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I have added two new sentences to the first paragraph regarding the polygraph’s history. The first sentence briefly summarizes how early societies utilized ancient methods of torture for lie detection. I felt that it was important to establish the safety and efficiency of the polygraph and provide a reason why the old methods were eventually dropped. In addition, I wrote that William Marston’s concept machine indicated a strong positive correlation between systolic blood pressure and lying because I felt it was limited. With the source I have provided, it assists in explaining why Marston was the advocate for the modern polygraph. I also included another sentence in the second paragraph regarding Elizabeth Marston serving as inspiration for Marston’s work. It might be an unnecessary addition as the paragraph supports her collaboration, but I felt that another source would suffice. I also added a couple new sentences to the fourth paragraph about Leonarde Keller’s new adaption of the polygraph. Because his device was purchased by the FBI and served as the modern prototype, I felt its significance to be included in the article.
I added the effects a pre-test can have on both guilty and innocent subjects to the testing procedure section. The article lacked the potential increase in anxiety for both subjects and how intimidating the pretest can be. Under the validity section, I noticed it mentioned the Green River Case and the polygraph’s failure. I added more information to the paragraph, like the name of the innocent subject who actually told the truth but failed his exam. This addition enhanced the significance of event and of the polygraph’s unreliability. I also added an explanation of the common misconceptions on polygraph measurements to the last paragraph of this section. Misconceptions may be a factor in why many organizations use the polygraph and are surprised by its low reliability. The article also felt limited as it did not discuss studies for alternatives to polygraphs. I added a new section that discusses two studies, one on using the fMRIs and the other using reaction time based tests. Each test’s limitations were listed to emphasize that these are not soon-to-be replacements for the polygraph. I felt that an extensive section discussing the polygraph’s unreliability needed to be followed by a section discussing possible alternatives for lie detection. Aamiller90 — comment added by Aamiller90 ( talk • contribs) 18:16, 5 December 2012 (UTC)
The whole basis for the polygraph is that there is a connection between the mental process of deception and physiological metrics measured by the device. Since this basis is contentious, I clarified it in the definition. 69.219.231.27 ( talk) 21:08, 23 January 2008 (UTC)
I have removed "It is interesting to note that, so far, no scientific study has been published that offers convincing evidence of the validity of the polygraph test". What constitutes "convincing evidence" and "validity of the polygraph test" is really a matter of opinion. The very next paragraph says that the NAS found 57 scientifically sound studies that demonstrate that on average the polygraph is better than chance. Therefore, there really are 57 studies that convincingly show that the polygraph test is more valid than guessing. On some other interpretation it might not be, but Wikipedia is not a forum for private opinions. -- 151.203.14.68 22:03, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
I disagree. The courts have long established a scientific principals test to determine what is acceptable and what is not, and polygraphs have never been able to meet that criteria. "convincing evidence" and "validity" are part of the very foundation of our American legal system, and to suggest that they are somehow subjective expresses a particular lack of information about how it works. Like it or not, we do have very strict (re: objective) meanings for these terms, at least insofar as they apply to the legal system. "Validity", as we understand its meaning here, means that the machine must not only succeed in its stated aim, but must do so to an already established scientific bechmark with such an accuracy that all doubt as to whether it has succeeded or not will be scientifically removed. For instance, take a computer: If its stated aim is to perform advanced algorithms accurately, and it does so correctly every single time (to a "benchmark" of an existing mathematical formula that can be checked), with no error, than it can be correctly said to be valid. If, however, it only gets the calculations correct 30 percent of the time, this cannot be the case. It is not valid. A polygraphs stated aim is to accurately discern "lies". Validity would imply that it does this to a benchmark (yes, one does exist for this) every single time. It does not. Just because the machine is "better than guessing" does not make it valid. In fact, simply because it is just "better than guessing" is proof enough that the machine is not valid. Therefore, it is completely accurate to say both things. Futhermore, if you read on in the paragraph, you will se an explanation given by NAS as to why it makes sense to say both as well. I find no fault with this, and that is why im putting it back in. Darthhk 05:15, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
The James Randi Educational Foundation will surrender US$1,000,000 to the first polygraph expert who steps forward and demonstrates the effectivness of polygraphs. Since polygraphs do not work --- they are pseudoscience devices --- his money is safe. Consider the fact that polygraph operators avoid his one million dollars, that is excellent evidence they know damn well the machine is utterly worthless in determining deception. Any polygraph operator out there who wants to be an instant millionaire with just a day or two of work may step forward and be tested by the JREF http://randi.org Desertphile January 08, 2006 10:46AM PST
Forgive me for being dense, but what does this article have to do with fruit machines? Koyaanis Qatsi 09:32 Feb 16, 2003 (UTC)
The fruit machine to detect homosexuality works quite similar to a polygraph. AxelBoldt 23:22 Feb 16, 2003 (UTC)
Sorry, I'd be a second-rate English major. Not too good with metaphor, and wouldn't know phallic symbolism from a pole in the ground. Koyaanis Qatsi
Is there any single Western country outside of the US that allows its police and justice to use polygraphs? David.Monniaux 21:57, 3 Apr 2004 (UTC)
In Canada, polygraphs are used by the police, but clearly aren't admissable in court Ejhopkins 01:28, 7 October 2007 (UTC)Ejhopkins
I came across this comment [1] and came over here to see whether there is a diffrent opinion offered in case you were asked to take a test. May be worth to address that in future. "In an interview, Ames was asked how he passed the polygraph test. His response was that when told he was to be polygraphed he asked his Soviet handlers what to do, and was quite surprised that their advice was simply to relax when being asked questions, which he did." Kind of remember reading this from a page of alleged USSR mole who was uncovered by Nixion i am not very sure though when some church minister brought the story to him.
What is the justification for this article being included in the pseudoscience category? Factoid Killer 11:41, 5 December 2005 (UTC)
To answer the original question: the hypothesis is that a biometric test can establish, with meaningful accuracy, if a subject is lying. There is no evidence that this is true. While there might be weak correlation in some subjects between biometric indexes and the truthfulness of responses, this is far from enough to determine with any certainty if someone is lying. The system is prone to false positives (detecting lies when none exist) and false negatives (clearing subjects who *are* lying).
Its only use is as an interrogation technique (cf. good-cop, bad-cop) where credulous (and guilty) subjects might be convinced enough to confess. Against a prepared and determined subject it is worse than useless since it will generally clear him.
One convincing piece of evidence that this is pseudoscience is that it takes a substantial amount of time to "train" the operator - particularly in the interpretation of the data. This inability of the equipment to provide a clear yes/no answer and the dependency on the subjective view-point of the operator is particularly damning.-- Oscar Bravo 19:16, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
Good point to compare polygraphs with ECGs - I was thinking initially in comparison to something like an alcohol breath analyser. This is a machine that answers the question "has the subject been drinking alcohol?" Many models simply flash a green, amber or red light because there is a very reliable correlation between the alcohol present in breath and the alcohol level in the bloodstream. Compared to a real scientific instrument like this, the polygraph is very weak.
Returning to the more difficult case of an ECG; it is true that the ECG is a lot less precise than the breathalyser and that a skilled operator is required to interpret its readings. However, where it differs from the polygraph is that certain heart defects do give rise to corresponding patterns in the readout, and that this is consistent over many subjects. In the case of the polygraph, the patterns that correspond to "lie" or "truth" have to be identified by comparison with patterns from control questions from the same subject. The margin for error is correspondingly large.
I am not disputing that some people might get sweaty palms when they tell a lie! But the incidence of error (positive and negative) is so large as to make the technique essentially worthless.-- Oscar Bravo 13:36, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
There are certainly more people than just me who call it pseudoscience (google "polygraph pseudoscience" returns >800 hits). Whether any of them are notable is a matter of opinion. Certainly, some skeptics think it's pseudoscience ( http://www.skeptics.org.uk/article.php?dir=articles&article=polygraph_or_lie_detector.php) but then, you'd expect them to say that. With regards to how "accurate" it is - the answer would be "very hard to tell" (the link above reports claims of between 50% and 99%). It is difficult to construct an experiment that would reliably measure its efficacy. For example, there are cases where a guilty subject confesses during a session. These are claimed as a positive hit by polygraph proponents. However, the confession could just be motivated by the fear that polygraph might work and the desire to lessen punishment by co-operating (the prisoner's dilemma). How to subtract out this "placebo effect" is the big problem in any experiment.
The principle of the polygraph rests on the conflation of two hypotheses:
Neither of these can be regarded as hard facts that are true all the time, everywhere. More likely:
Woolly x wooly = extremely fluffy :-) -- Oscar Bravo 06:59, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
It is clearly not "hard science". But then neither is psychology. Can you make a test for depression or schizophrenia that are 100% accurate and can't be faked?
According to what I've read, the whole process is set up to make a person get nervous when they lie, then the machine measures the nervousness level. It may not be mind-reading but it may well be a process which can detect lying... sometimes anyway. Shake out some percentage of criminals/spies on whom it works, and deal with the rest the old-fashioned way. It certainly makes a lot more sense than, say, interpreting their astrological sign. The question would be is it more accurate than that. Lykken's claim that "Polygraphs are a little more accurate than flipping a coin" sounds like a concession that they are real science, just not accurate enough to rely on. Well that's an entirely different argument that the hyperbole of many of the critics.
The criticism from the American Psychological Association and the argument that there have been no successful studies are definately damning though. I can think of a way to make a thorough scientific study, but to give that element of realism to produce nervousness it would involve shocking people when caught lying. 64.163.4.225 00:49, 7 September 2006 (UTC)
A critical test of whether something is a pseudoscience or not is to ask, "Has it developed over time?". For example, Shockley's original transistor was the size of a shoebox. Now, we fit a zillion of them onto a pin-head. So semiconductor physics is a science. On the other hand, astrology still relies on the movements of the 200 naked-eye objects that were known to Ptolemy and ignores quasars, pulsars, precession of the Earth's axis and anything else that has been discovered since the Renaissance - hence it's a pseudoscience.
So what about polygraphs? If they were 55% accurate in 1950, you'd expect them to be a darn-sight better nowadays what with all the discoveries they'd have made by now, wouldn't you? But they ain't... OK, they might use a lap-top instead of a plotter to display all the wavy lines, but they are still very far from accurate. -- Oscar Bravo 10:45, 8 September 2006 (UTC)
The accuracy is whatever it is. I think you've hit the nail on the head - nobody knows what the accuracy is! This is because there is no way to measure definatively its performance. There is no way to design an experiment that allows you to measure how well a polygraph works because, in the real world, there is no way to know if the subject is lying. What can be shown is that extremely honest people often become excited and uncomfortable by the mere act of interrgation and so fail (false positives) while skilled liars can adopt countermeasures and pass (false negatives - no spies have ever been caught by a polygraph).
As Max points out, it is rather the reliance on polygraph tests by government departments that should know better, that is pseudoscience. By the same token, the idea that magnets affect healing isn't pseudoscience (it's just wrong), but strapping a magnet onto your stiff knee-joint, is. -- Oscar Bravo 12:47, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
Who mentioned politics? I have no political agenda. Unfortunately, we seem to be drifting into that area of debate where we each fail to understand each other's argument. Let's try to get back on an even keel:
Your point about Tom Cruise and psychiatry is a good one - I think that the difference is that psychiatrists are aware of and publish the margin of error in their diagnoses (rather like any quantitive scientist will publish a result with plus/minus error-bars). The pseudoscience in the polygraph is not in the machine itself (as others have pointed out, it does measure physical things, like skin conductivity), but rather in the belief that it provides a definitive answer to the question "is this person lying?".
Regarding "notable references" - what's wrong with the list compiled by Max the Dog above?
The problem is that these machines are not used for epidemiological, Bayes theorem studies of populations, they are used to decide the future of real people in peril of incarceration or unemployment. In such critical cases, they have to be foolproof - but they ain't. -- Oscar Bravo 13:24, 12 September 2006 (UTC) (BTW, you keep forgetting to sign your posts).
Good response, 64.163.4.225 - I think we're getting somewhere. In case you're in any doubt, I have never argued that the machines themselves are pseudoscientific (cf. magnetic water cleansers). I accept that they really do measure physical attributes like skin conductivity, heart-rate etc. I also accept that those attributes vary in many people as a result of anxiety. I even accept that most people get a bit anxious when they tell a lie. Putting it all together, I'm sure that if you had a sample of a fifty liars and fifty truth-tellers, the polygraph would have a significantly better than chance probabilty of sorting them (eg, it might assign 40 liars and 8 truth-tellers to the "Liar" group and 52 truth-tellers and 10 liars to the "Truth" group). So far, it's science.
The trouble is when you apply this science to a particular subject; we hook the butler up and ask him "Did you do it?". If he says "no", but the machine shows a "lie", is he guilty? I'm not a statistician, but if you apply the data in my imaginary experiment to the appropriate statistical method (Bayesian?) you'd find that we could only answer yes or no within a limited confidence-level. The pseudoscience comes in when the result of the machine is treated as definitive (in the refs above, there is a story about a suspect who was offered the choice - take a polygraph; if you pass, you go free, if you fail, you agree it's an admission of guilt. He failed and spent years in jail before being cleared on new evidence).
Maybe we should say "belief in the definitive efficacy of the polygraph is pseudoscience". -- Oscar Bravo 06:55, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
"Bad science, or technicians masquerading as scientists, does not in itself rate condemnation as pseudoscience", you pretty much quoted the Merriam-Webster definition of pseudoscience while trying to argue that it is not a pseudoscience. 76.18.100.128 23:57, 27 September 2006 (UTC)
Eminent scientific experts whose public comments support the categorization of polygraph testing as pseudoscience include Professor Stephen E. Fienberg of Carnegie Mellon University, who headed the National Research Council's Committee to Review the Scientific Evidence on the Polygraph. He said, "Polygraph testing has been the gold standard, but it's obviously fool's gold." The late emeritus professor David T. Lykken, perhaps the world's foremost scientific polygraph expert before his death last year, wrote in A Tremor in the Blood: Uses and Abuses of the Lie Detector: "...the theory and methods of polygraphic lie detection are not rocket science, indeed, they are not science at all." Emeritus professor John J. Furedy of the University of Toronto maintains that "The so-called 'control' question 'test' polygraph is a technological flight of fancy. It is often used as a psychological rubber hose to induce confessions. Founded on lies, it spreads distrust while posing as the path to truth." And in a survey of scientific opinion amongst members of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, members were asked, "Would you say that the CQT (the standard polygraph technique) is based on scientifically sound psychological principles or theory?" Of the 84% of the 183 respondents with an opinion, only 36% agreed. (Iacono, William G. and David T. Lykken. (1997) "The Validity of the Lie Detector: Two Surveys of Scientific Opinion," Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 82 (1997), No. 3, pp. 426-33. Geomas 15:30, 10 January 2007 (UTC)
Sigh, I know this is just fueling the fire, its pretty easy to prove that any verbal lie test can cheated. Consider if I had the ultimate measure of lie testing, IE, god tells me whether the test subject was lying or not. Then, when I ask a question, the test subject thinks about a totally different question and answers it out loud. I can ask "What is your name?" and they can think "What's my favourite food?" and they say "Cherry Pie". And there was no lie involved. Even if the polygraph does detect lies, it would never work. 68.149.13.166 ( talk) 08:44, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
I just heard about how they are developing a MRI-based polygraph that's more accurate. Anyone know anything more about it?-- PullUpYourSocks 13:53, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
"A polygraph or lie detector is a device which supposedly measures and records several physiological variables..."
I'm editing this sentence. It doesn't "supposedly" measure these variables, it does measure them. The supposed part comes in as to whether or not it can detect lies. 82.4.43.19 23:29, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
A polygraph is not called a "lie detector," that is an informal street name (similar to calling Sodium Pentothal "truth serum") that is inaccurate and somewhat dangerous. If everyone matter-of-factly call polygraph tests "lie detectors" then people will actually believe that they are reliable in judging if someone is lying. I think any reference in this article, since it is supposed to be an encyclopedia, to "lie detectors" should come with a clarification such as "they are commonly referred to as 'lie detectors'" I don't want to see a polygraph actually called a lie detector, because that's an incorrect name.
I think the fact that noted skeptic James Randi (See above) has included Polygraphs in his million dollar challenge should be included in the article, as should the fact that no polygraph expert has taken this challlenge. Surely, if polygraphs worked as a detector of lies so reliably, someone would have taken Randi up on his challenge and easily collected the million dollars. No one has, because if someone were to so publicly fail with a polygraph, everyone might realize that they are a sham pseudoscience. --—Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.2.242.61 ( talk • contribs)
Shouldn't there be a link in the article on polygraphs to the article on brain fingerprinting? It seems to me the two devices are related. 24.92.48.99 06:30, 15 April 2006 (UTC)Bennett Turk
The discussion of the "bogus pipeline" should not be in this article. The article is called "Polygraph". Either give "bogus pipeline" its own article or discuss it at Lie. -- Mathew5000 21:27, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
Analyst 33, please stop deleting the section regarding the NAS report to congress regarding the polygraph. If you have a suggestion to improve the section please discuss it here. Max The Dog 02:43, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
Also, regarding the accuracy of a polygraph the statement that they are 90%+ accurate regarding specific issue polygraphs is misleading. This statement fails to take into account inconclusive results. Finally, the NAS found the median accuracy of a specific issue polygraph to be around 88% and varied from 70%-95%. Max The Dog 03:02, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
Someone feel like cleaning up all the weasel words in here, and getting some citations? Mikepurvis 13:13, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
This article says that Aldrich Ames passed two polygraphs while spying for the Soviet Union, but that article says that he failed three times and explained his way out of it. Not only are the numbers inconsistent, the results are opposite! Sewebster 08:00, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
I have expanded the information about Aldrich Ames under the heading "Use with espionage and security clearances." The information about Ames under "Reliability" is incomplete and redundant and probably should be eliminated or at least referred to the other. As an aside, the term "Reliability" is wrong, since most of that discussion is about validity, which is a different concept entirely. Jim ( talk) 18:39, 12 May 2009 (UTC)
I had always thought that William Moulton Marston invented the polygraph as well as Wonder Woman - should his involvement in creating the "systolic blood-pressure test used to detect deception" be mentioned? j-beda 11:39, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
--
Jerzy•
t 06:41, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
I removed this paragraph since it obviously contains some assertions that cannot be verified to Wikipedia's standards. If anybody wants to take a crack at reinserting any relevant facts they can do so, but it seems that without the unsupportable conclusions this is just a collection of trivia.
Eliot 21:28, 2 January 2007 (UTC)
I personally don't find murder trivial. 67.161.77.15
I question the propriety of including the "British and European Polygraph Association" and "UKs Leading Polygraph Company" in the External Links. These sites (apparently connected, see BEPA banner on the latter) offer readers little in the way of original content, and to me their inclusion here smacks of advertising.
It might be argued, "But the American Polygraph Association website is included." Indeed, it is. But it, in contrast with the BEPA (a Google search on "British and European Polygraph Association turns up virtually no links except for itself, the evidently self-proclaimed "UKs Leading Polygraph Company," and this very article), the APA is a relatively substantial website representing a polygraph organization with a membership in the several thousands. Geomas 11:25, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
Actually a Polygraph is any scientific instrument that can make a linear, graphical recording of multiple, simultaneus inputs. Hence the name "Poly"=many & "Graph"=well, quite self explanatory...
In meterology, polygraphs are used for recording of e.g. air temperature, wind speed, wind direction, air pressure.
So Polygraphs are definetely not synonymous with Lie Detectors.
82.35.23.167 18:42, 24 April 2007 (UTC)Pesu, London
Agreed!!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.24.115.219 ( talk) 14:47, 10 January 2010 (UTC)
I also strongly agree on this point. I am currently doing clinical research involving the use of polygraphy on my patients- which quite simply means that I am collecting multiple sets of data at the same time per patient (e.g. O2 consumption, heart rate, blood pressure, etc.). My study has absolutely nothing to do with "lie detection". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.8.121.1 ( talk) 20:26, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
The [psycho] galvanic skin response was known since the 19th century and used by Carl Gustav Jung before 1906 [6]. -- Xyzt1234 16:15, 22 July 2007 (UTC)
Another problem is in the third paragraph:
"...American William Marston which used blood pressure and galvanic skin response to examine German prisoners of war.[1]
A device recording both blood-pressure and galvanic skin response was invented in 1920 by Dr. John A. Larson of the University of California and first applied in law enforcement work by the Berkeley Police Department under its nationally renowned police chief August Vollmer. Further work on this device was done by Leonarde Keeler.[2]
Makenzie wrote a second paper on the concept in 1915, when finishing his undergraduate studies. He entered Harvard Law School and graduated in 1918, re-publishing his earlier work in 1917.[3]..."
Who is MAKENZIE? There is no mention of this individual anywhere in the article. Was this a typo for 'Marston'? Can somebody with appropriate contextual understanding fix this section? -- 124.170.98.100 ( talk) 23:42, 10 January 2009 (UTC)
Can someone please rewrite this sentence: "In his book, the "lie detector test" Marston erroneously claimed he was the first to use this method, even though many researchers were doing similar studies." I would rewrite it myself, but I can't even tell what information the author was trying to convey.
I usually love trivia sections, but this one is so meaningless, often mentioning single episodes only which use a lie detector that I am removing it from the article. I am adding the info on the television show to Lie Detector (TV series)
Previously this section was hidden with <!-- -->
Travb ( talk) 02:19, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
There seems to be a concerted effort by persons associated with the antipolygraph.org site to repeatedly modify the Wikipedia polygraph entry to register opinions in opposition to polygraph, to include only narrowly gathered facts in opposition to polygraph, and to delete any facts supporting validity and reliability of polygraph. This is supposed to be a neutral forum. While it is understandable that some have strong feelings against polygraph, this is not an appropriate place to voice them. Jim ( talk) 23:15, 5 December 2007 (UTC)
Your edits removed several sourced statements, including a ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. You replaced them with un-sourced statements. There’s nothing political about insisting that citations from courts and scientists remain in the article. There’s also nothing political about removing a refuting statement when it is un-sourced. Also a statement from the American Polygraph Association, who has a vested interest in polygraphy, even if there was a citation, is hardly a convincing refutation of the United States Supreme Court, the United States Congress and the National Academy of Sciences. 76.27.147.32 ( talk) 01:05, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
Since several of the "sources" are antipolygraph.org, that can hardly be regarded as neutral. You obviously have a point of view. This is not the place to express it. It is possible to find a source for virtually any point of view. That does not validate the view. We don't quote the number of deaths from appendectomies when we discuss medicine, and then argue against appendectomies. Jim ( talk) 02:00, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
Here's the detailed critique you need. Statement: While some people believe that polygraph tests are reliable, there is little scientific evidence to support this claim.
Critique: There are a large number of studies that do support this claim. Reliablility in fact is even higher than validity. Be careful of your terms. If you want to pepper the entry with them, I'll be happy to gather a bunch for you.
Statement: For example, while some claim the test to be accurate in 90% - 95% of the cases, critics charge that rather than a "test", the method amounts to an inherently unstandardizable interrogation technique whose accuracy cannot be established.
Critique: The expressions "some claim" and "critics charge" are editorial statements that express a point of view. In any event, neither of these statements are sourced, so they both ought to be removed.
Statement: A 1997 survey of 421 psychologists estimated the test's average accuracy at about 61%, a little better than chance.
Critique: The reputable source quoted for this is USA Today. More to the point, what relevance does the estimate of 421 psychologists have, since polygraph is not a branch of psychology? Should we also include the "estimate" of 421 veterinarians, or deep sea divers?
Statement: 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.
Critique: The implication from "unfairly" and the general thrust of this remark is that polygraph is evil and will hurt innocent people. The opposite point of view would state that since 90% of the results are correct a huge number of people are helped. That kind of remark shouldn't be here either.
Statement: In the 1998 Supreme Court case, United States v. Scheffer, the majority stated that “There is simply no consensus that polygraph evidence is reliable” and “Unlike other expert witnesses who testify about factual matters outside the jurors' knowledge, such as the analysis of fingerprints, ballistics, or DNA found at a crime scene, a polygraph expert can supply the jury only with another opinion...”.
Critique: If we're going to talk about the Scheffer case, let's put it in context. It was a military court martial in which the issue was whether the President could issue an order banning the use of polygraph in such proceedings. The defendant had passed his polygraph examination and was seeking admissibilty in his defense. The quoted text from the opinion is correct, as far as it goes. The court's opinion applies only to courts martial, which should be clarified if we're going to use this cite. For balance, we should add from Justice Stevens' dissent: "There are a host of studies that place the reliability of polygraph tests at 85% to 90%. While critics of the polygraph argue that accuracy is much lower, even the studies cited by the critics place polygraph accuracy at 70%.21 Moreover, to the extent that the polygraph errs, studies have repeatedly shown that the polygraph is more likely to find innocent people guilty than vice versa. Thus, exculpatory polygraphs — like the one in this case — are likely to be more reliable than inculpatory ones." And: "There is no legal requirement that expert testimony must satisfy a particular degree of reliability to be admissible. Expert testimony about a defendant's 'future dangerousness' to determine his eligibility for the death penalty, even if wrong 'most of the time,' is routinely admitted. Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880, 898-901 (1983). Studies indicate that handwriting analysis, and even fingerprint identifications, may be less trustworthy than polygraph evidence in certain cases. And, of course, even highly dubious eyewitness testimony is, and should be, admitted and tested in the crucible of cross-examination."
Statement: Also, in 2005 the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals stated that “polygraphy did not enjoy general acceptance from the scientific community”.
Critique: If we're going to quote one opinion against polygraph from one federal district, then let's put in an equal number of quotes from other court opinions that support polygraph. The Scheffer case previously cited came from the Supreme Court, and the majority opinion reiterated, in citing precedents, that "Those opinions correctly observe that the rules of evidence generally recognized in the trial of civil and criminal cases in the federal courts do not contain any blanket prohibition against the admissibility of polygraph evidence." And "Individual jurisdictions therefore may reasonably reach differing conclusions as to whether polygraph evidence should be admitted."
Statement: double-agent Aldrich Ames, who passed two polygraph tests
Critique: The source for this is Aldrich Ames, not exactly reliable. The FBI says the CIA messed up and didn't accept their own test results. In any case, at the very least this statement needs to be qualified with something like "Ames, who says he passed..."
Statement: Other spies who passed the polygraph include Karl Koecher,[17] Ana Belen Montes,[18] and Leandro Aragoncillo.
Critique: I confess that I'm not familiar with these three. The Koecher source from the Washington Post is from 1988 and not immediately available. The Montes source no longer exists on the linked web site. Regardless, what is the relevance of this observation in a neutral exposition of polygraph? Remove it or balance it with an equal number of references to people whose innocence or guilt was established when polygraph worked. We know that O.J. Simpson failed a polygraph examination, based on testimony in his civil trial. It would make as much sense to include that here.
Statement: Noted pseudoscience debunker Bob Park recently commented, "The polygraph, in fact, has ruined careers, but never uncovered a single spy."
Critique: Come on, now. Bob Park is a blogger, who quotes no source for that opinion because it is nothing more than that. What is a "noted pseudoscience debunker"? Is this the level of validation that Wikipedia allows for articles? The fact is that the feds are so secretive we don't know how many spies have been caught. An official acknowledgment of that failure from the FBI, CIA, or NSA would be validation, but we don't have that.
Statement: It is interesting to note that, so far, no scientific study has been published that offers convincing evidence of the validity of the polygraph test.
Critique: This is just plain wrong. What constitutes "convincing evidence?" There are countless peer-reviewed scientific journals that have published independently conducted research about the validity and reliability of polygraph. Placed where it is after a quote from the NAS, this almost appears to be the conclusion of NAS, which it is not. If we want to quote the NAS study, we should include the statement from that report: "specific-incident polygraph tests can discriminate lying from truth telling at rates well above chance, though well below perfection." Jim ( talk) 04:09, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
You seem to have a very strong opinion on the matter, but you are not allowed to arbitrarily remove referenced material just you don’t like what it says, or that you believe it to be in error. If something were added to the article that was made up, then you may remove it. My suggestion is this, why don’t you expand the article, add an additional paragraph refuting the claims in the disputed one. Keep in mind, you’re not able to use your own opinions as you have here, any refutation must be cited. For example, you want more federal court references here that hold an opposite view on polygraphs, I wholeheartedly agree, if they exist, they belong here. You must find these cases, as others have done, and quote and cite them here so that a reader can click on a link and read the court opinion for himself. You claim that the FBI says that Aldrich Ames avioded detection for so long because the CIA made mistakes, put that in the article and cite it. This way the reader can read both, check the sources of both and make his own decision. This is what Wikipedia is all about, not removing sourced material just because one person believes it to be wrong or just doesn’t like what it says, that’s the very definition of censorship. It’s actually quite fun doing the research, gathering all the sources, and then expanding an article with new, verifiable information. 76.27.147.32 ( talk) 16:36, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for the tips. I don't have much experience with editing Wikipedia entries. I admit I was offended by the obvious bias of the material that appeared. Thanks, too, for the changes that have been made. Jim ( talk) 18:31, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
Under the heading "2003 National Academy of Sciences Report" it is stated: "It is interesting to note that, so far, no scientific study has been published that offers convincing evidence of the validity of the polygraph test." This is not quoted from the NAS report and is an opinion -- not a fact -- that hinges on the phrase "convincing evidence". There are numerous studies reporting on the validity of polygraph testing. They may not all agree on what that validity is, but they all agree that it is significantly greater than chance. Even the NAS report states: "specific-incident polygraph tests can discriminate lying from truth telling at rates well above chance, though well below perfection."
Jim (
talk) 16:27, 7 December 2007 (UTC)
65% is well above chance, is this convincing evidence to you? Would you put your job on the line with a 35% failure rate? Right after this the article again quotes the NAS report that even in these 57 studies the reported validity is “almost certainly higher than actual polygraph accuracy of specific-incident testing in the field.” Also note the quote from the NAS conclusions, that there is “little basis for the expectation that a polygraph test could have extremely high accuracy.” Does this convince you of its validity? I’m certianly not convinced, of course, I’m not everybody. All of these things support the statement that you’re objecting to. However, I tend to agree that maybe this statement should be removed. We’ll let each reader decided for himself whether or not convincing evidence exists. Remember that Wikipedia operates on consensus, the fact that this statement has been in the article well over a year speaks with a very loud voice, other editors may replace it, indicating that a consensus of readers agree that convincing evidence does not exist. 76.27.147.32 ( talk) 18:10, 7 December 2007 (UTC)
No - you jump to conclusions when you believe that it hasn't been edited out and therefore there is a "consensus of readers." This article is only posting antipolygraph's point of views. Where is the reader to find conflicting points of view? How many references in the list of references for this article link to a conflicting point of view? Many people who use Wikipedia do not have prior knowledge about the subject they are researching. They assume it is "right." Wikipedia is about posting facts not posting opinions that have major "consensus" from readers. 173.122.81.43 ( talk) 05:49, 3 August 2014 (UTC)
google: Stoelting Ultrascribe polygraph —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.89.222.26 ( talk) 17:56, 22 April 2008 (UTC) "Polygraph" ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puVfsNBW5ms —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.137.181.97 ( talk) 21:15, 5 March 2011 (UTC)
The claim "Much of it's success is due to the professional and intense training that Canadian polygraphists are given, provided by the Canadian Police College in Ottawa, Ontario. Training is provided to polygraphists from Canada as well as several other countries from across the world. Canadian polygraphists are considered to be among the best in the world," under the Canada section, needs a source if one can be provided. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.66.49.1 ( talk) 23:05, 8 May 2008 (UTC)
Research conclusively show that polygraphs are not reliable. A summary has been published by Anders Eriksson and Francisco Lacerda (Stockholm University). However, some companies (in particular Nemesysco Limited) try to silence these researchers and their objective findings. The article can be found here so read for yourself:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9673590/Eriksson-Lacerda-2007
If there is scientific evidence that polygraphs work, that should be published.
The article referred to above is about voice stress analysis, not polygraph, even though the translation of the article used the term polygraph. Nemesysco is an Israeli company that has sold voice stress analysis widely in England, where it is being tested in pilot projects for use in validating public assistance claims. It has also been used by the insurance industry in England to check claims. Nemesysco does not manufacture or market polygraphs.
Jim (
talk) 19:25, 11 May 2009 (UTC)
____
There is something called a false positive and a false negative, and tests have rates of these. "Not reliable" is a totally unscientific term with absolutely no meaning. If you are saying that the test is imperfect, then it joins many many other tests in being imperfect. If you are saying it is totally useless and no better than chance, then there is research that would disagree. Let's just say what we think the rates of results are and leave it at that. No need to report those rates and then dis them. Let's just go with the most comprehensive and scientific research results: " specific-incident polygraph testing, in a person untrained in counter-measures, could discern the truth at 'a level greater than chance, yet short of perfection'. " 136.152.208.114 ( talk) 10:54, 18 March 2013 (UTC)artman772000
Please cite the exact reference for that including the page number, Tgeorgescu. If you are referencing "The Polygraph and Lie Detection" please note that I just did a keyword search using the search box on http://www.nap.edu/booksearch.php?booksearch=1&term=pseudoscience&record_id=10420 and found that the word "pseudoscience" was not used anywhere in the entire report (which the National Academy of Sciences was only one contributor). 173.122.81.43 ( talk) 05:35, 3 August 2014 (UTC)
I remeber reading an article nearly 10 years ago about a then new polygraph technique that used facial expression that test showed to be a much more efficient way of testing. since then I have heard about this test a couple more times. I could not find any information about it in this article and was wondering if anybody had any reliable information about it. I was also wondering since that was 8 to 10 years ago if anyone knew if or why this technology is not being used? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.184.236.181 ( talk) 02:44, 6 April 2009 (UTC)
Under "Reliability" it reads: Polygraph tests have also been criticized for failing to trap known spies such as double-agent Aldrich Ames, who passed two polygraph tests while spying for the Soviet Union.[28][30] Other spies who passed the polygraph include Karl Koecher,[31] Ana Belen Montes,[32]
The link to Ana Belen Montes is dead. It now reads: Bachelet, Pablo (October 13, 2006). "Book outlines how spy exposed U.S. intelligence secrets to Cuba". McClatchey Washington Bureau. http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/15754464.htm. "She first came under U.S. suspicion in 1994, when Cuba detected a highly secret electronic surveillance system. Montes took a polygraph test and passed it."
Jim ( talk) 18:04, 12 May 2009 (UTC)
I removed the following which appears to consist of the contributor's conclusions based upon what he/she heard on a DVD. There are no direct quotes and the opening statement "summarizing the consensus in psychological research" can hardly be accepted since Dr. Martin has done no published research in truth and deception, as have the other sources cited in this article. If Dr. Martin claims a "consensus" he should be quoted directly with supporting data. The closing statement, "polygraph professionals are not able to do that either" is unattributed and appears to be the contributor's opinion. Here's the paragraph as it appeared:
Summarizing the consensus in psychological research, professor David W. Martin, PhD, from North Carolina State University, states that people have tried to use the polygraph for measuring human emotions, but there is simply no royal road to (measuring) human emotions. [2] Therefore, since one cannot reliably measure human emotions (especially when one has an interest in hiding his/her emotions), the idea of valid detection of truth or falsehood through measuring respiratory rate, blood volume, pulse rate and galvanic skin response is a mere pretense. Since psychologists cannot ascertain what emotions one has, [3] polygraph professionals are not able to do that either. Jim ( talk) 18:12, 3 October 2009 (UTC)
Nice, materials at the website you cite (#1) have no connection to Boise State University. Ironically, Charles Honts (the "director" of the website) runs in the same circles as Mr. Iacono and was referenced by him in his paper. See my comments under "Bias." 173.122.81.43 ( talk) 05:23, 3 August 2014 (UTC)
In TV series " Lie to me" polygraphs are also highly criticized in at least one episode and later one of the characters manages to give false testimony and fool the polygraph. While it isn't the whole series I consider that this deserves to be mentioned for the whole series being about detecting people's lies and, furthermore, being quite serious and a lot of its material is based on scientific research. (Non-native speaker here, sorry for any mistakes, etc.) -- 195.22.191.4 ( talk) 15:13, 8 July 2010 (UTC)
The article needs to be sub-categorized at least through a disambiguation page as a primary meaning of the word in no means specifically related to a device utilized in police practice and should be explained in the main article of Polygraph of that instance. The article about this device is not non-related to any other polygraph machines and should be somehow connected, not differentiated. Aleksandr Grigoryev ( talk) 17:29, 27 December 2010 (UTC)
I've removed the subsection about the APA, since it's in the section "Admissibility of polygraphs in court", but it doesn't mention anything relevant to the section, and is just a short blurb about the APA.
JGDross ( talk) 12:44, 13 September 2011 (UTC)
Is the article entirely neutral? Reading through the whole article, it seems like it is leaning towards the unreliability of the polygraph, and how it is inaccurate. I see no where in the article where the results and the accuracy are presented in a positive manner. Instead it all appears to just be the negative point of view. I am not saying anything against the negative point of view, without that, the article would still be imbalanced and lean towards the positive. It needs a complete view of both sides, in a neutral appearance. Dusty777 ( talk) 16:22, 11 January 2012 (UTC)
Sorry, I have been looking at reliable sources - even "The Polygraph and Lie Detecting" - so frequently cited in this article - does an unbiased job of reporting the pros and cons of the subject. This article reads as if it were written by someone with an axe to bear against the polygraph. There is a difference when someone is reporting the facts and the facts are all negative and when someone is skewing information so that it paints a more negative picture. If anyone on here wants an unbiased view of the polygraph, how it works, and what its faults are I suggest reading "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Forensics." Perhaps the author(s) of this polygraph article could take a look at what "unbiased" is really about. 173.122.81.43 ( talk) 05:08, 3 August 2014 (UTC)
At a cursory reading of the introduction to the article, I'm not sure how appropriate the word "invented" is in this contex. I'm not sure what it's supposed to mean. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.121.52.102 ( talk) 20:42, 29 January 2012 (UTC)
The article does not distinguish between different methods. There is hart rate, skin conductivity, facial blood flow, EEG, answer delay, functional magnetic resonance imaging, ... To lie consciously takes an effort. Ones they actually look into the brain in 4D this effort will become visible. --Mo — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.0.224.104 ( talk) 17:23, 7 June 2012 (UTC)
Throughout this article, the polygraph (device) seems to be conflated with the Comparison Question Test (questioning method), which relies on the participant's emotional reaction to their question response (i.e. lying). This is very different from the Concealed Information Test (a.k.a. Guilty Knowledge Test), which relies on an orienting response to the questions themselves. I mention this because many of the criticisms levied against the polygraph in this article are actually criticisms against the Comparison Question Test. The Concealed Information Test is generally considered to be more valid among researchers and foreign (e.g. Japanese) law enforcement, since it doesn't rely on an emotional response. I'm wondering if someone with time and resources (and experience editing articles) could maybe rewrite portions of the article to better distinguish the polygraph (the device) from its various questioning methods. 72.137.34.100 ( talk) 12:53, 18 July 2012 (UTC) Luke
BBC News have published an article, Lie-detector tests take off in India about the increased use of polygraphs in India's employment industry. Possibly a useful source for anyone wanting to update the section about polygraph use in that country ~dom Kaos~ ( talk) 19:52, 13 September 2012 (UTC)
there are plenty of other forms of lie detection
http://www.veritascience.com/ Vsald ( talk) 19:12, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
I was expecting to get a sense of how this device works, instead, I'm pelted with the pseudoscience crap. I the polygraph was really pseudoscience, and the results were random nonsense, then why that spy had to ask the Soviets for instructions on how to beat it? Isn't that inconsistent? 67.206.186.96 ( talk) 02:42, 26 December 2012 (UTC)
Yes I agree. There is a negative and inconsistent tone and thread throughout: 1. Polygraph is pseudoscience that does not work. (Well this would mean that its results provide NO information about the probability of someone lying). 2. And furthermore, with training it can be beat. Um, what? 3. And furthermore, even if it was 80% right, that would be of no use at all. Um, really? Never?
It sounds like someone just arguing against it and casting dispersions rather than seeking the truth. If this is true: "specific-incident polygraph testing, in a person untrained in counter-measures, could discern the truth at 'a level greater than chance, yet short of perfection'." Then it is a valid but imperfect test. Period. So, it's not pseudoscience. TB testing has false positives and false negatives. There is a rate of type I and type II errors. Just report what we think those rates are and leave it at that. Dont then go on to dis those rates. And the article cited does not actually say it is viewed as "pseudoscience", it says it should be viewed dubiously and should not be admissable in court. To summarize this as 'pseudoscience' is lame. I've noticed wiki is so enamored with that word pseudoscience and over-applies it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 136.152.208.114 ( talk) 10:44, 18 March 2013 (UTC)
There are several references to the article "The Polygraph and Lie Detection" (Note 13), plus a number of quotes which are presumably from that article, but only one of these has a page number - the last one, which is page 212. I wanted to add the missing numbers, but the link to the article only shows one page at a time, making searching slow and tedious, especially seeing there are over 200 pages to go through. So I only looked at a few pages in Chapter 8 (Conclusions and Recommendations), and only found two of the quotes, the last two.
First quote: "unreliable, unscientific and biased". I didn’t find that.
Second quote: "a level greater than chance, yet short of perfection". I found only a similar statement, on page 214: "at rates well above chance, though well below perfection".
Third quote: the levels of accuracy shown in these studies "are almost certainly higher than actual polygraph accuracy of specific-incident testing in the field". Again, I found only a similar statement, on page 215: "Because actual screening applications involve considerably more ambiguity for the examinee and in determining truth than arises in specific-incident studies, polygraph accuracy for screening purposes is almost certainly lower than what can be achieved by specific-incident polygraph tests in the field."
Fourth quote: "Its accuracy in distinguishing actual or potential security violators from innocent test takers is insufficient to justify reliance on its use in employee security screening in federal agencies." Once again, I only found a similar statement, on page 215: "we have seen no indication of a clear and stable agreement on what criteria are used in practice for assessing the accuracy of security screening polygraph tests in any federal agency that uses the tests".
Fifth quote: "...may have some utility". I found that exact statement, and it’s on page 214.
Sixth quote: "little basis for the expectation that a polygraph test could have extremely high accuracy." That is the only one I found which is both exact and has the page number (212).
I am not claiming that the wording of the other quotes in the Wikipedia article is incorrect: they probably come from the earlier, detailed chapters, but it would take too long for me to find them. So can somebody please provide that missing information. TheTruth-2009 ( talk) 13:14, 28 July 2013 (UTC)
The polygraph is obviously a poor instrument with a likely huge false positive rate.
I have family that took them for jobs and failed over ridiculous things. For instance, a milque toast middle aged housewife being told that the test indicated she was likely a foreign spy trying to bring down the US gov't.
The FBI and others use it as a means of psychological warfare/pressure to induce confession and mess with people.
Also, for jobs it is an easy way to eliminate folks from a large pool or eliminate folks for a seemingly "good" reason when really the reason lies elsewhere.
What I hate is that the popular culture believes in these things and idiots are willing to go on Maury Povich show and take a lie detector test and have their reputations ruined. — Preceding
unsigned comment added by
184.19.67.243 (
talk) 01:27, 26 April 2014 (UTC)
The “See also” link to the “ducking stool” has been removed, with the reason given as: “i don't see much relevance between modern polygraphs and a clearly ineffective medieval device for testing for witches”.
I don’t think that either the lack of modernity (technological sophistication?) or the ineffectiveness of the ducking stool method is sufficient reason for removing the link. I think a stronger reason is that it apparently wasn’t used to detect lies. If, instead of being described as a device for testing for witches, it was described as a device for testing if suspects were lying about whether they were witches, then it could justifiably be included in the History section as a primitive early attempt at lie detection. TheTruth-2009 ( talk) 07:25, 4 June 2014 (UTC)
Evidence that David Westerfield’s test was flawed has been removed, with the reason “trim unnecessary detail”. Removing all the evidence is more than just trimming. While I appreciate that it was also watered down to he “allegedly” failed, when the claim is a greater than 99% chance he failed, and when it apparently had a disproportionately strong influence on the police, I think something much stronger is needed. Also, I googled “david westerfield polygraph” and got 34,800 hits, so this aspect is an important part of a high-profile case. And the deleted evidence is actual examples of dangers of polygraphs. TheTruth-2009 ( talk) 12:28, 16 July 2014 (UTC)
This article is extremely biased against the polygraph. It uses as its primary source "The Polygraph and Lie Detection" (2003) http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10420&page=2 and articles that specifically refer to this source. Sadly, the author of this article and many articles referenced that refer to the National Research Council report neglected to read all of it. If you start from page one, you will see that the report was not investigating the use of the polygraph during a crime investigation. Instead, this report was investigating its use for employment purposes. All you have to do is read pages 1 and 2 of the cited document and this is clear. They go on to state that it was difficult to even collect evidence because most of the evidence is event-specific [read crime] evidence that did not pertain to the purpose of their paper. In other words, the purpose of the paper was not to examine the evidence for the use of a polygraph in criminal investigations. However, they state on page 4 "we conclude that ... specific-incident polygraph tests can discriminate lying from truth telling at rates well above chance, though well below perfection." [This is not put in quotations in the article but is a direct quote.] In other words, even though they weren't specifically researching it, the National Research Council believed that polygraphs worked in identifying criminals when used for specific crimes, but needed some improvement. That this statement was made so early in the report, should show that the report was not intended to analyze crime polygraphs. Two improvements have been made on the polygraph, but these are nowhere mentioned in the Wikipedia polygraph article (blood to extremities and motion detectors). In addition, the author mis-cites this quote (giving credit to the NAS AND saying it was done in 2002) within the first section of the article. Finally, the 2009 report of the National Research Council mentions polygraph tests in passing as if they are clearly a part of forensic science and not 'pseudoscience,' "A smaller number are involved in other forensic functions, such as the analysis of digital evidence, footwear, tire track impressions, firearms, forensic art, questioned documents, polygraph tests, and dental evidence" (my emphasis). In fact, in a later chapter, it states that it will not be addressing the changes that need to be made with the polygraph because those were already addressed in the 2003 report. In this context, the 2003 report does not seem to be the key report that "debunks" the polygraph as pseudoscience, but in fact makes suggestions to improve the reliability of the science.
This Wikipedia article goes on to continually make blanket statements that assume the paper supports the Wikipedia author's hypothesis that the polygraph is pseudo-science, including adding it after the statement that most scientists see it as pseudoscience. In fact, if we begin to examine all the cited resources for the Wikipedia article, we discover that the ones stating that polygraphs are ineffective are not talking about event-specific use for the most part. For example, let's move on to the next cited work about sex offenders. It makes sense that if the polygraph is limited to event-specific questioning that it would be impossible to ask a known sex-offender if he or she had offended again. These questions are open ended and not event specific, therefore, the polygraph admittedly will not work. The next article states that telling a sex-offender he will have to submit to periodic lie detector tests will not prevent him from re-offending. Neither of these say anything about the accuracy of the polygraph in investigating a crime - both are talking about using the polygraph as therapy. Still, they are placed in the same paragraph with the statement that "there is no evidence of effectiveness." This statement is credited to the same report that I quoted above that said polygraphs were effective, but not 100% effective. That seems like evidence of effectiveness to me.
It is also very disconcerting that nearly all of the references and viewpoints found in this Wikipedia article can be found on http://antipolygraph.com. This is biased coverage at its worst. In fact, the claim that the polygraph is "pseudoscience" is based upon one article not found anywhere else on the web: Iacono, W.G. "Forensic 'lie detection': Procedures without scientific basis," Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, Vol. 1 (2001), No. 1, pp. 75-86. Mr. Iacono's article supposedly supports the statement in the Wikipedia polygraph article: "In 2001, a significant fraction of the scientific community considered polygraphy to be pseudoscience."
Mr. Iacono's article is, in itself, biased. In fact, of the 17 references that Mr. Iacono cites in his article, he is the author of almost half (eight citations bear his name as at least one of the authors). Less than 50% of all the authors cited for the article were unique. If a "significant fraction" of the scientific community believes the polygraph to be pseudoscience, one would expect he could find many scientists to cite on the matter - yet he finds mainly himself and his co-workers. Perhaps even more disturbing is that all these cited articles were written prior to the 21st century. Granted, Mr. Iacono believed in the polygraph's effectiveness - he found that even giving people drugs like Ritalin did not affect the effectiveness of the test https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=95360. However, he (and most of the people cited in his paper) preferred the GKT version of questioning which was impractical in most investigations http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensic-science-communications/fsc/july2003/index.htm/podlesny.htm. But apparently those antipolygraph people who wrote this Wikipedia article didn't take the time to actually do the research. Just as they left out Keeler's important scientific research where he went to prisons, asked questions about crimes of prisoners, and then compared their answers with the facts he found in the trial record. That was how the polygraph exam was originally created.
While the Wikipedia author believes that undetermined tests should be counted against statistics, I think it needs mentioning that these tests must be repeated and are then determined. Also, the author neglects to mention that if a person believes the polygraph they took produced inaccurate results, they can request a second one be performed by another examiner. Irreverent-Reverent questioning is very outdated and not used anymore, but the author makes it seem as if this is standard procedure. The author mentions CQT without citing the source (probably Mr. Iacono since his paper solely dealt with this type of interrogation being poor).
Sadly, there are many more issues with this article, but the bottom line is that the bias needs to be removed. I have read 4 books that contained information about the polygraph and visited several websites. All the books presented the pros and cons in an unbiased manner. I learned more about the polygraph from all the other sources than what I learned in this author's lengthy diatribe. I want to draw my own conclusions - not have someone tell me what I need to believe because they believe it. 173.122.81.43 ( talk) 04:50, 3 August 2014 (UTC)