Polygraph testing is the new plaything among the private investigators and law enforcing agencies of today’s world. Private investigators and criminology enthusiasts alike are also following the success rates of polygraph testing with much enthusiasm. But according to some recent findings, these miraculous tests can often be falsified.
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A Set Of Control Questions
In a polygraph test, there is a set of control questions that a person has to answer. The person who is conducting the test (in most cases a private investigator) notes the blood rate, respiration rate, and skin sensitivity of the suspect during the control questions. Once they are measured and recorded, the suspect has to go through the usual interrogation by an experienced private investigator. If the suspect has committed any crime, his/her vitals would fluctuate during the interrogation. If not, then according to the polygraph test, he/she should be considered to be innocent.
A team of specialists from renowned UK universities has conducted a study which clearly shows that some people can block particular incriminating memories that can be detected by the polygraph. These people can subdue their brain activity by not remembering a particular memory. In a polygraph test, they are often proven innocent. People who can suppress this kind of thoughts can easily evade a polygraph testing.
Countries That Are Using Polygraph Tests
This came as a blow to the people who have to constantly rely on polygraph testing methods to find criminals. Currently, the polygraph testing method is very popular in countries like USA, Japan, and India. Officials of these countries disregard the fact of someone controlling their brain activities. Although the scientists who were behind these experiments clearly stated that they need more varied research on these topics, they also warned the officials not to rely on the polygraph testing solely in any investigation. Because with some practice, it’s not unlikely for people to control their brain activity.
Dr. Zara Bergstorm, a respectable member of the research team has clearly stated her stance on the accuracy of the polygraph testing method. She says that although guilt detection tests are often described as the perfect tool to find a criminal, it doesn’t always offer the most accurate results. She also expressed that in these processes, the criminal can also feign innocence.
Evade The Lie Detection Test
But criminologists should be relieved to know that all miscreants do not posses this unique skill to evade detection in a polygraph test. Dr. Micheal Anderson, another researcher from the same group, also gave his valuable opinion on this matter. He says that not many people have this unique skill to evade the lie detection test. He also stated that different people have different capabilities of controlling their brain activities, and that more studies are needed to detect the real reason behind this phenomena. However, the researchers concluded that the officials should be notified about the limitations of a lie detector test in a trial. They also expressed that although there are numerous instances where polygraph tests had been proven as satisfactory, the government should sanction more researches to find out the extent of its actual accuracy in real life.