If a person took a lie detector?

Question

as a witness to a crime and in thier mind they were sure that it was a certain person but it was actually a person who looked just like him,would the detector still show it as true?

Answer 1

Well, yes, the lie detector only knows the true and false. So, if someone truly thought the wrong person was the killer than the lie detector could only affirm that person's thoughts. They would probably be asked, Did "so and so" kill "so and so". If they say "yes," their not lying, because in their minds it is the truth.

Answer 2

Yes. The lie detector reflects the subject's state of mind--not the actual facts. (Also, lie detector tests are imperfect, because SOME people can consciously control what's usually an unconscious reaction with most people. AND some people, who are psychopaths, can also beat a lie detector test, because they don't feel guilty about anything, and so they don't have "normal" emotional reactions [which is what a lie detector actually tests for--emotions].)

Answer 3

Course. You should know, asking the question and all, that a lie detector only goes with what the person being tested truly believes in. You know, the whole heart rate increasing if the comment is a lie, or somewhat untrue. So yeah, simply because that person believes that his/her heart rate won't climb up and the lie detector won't go off.

Answer 4

A "lie detector" rates body reactions to questions. When a person is "lying", they tend to have accelerated heart rate, their body temp goes up, and they begin to sweat. The machine picks up on all of this, and that is how a person is found out to be truthful or not.

To "pass" a lie detector test, a person just has to believe they are telling the truth. So if you in your heart of hearts honestly believe that you are being truthful, your heart will not accelerate, you will not begin sweating, and your body temp will not go up. So you will pass.

The test doesn't tell if you are actually telling a lie - it is all physical reaction to questioning.

Answer 5

a lie detector does not indicate truth or lies. it only indicates a change in reaction. if the person believes something to be true and still reacts differently to the question the interpreter can decide it's a lie. If someone controls their emotion they can lie and still deceive the interpreter. that's why they are not admitted as evidence. like the bible, lie detectors are open to interpretation.

Answer 6

Yes, because a lie detector doesn't actually detect "untruth", it only detects anxiety. It does this by monitoring your heartrate and other bodily activities. The name "lie detector" is a bit of a misnomer--the real name for these devices is a "polygraph":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lie_detector

If a person telling an untruth honestly believes that they're telling the truth, then they will not experience the anxiety associated with lying, therefore the polygraph won't detect the anxiety or the lie.

Answer 7

It is a lie detector, not a truth detector.

It can tell when most people are lying. it misses the boat when the person as a psychological defect.

There is no truth detector, save a psychic such as Sylvia Browne!

Answer 8

Yes because the polygraph test only reads conscience deception. In this case there wasn't even any deception because the person taking the test thought it was true.

Also here is how to pass a polygraph test if you are going to be deceptive.

1. Don't go to sleep the night before or anytime before the test. This will help give you a relaxed state, sleeping pills before the test help too.

2. Rub anti-perspirint on your finger tips. This will hide your heat and sweat. They put sensors on your finger tips to sense these things. If you sweat or there's heat increase that shows up as deception.

3. Put a pin under your foot in your shoe. Simply throws off the system due to nerve endings.

Answer 9

lie detector only show how nerves or apprehensive a person is, so is they are comfortable with the answer and believe it to be true the lie detector you see it a true.

Answer 10

polygraphs detect subtle changes in your body (how much you sweat, your pulse, your breathing rate, etc.) to gage whether or not you're telling a lie. if the individual taking the test believes he's telling the truth, there should be no reaction, thereby coming across as the truth on the lie detector.