associated with the test, as well as the types of questions that will be asked. Examiners may not
ask the examinee any question during the polygraph test that has not been discussed prior to the test.
During this first phase, the polygraph examiner will:

a. Inform the examinee of the specific issue that is being investigated.

b. Advise the examinee of his or her constitutional rights, of his or her right to an attorney and of the
voluntary action of submitting to a polygraph examination.

c. Complete the necessary documentation.

d. Provide the examinee with a detailed explanation of the polygraph instrumentation with its components
and how these work.

e. Answer any questions that the examinee may have.

f. Obtain the examinee's version of the facts regarding the specific

issue under investigation.

g. Formulate and review with the examinee all the questions that will be asked of him or her during the
polygraph examination.

2. In-Test Phase. The actual polygraph examination takes place during this phase. The polygraph examiner will
place several types of sensors on the examinee's body. The examinee will have a two-minute relaxation period
between each test. Upon completion of the in-test phase, the examiner will analyze, interpret and evaluate the
examinee's physiological data collected during the polygraph examination. After the in-test phase, the examiner,
will form one of the following professional opinions:

a. No Deception Indicated (NDI) or the subject is telling the truth.

b. Deception Indicated (DI) or the subject is not telling the truth.

c. Inconclusive (INC) or the evaluation of the physiological data is inconclusive.

3. Post Test Phase. The examiner will administer the polygraph test once all of the sensors are put into place.
The examiner will ask the examinee the questions that have been determined by the client before the test. Once
the test is complete, the polygraph examiner must analyze the responses that are recorded onto the charts
during the examination. Examiners may ask the examinee about specific responses to questions asked during
the test. Examiners then make a determination of truthfulness, based on the examinee's response to the
questions asked during the polygraph test.