And how are the most accurate lie detector tests able to detect real lies? It is used for detecting crimes like grand larceny and crimes one might not commit.
2007-01-11 16:43:27 · 6 answers · asked by caltam84 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
They do not detect lies. They detect changes in body functions that are generally conducive to someone not telling the truth.
Habitual lyers are known to easily beat the polygraph. They do not suffer from the tell tell signs that normal people exhibit when they lie.
Also, if I am told your last name is Smith, and it is Johnson, but I do not know that. I will not know I am lying when they ask me if your last name is Smith, and I tell them yes.
2007-01-11 17:05:23 · answer #1 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
While some people believe that polygraph tests are reliable, there is little scientific evidence to buttress this claim. For example, while some claim the test to be accurate in 70% - 90% of the cases, critics charge that rather than a "test", the method amounts to an inherently unstandardizable interrogation technique whose accuracy cannot be established. Critics also argue that even given high estimates of the polygraph's accuracy a significant number of subjects (e.g. 10% given a 90% accuracy) will appear to be lying, and would unfairly suffer the consequences of "failing" the polygraph.
2007-01-12 01:33:29 · answer #2 · answered by greβ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not very. I've seen my brother beat a lie detector on more than one occasion (he was lying through his teeth). Whereas I failed a lie detector test even though the polygrapher and I knew I was telling the truth. He was asking me questions about where we ate for lunch and stuff about what I did that morning while I escorted him through a classified space.
There's a reason that polygraphs aren't admissable in a court.
2007-01-12 00:51:19 · answer #3 · answered by darkemoregan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Google "lie detector accuracy" and read as much as you can, get as much from all sides as you can, then make your own damn decision as to whether polygraphs are reliable or not.
2007-01-12 00:47:53 · answer #4 · answered by eatmorec11h17no3 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lie detectors are so inacurate, that - whatever these might be testing - is not regarded as evidence in any court.
2007-01-12 02:58:08 · answer #5 · answered by Emil Alexandrescu 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are NOT accurate, that is why the results from polygraph exams are NOT admissible in court.
2007-01-12 06:47:42 · answer #6 · answered by WC 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋