Is this wierd?

[Busy]

I have a great fear that I will fail the Polygraph without even having anything to hide. Im paranoid because this stupid piece of **** can determine your state based on squiggly lines. I get anxiety when I walk through those alarm/theft detectors at shopping malls! I know i did take anything, i would just be so damned embarrased that I actually skuddle quickly through those things! Ima nut I know!

Busy

[001]

Heh, I know how you feel. When that stupid thing beeps everyone looks at you hoping to see some action. Like maybe you will start to run or something like that. I feel the same way. Sometimes eventhough you pay for it they forget to take away the beeper thingy and when you walk trough it, it gos off. It's happned to me alot.:p

[Stump]

Busy,
You can't go into it with that attitude - you will be freaking yourself out. You will have a chance to justify your answers on the poly, so I wouldn't fret. I am one of the "lucky" ones that has had to take one (and not an easy "pre-employment" type either), and I survived. I am prone to panic attacks brought on by claustrophobia, which is precisely what the poly is - strap you in, don't let you move, in a small room.... Hmm.... I survived. The results will show if you are nervous, but they will be able to tell if that is nervousness or lying.
Just remember - you have nothing to hide. I can't tell you to relax, because it is difficult to do, but just try to look at it matter-of-factly (not really a word, but whatever!).

[JSho]

Busy,
You sound like me. I have that sort of guilt-complex even though I've done nothing wrong. And, as I feared, it go the better of me when I took the polygraph because I failed. I told nothing but the truth but maybe just being asked those sorts of questions made me anxious and feel guilty. Since that experience, I found the website http://antipolygraph.org where you can learn about other people's experiences as well as "countermeasures" to help you pass. It's frustrating how strongly some people believe in polys while others, including myself, believe they are as reliable as flipping a coin. I also took a computerized voice stress analysis (CVSA) with another department which I supposedly showed deception on but they, thankfully, passed me.
Good luck.

[Stump]

Jsho,
I am not sure the way to go is to try to "beat" the lie detector test.
Let me get this straight - you showed deception on 2 different types of tests? I wonder why they would pass you if it showed deception? Maybe it really wasn't deception that they saw, but nervousness? It would defeat the whole purpose of taking the test, if they aren't going to do anything about getting deceptive results.
I know when I took mine, it showed deception in one of the tests, but the they knew that it was due to stress (It showed deception when they asked me if about what day of the week it was).

[JSho]

Stump,
Yes, I showed deception on both tests but on totally different questions! They were with different police departments. The polygraph examiner flat out told me I had failed so I asked if there was a way to separate nervousness from deception and he just said "kind of." He didn't seem to want to take the time to work with me to try to clear that up since it was 7PM at that point and I think he wanted to go home. The department that gave me the CVSA seemed to have little respect for polygraph tests. The CVSA examiner was much more interested in getting to know me and "helping" me get through the questions. She definitely knew I was a nervous wreck, especially after my poly experience. She then wrote a report on her final conclusions about me which she passed on to the chief who apparently thought I was worthy of being passed and going on to the next step in the application process. But I was warned by the HR department that they are "really going to look into drugs" in my background check since those were the questions I showed deception on. My friends think this is hilarious since I've always prided myself on being "clean."

[Stump]

Originally posted by JSho
The CVSA examiner was much more interested in getting to know me and "helping" me get through the questions. She definitely knew I was a nervous wreck, especially after my poly experience. She then wrote a report on her final conclusions about me which she passed on to the chief who apparently thought I was worthy of being passed and going on to the next step in the application process.

Jsho, that is what the people are there for. Like I said earlier, they go through the test with you and you can "rationalize" your answers. I had a complex because I was talking to a friend before my test, and he posed the question "Is it considered stealing if you take a pen home from work? Or a paper clip?" Technically it is, so I got all freaked out. I told the tester, and he rephrased the question so I felt better about it.
The polygraphs are not submissible in court, but the interview AROUND the test is... that is why the get you comfortable, so you will forget that everything you say is recorded.

[Busy]

You see, now you guys just freaked me out! HAHA
I appreciate the insight fellas. I guess I really need to take some time and relax before the poly. If there is one!! Not all departments from what I see perform the test. Well, I guess the more I know about the machine, the test and other issues about the poly, the less anxiety I will place upon myself.

Busy

[Stump]

Busy,
There is no amount of "studying" you can do for the poly. You either will pass it or fail it. Just be completely honest, and you will have nothing to worry about.
It pisses me off when people say they failed because the test is messed up. The only time you fail is when you lie.

[Sgt. Pepper]

Originally posted by 001
Heh, I know how you feel. When that stupid thing beeps everyone looks at you hoping to see some action. Like maybe you will start to run or something like that. I feel the same way. Sometimes eventhough you pay for it they forget to take away the beeper thingy and when you walk trough it, it gos off. It's happned to me alot.:p

HEheh i had that happen it was funny my boots had it's little thingy in the heal. it was kind of funny you just have to take it in strides.:p