The Truth Behind the Accuracy of the Polygraph Test

The polygraph is a test that many people call the lie detector test, however the test cannot tell if a person is lying 100 percent of the time. The misconception of the myth is that the test is 100 percent correct, given in the name lie-detector. The polygraph is not an accurate form of detecting whether a person is telling the truth or not from a directed question. The myth is that most people believe that polygraphs are always accurate, but they are not always correct. Polygraphs can have incorrect results that vary on many different conditions. This myth about polygraphs is important to contemporary society because polygraphs are not always accurate which is important for legal situations. This is the reason that sometimes a polygraph test cannot be used in court because it is considered circumstantial evidence. The knowledge of knowing that a polygraph is not always correct can save someone from being convicted of a crime that they did not commit (Madsen & Grubin, 2005). The myth is present in real life because the judicial system does not allow the polygraph as a form of evidence in court. “Moreover, reviews of polygraph testing carried out by scientists at arm’s length to the polygraph profession have repeatedly failed to support the accuracy proponents claim for the polygraph” (Iacono, 2006). Iacono is saying that the polygraph is a test that continues to be used by scientists and other professionals, however the results of the polygraph test show that the test is not always correct. This shows that even professionals and scientists need to be educated that the polygraph is not always going to be correct.

Science says that the lie detector test does not always come out with the correct answer. The polygraph tests the person’s response to the question being asked. For example, the polygraph would be able to tell if a person’s blood pressure increased after being asked a question (Vogel & Baran, 2016). The blood pressure does not have to increase because the person answering the question is lying. The blood pressure could be increasing for any other reason. People believe that polygraphs are always correct because the information being put out by The American Polygraph Association says that they are 90 percent accurate (Vogel & Baron, 2016). Also, during an investigation the polygraph is usually followed by an interrogation by the police if the polygraph is failed. This would cause the suspect to confess about the crime. However, if the suspect passes the polygraph there will be no interrogation, but the suspect could have still committed the crime. This would deflate the number of failed polygraphs because the suspect could have still committed the crime and passed the polygraph (Kraphol, Shull & Ryan, 2002). A failed polygraph test is not common in the world of criminal justice, and the investigators can not depend on a polygraph test to always tell them the right answer.

The polygraph is difficult test to gain conclusions from because of the inability of data. You do not know if a person is lying or not because the person themselves only knows the truth. Scientists are testing if there are certain ways that a person could fake a polygraph test without fail (Nelson, 2014). Scientists know that a polygraph test is not going to be 100 percent correct, but the common person probably does not know the polygraph test is not always going to give the correct answer. It is not possible to measure if someone is lying or not, so the test measures the bodies response to the questions. This cannot draw a correct conclusion from the results because the body could be under a lot of stress or some other type of problem while going through the polygraph test. One example of the myth is Aldrich Ames. Aldrich Ames was a criminal who used strategies to beat the polygraph test twice. Aldrich got away with his crimes by getting a good night sleep and staying calm during the test (Vogel & Baron, 2016). A second example of the myth is Bill Weargle who was under investigation for the murder of his wife. He failed a polygraph test, meaning the police thought he was the one who killed his wife. However, DNA and other evidence ended up finding out that another man killed Weargle’s wife (Vogel & Baron, 2016). Bill Weargle was probably under a lot of stress that caused the polygraph test to give a misleading answer. People believe in the myth because of the common misconception that lie detectors can always tell if you are lying. Also, the whole point of the test is that every person acts differently while they lie. However, this is not true a lot of people can keep their composure and act normally under a polygraph test (Madsen & Grubin, 2006). Some people have the skill to stay composed under certain circumstances that would normally cause a person to be panicking under stress. The ability to not have stress under high intensity situations is something that people train themselves how to do.

Every person acts differently when they lie, however some people are better at keeping their cool better than others (Lesniak, 2014). This another reason that the polygraph test is unreliable because people have different capabilities of lying and different reactions (Vogel & Baron, 2016). A lot of people believe in the polygraph test, but there is a good amount of people that do not believe. There is a good amount if law enforcement that believes that the polygraph can put them into the right direction with a case. Some people are even skeptical of the polygraph test because they are afraid that some secrets that they do not want other people to know will come out by taking the test (Barber, 2013). This is because people think that the polygraph test can detect every single lie that a person tells but that is not true. Research is combatting the myth by coming out with statistics against the polygraph. “Critics, however, say the tests are correct only 70 percent of the time (Vogel & Baron, 2016). This number is vastly different from the 90 percent accuracy that the American Polygraph Association says about the test (Vogel & Baron, 2016). The polygraph test needs to be known that it is not a test that can detect every person’s experiences in their life and tell that they are not telling the truth. The test only measures changes in the body when the questions from the investigator are being asked. The polygraph should not be called a lie detector test because this is a misleading name (Farah, Hutchinson, Phelps & Wagner, 2014). This makes people think that the test detects every lie that a person tells but that is not the case. The name should strictly be called a polygraph test. This would not allow people to assume that you are lying if you passed a polygraph test. This would allow the common person to not think the test is strictly talking about a person lying.