polygraph

{{see also|Lie detection#Questioning and testing techniques}}

The examiner typically begins polygraph test sessions with a pre-test interview to gain some preliminary information which will later be used to develop diagnostic questions. Then the tester will explain how the polygraph is supposed to work, emphasizing that it can detect lies and that it is important to answer truthfully. Then a "stim test" is often conducted: the subject is asked to deliberately lie and then the tester reports that he was able to detect this lie. Guilty subjects are likely to become more anxious when they are reminded of the test's validity. However, there are risks of innocent subjects being equally or more anxious than the guilty.{{cite journal | last1 = Lewis | first1 = J. A. | last2 = Cuppari | first2 = M. | year = 2009 | title = The polygraph: The truth lies within | journal = Journal of Psychiatry and Law | volume = 37 | issue = 1| pages = 85–92 | doi = 10.1177/009318530903700107 | s2cid = 152221286 }} Then the actual test starts. Some of the questions asked are "irrelevant" ("Is your name Fred?"), others are "diagnostic" questions, and the remainder are the "relevant questions" that the tester is really interested in. The different types of questions alternate. The test is passed if the physiological responses to the diagnostic questions are larger than those during the relevant questions.{{Cite book|url=https://www.nap.edu/read/10420/chapter/12|title=The Polygraph and Lie Detection|publisher=The National Academies Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0-309-13313-5|location=Washington, DC|pages=253–254|language=en|doi=10.17226/10420}}

Criticisms have been given regarding the validity of the administration of the Control Question Technique. The CQT may be vulnerable to being conducted in an interrogation-like fashion. This kind of interrogation style would elicit a nervous response from innocent and guilty suspects alike. There are several other ways of administering the questions.{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.nap.edu/read/10420/chapter/12|title=The Polygraph and Lie Detection|publisher=The National Academies Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0-309-13313-5|pages=253–258|chapter=Appendix A: Polygraph Questioning Techniques|doi=10.17226/10420}}

An alternative is the Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT), or the Concealed Information Test, which is used in Japan.{{cite web|url = http://digitool.haifa.ac.il/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=673186&local_base=GEN01|title=The Admissibility of Polygraph Evidence in Criminal Courts|author=Don Sosunov|date=October 14, 2010|publisher=Haifa University|access-date = November 1, 2012|archive-date = November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106072418/http://digitool.haifa.ac.il/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=673186&local_base=GEN01|url-status=dead}} The administration of this test is given to prevent potential errors that may arise from the questioning style. The test is usually conducted by a tester with no knowledge of the crime or circumstances in question. The administrator tests the participant on their knowledge of the crime that would not be known to an innocent person. For example: "Was the crime committed with a .45 or a 9 mm?" The questions are in multiple choice and the participant is rated on how they react to the correct answer. If they react strongly to the guilty information, then proponents of the test believe that it is likely that they know facts relevant to the case. This administration is considered more valid by supporters of the test because it contains many safeguards to avoid the risk of the administrator influencing the results.For more info on the Guilty Knowledge Test, see [http://websites.mscc.huji.ac.il/zerolab/GKTCHAP3.PDF The Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT) as an Application of Psychophysiology: Future Prospects and Obstacles] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528204623/http://websites.mscc.huji.ac.il/zerolab/GKTCHAP3.PDF |date=2008-05-28 }}

Assessments of polygraphy by scientific and government bodies generally suggest that polygraphs are inaccurate, may be defeated by countermeasures, and are an imperfect or invalid means of assessing truthfulness.{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/polygraph/ota/index.html |access-date=2008-02-29 |title=Scientific Validity of Polygraph Testing: A Research Review and Evaluation |publisher= Washington, DC: U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment |year=1983}}{{cite web |url=http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/polygraph.html |access-date=2008-02-29 |date=July 2004 |title=Monitor on Psychology – The polygraph in doubt |publisher=American Psychological Association}} Despite claims that polygraph tests are between 80% and 90% accurate by advocates,{{cite news|last=Evans|first=Gareth|date=October 4, 2018|title=How credible are lie detector tests?|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45736631|quote="If the examiner is well-trained, if the test is properly carried out, and if there's proper quality controls, the accuracy is estimated between 80%-90%".}}{{cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/polygraph-lie-detector-tests-can-they-really-stop-criminals-reoffending-130477|title=Polygraph lie detector tests: can they really stop criminals reoffending?|last=Warmelink|first=Lara|date=January 24, 2020|website=The Conversation|quote=There have been several reviews of polygraph accuracy. They suggest that polygraphs are accurate between 80% and 90% of the time.}} the National Research Council has found no evidence of effectiveness.{{cite news|date=July 16, 2009|title=A scanner to detect terrorists|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8153539.stm}} In particular, studies have indicated that the relevant–irrelevant questioning technique is not ideal, as many innocent subjects exert a heightened physiological reaction to the crime-relevant questions.{{cite journal |last1=Iacono |first1=W. G. |year=2008 |title=Effective policing: Understanding how polygraph tests work and are used |journal=Criminal Justice and Behavior |volume=35 |issue=10 |pages=1295–1308 |doi=10.1177/0093854808321529 |s2cid=143302792}} The American Psychological Association states "Most psychologists agree that there is little evidence that polygraph tests can accurately detect lies."

In 2002, a review by the National Research Council found that, in populations "untrained in countermeasures, specific-incident polygraph tests can discriminate lying from truth telling at rates well above chance, though well below perfection". The review also warns against generalization from these findings to justify the use of polygraphs—"polygraph accuracy for screening purposes is almost certainly lower than what can be achieved by specific-incident polygraph tests in the field"—and notes some examinees may be able to take countermeasures to produce deceptive results.National Research Council (2003); [http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309084369 Pages 4 - 5]

In the 1998 US Supreme Court case United States v. Scheffer, the majority stated that "There is simply no consensus that polygraph evidence is reliable [...] 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." The Supreme Court summarized their findings by stating that the use of polygraph was "little better than could be obtained by the toss of a coin."{{cite web| title =United States v. Scheffer| url =https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/96-1133.ZO.html|publisher=Cornell Law School|date =March 31, 1998|access-date=May 12, 2025}} In 2005, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals stated that "polygraphy did not enjoy general acceptance from the scientific community".{{cite web|date =May 23, 2005|title=United States v. Henderson|publisher=United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit|url =http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200411545.pdf| access-date =August 31, 2007| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071127173339/http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200411545.pdf| archive-date =November 27, 2007| url-status =dead}} [PDF] In 2001, William Iacono, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota, concluded:

Although the CQT [Control Question Test] may be useful as an investigative aid and tool to induce confessions, it does not pass muster as a scientifically credible test. CQT theory is based on naive, implausible assumptions indicating (a) that it is biased against innocent individuals and (b) that it can be beaten simply by artificially augmenting responses to control questions. Although it is not possible to adequately assess the error rate of the CQT, both of these conclusions are supported by published research findings in the best social science journals (Honts et al., 1994; Horvath, 1977; Kleinmuntz & Szucko, 1984; Patrick & Iacono, 1991). Although defense attorneys often attempt to have the results of friendly CQTs admitted as evidence in court, there is no evidence supporting their validity and ample reason to doubt it. Members of scientific organizations who have the requisite background to evaluate the CQT are overwhelmingly skeptical of the claims made by polygraph proponents.{{Cite journal|last=Iacono|first=William G.|year=2001|title=Forensic 'Lie Detection': Procedures Without Scientific Basis|url=https://antipolygraph.org/articles/article-018.shtml|journal=Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice|volume=1|issue=1|pages=75–86|doi=10.1300/J158v01n01_05|s2cid=143077241|url-access=subscription}}

Polygraphs measure arousal, which can be affected by anxiety, anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), nervousness, fear, confusion, hypoglycemia, psychosis, depression, substance-induced states (nicotine, stimulants), substance-withdrawal state (alcohol withdrawal) or other emotions; polygraphs do not measure "lies".{{cite web |url=http://dpca.state.ny.us/pdfs/sopolygraphresearchbulletin3.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-01-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605202732/http://www.dpca.state.ny.us/pdfs/sopolygraphresearchbulletin3.pdf |archive-date=2011-06-05 }}{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/30/AR2006043001006.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | first1=Dan | last1=Eggen | first2=Shankar | last2=Vedantam | title=Polygraph Results Often in Question | date=May 1, 2006}} A polygraph cannot differentiate anxiety caused by dishonesty and anxiety caused by something else.{{cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2002/11/lie-detector-roulette|title=Lie Detector Roulette|work=Mother Jones}}

Since the polygraph does not measure lying, the Silent Talker Lie Detector inventors expected that adding a camera to film microexpressions would improve the accuracy of the evaluators. This did not happen in practice according to an article in the Intercept.{{cite web |last1=Gallagher |first1=Ryan |title=We Tested Europe's New Lie Detector for Travelors-and Immediately Triggered a False Positive |url=https://theintercept.com/2019/07/26/europe-border-control-ai-lie-detector/ |website=The Intercept |date=26 July 2019 |access-date=17 March 2023}}

In 1983, the US Congress Office of Technology Assessment published a review of the technology{{cite journal|title=Scientific Validity of Polygraph Testing: A Research Review and Evaluation – A Technical Memorandum|journal=(Washington, DC: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment|date=November 1983|issue=OTA-TM-H-15|url=http://ota.fas.org/reports/8320.pdf|access-date=3 September 2016}} and found that

{{quote|there is at present only limited scientific evidence for establishing the validity of polygraph testing. Even where the evidence seems to indicate that polygraph testing detects deceptive subjects better than chance, significant error rates are possible, and examiner and examinee differences and the use of countermeasures may further affect validity.{{Skeptoid|id=4422|number=422|title=Lie Detection|access-date=3 September 2016}}}}

In 2003, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) issued a report entitled "The Polygraph and Lie Detection". The NAS found that "overall, the evidence is scanty and scientifically weak", concluding that 57 of the approximately 80 research studies that the American Polygraph Association relied on to reach their conclusions were significantly flawed.[http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10420&page=212 "Conclusions and Recommendations"]. The Polygraph and Lie Detection (2003), National Academies Press. p. 212 These studies did show that 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". However, due to several flaws, the levels of accuracy shown in these studies "are almost certainly higher than actual polygraph accuracy of specific-incident testing in the field".National Research Council (2013); [http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10420&page=212 Chapter 8: Conclusions and Recommendations, p. 212]) By adding a camera, the Silent Talker Lie Detector attempted to give more data to the evaluator by providing information about microexpressions. However adding the Silent Talker camera did not improve lie detection and was very expensive and cumbersome to include according to an article in the Intercept.

When polygraphs are used as a screening tool (in national security matters and for law enforcement agencies for example) the level of accuracy drops to such a level that "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." The NAS concluded that the polygraph "may have some utility but that there is "little basis for the expectation that a polygraph test could have extremely high accuracy".

The NAS conclusions paralleled those of the earlier United States Congress Office of Technology Assessment report "Scientific Validity of Polygraph Testing: A Research Review and Evaluation".{{cite web |title= Scientific Validity of Polygraph Testing: A Research Review and Evaluation |author= Office of Technology Assessment |date= November 1983 |url=https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/polygraph/ota/ |author-link= Office of Technology Assessment }} Similarly, a report to Congress by the Moynihan Commission on Government Secrecy concluded that "The few Government-sponsored scientific research reports on polygraph validity (as opposed to its utility), especially those focusing on the screening of applicants for employment, indicate that the polygraph is neither scientifically valid nor especially effective beyond its ability to generate admissions".[http://www.gpo.gov/congress/commissions/secrecy/pdf/09ps.pdf IV Personnel Security: Protection Through Detection] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612003618/http://www.gpo.gov/congress/commissions/secrecy/pdf/09ps.pdf |date=2011-06-12 }} quoting Ralph M. Carney, SSBI Source Yield: An Examination of Sources Contacted During the SSBI (Monterey: Defense Personnel Security Research Center, 1996), 6, affirming that in 81% of cases, the derogatory informations were obtained through questionnaire and/or interrogation.

Despite the NAS finding of a "high rate of false positives," failures to expose individuals such as Aldrich Ames and Larry Wu-Tai Chin, and other inabilities to show a scientific justification for the use of the polygraph, it continues to be employed.{{cite journal |last1=Randi |first1=James |author-link1=James Randi |title=A Consistently Erroneous Technology |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=2017 |volume=41 |issue=5 |pages=16–19 |url=https://www.csicop.org/si/show/a_consistently_erroneous_technology |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728234040/https://www.csicop.org/si/show/a_consistently_erroneous_technology |archive-date=2018-07-28 |access-date=28 July 2018}}

Several proposed countermeasures designed to pass polygraph tests have been described. There are two major types of countermeasures: "general state" (intending to alter the physiological or psychological state of the subject during the test), and "specific point" (intending to alter the physiological or psychological state of the subject at specific periods during the examination, either to increase or decrease responses during critical examination periods).

• General state: asked how he passed the polygraph test, Central Intelligence Agency officer turned KGB mole Aldrich Ames explained that he sought advice from his Soviet handler and received the simple instruction to: "Get a good night's sleep, and rest, and go into the test rested and relaxed. Be nice to the polygraph examiner, develop a rapport, and be cooperative and try to maintain your calm".Weiner, Tim, David Johnston, and Neil A. Lewis, Betrayal: The Story of Aldrich Ames, an American Spy, 1995. Additionally, Ames explained, "There's no special magic... Confidence is what does it. Confidence and a friendly relationship with the examiner... rapport, where you smile and you make him think that you like him".{{cite web|url=https://www.dailypress.com/1994/04/29/ames-separated-spy-agent-lives/|title=Ames: Separated Spy, Agent Lives|work=tribunedigital-dailypress|date=29 April 1994 |access-date=2012-06-01|archive-date=2013-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212021732/http://articles.dailypress.com/1994-04-29/news/9404290219_1_aldrich-h-ames-soviet-defectors-spy|url-status=live}}
• Specific point: other suggestions for countermeasures include for the subject to mentally record the control and relevant questions as the examiner reviews them before the interrogation begins. During the interrogation the subject is supposed to carefully control their breathing while answering the relevant questions, and to try to artificially increase their heart rate during the control questions, for example by thinking of something scary or exciting, or by pricking themselves with a pointed object concealed somewhere on the body. In this way the results will not show a significant reaction to any of the relevant questions.Lykken, David T. A Tremor in the Blood: Uses and Abuses of the Lie Detector, 2nd ed., New York: Plenum Trade, 1998, pp. 273–279.

Law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies in the United States are by far the biggest users of polygraph technology. In the United States alone most federal law enforcement agencies either employ their own polygraph examiners or use the services of examiners employed in other agencies.{{cite web|author=Van Aperen, Steven|date=February 29, 2000 |url=http://www.nettrace.com.au/content/nta10001.htm|title=The polygraph as an investigative tool in criminal and private investigations|publisher=Net-Trace}} In 1978 Richard Helms, the eighth Director of Central Intelligence, stated:

{{quote|We discovered there were some Eastern Europeans who could defeat the polygraph at any time. Americans are not very good at it, because we are raised to tell the truth and when we lie it is easy to tell we are lying. But we find a lot of Europeans and Asiatics can handle that polygraph without a blip, and you know they are lying and you have evidence that they are lying.{{cite web|url= http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/jfkinfo2/jfk4/Hscahelm.htm |title= Testimony of Richard Helms, Former Director of Central Intelligence, Former Ambassador to Iran, and Presently a Business Consultant in Washington, D.C., and Represented by Gregory B. Craig, of Williams & Connelly |website= mcadams.posc.mu.edu|date= 2001-01-29 |access-date= 2015-04-19|archivedate=July 1, 2002|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020701034017/http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/jfkinfo2/jfk4/Hscahelm.htm}}}}

Susan McCarthy of Salon said in 2000 that "The polygraph is an American phenomenon, with limited use in a few countries, such as Canada, Israel and Japan."McCarthy, Susan. "[http://www.salon.com/2000/03/02/polygraph/ The truth about the polygraph]." Salon. March 2, 2000. Retrieved on July 5, 2013.

In Armenia, government administered polygraphs are legal, at least for use in national security investigations. The National Security Service (NSS), Armenia's primary intelligence service, requires polygraph examinations of all new applicants.{{Cite web |title=How to become an employee of the NSS |url=https://www.sns.am/en/pages/show/officer |access-date=2023-02-15 |website=www.sns.am |language=en}}

Polygraph evidence became inadmissible in New South Wales courts under the Lie Detectors Act 1983. Under the same act, it is also illegal to use polygraphs for the purpose of granting employment, insurance, financial accommodation, and several other purposes for which polygraphs may be used in other jurisdictions.{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/act+62+1983+cd+0+N |title=Lie Detectors Act 1983 (NSW) |publisher=Legislation.nsw.gov.au |access-date=2018-10-02 |archive-date=2018-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003013735/https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/act+62+1983+cd+0+N |url-status=dead }}

In Canada, the 1987 decision of R v Béland, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the use of polygraph results as evidence in court, finding that they were inadmissible. The polygraph is still used as a tool in the investigation of criminal acts and sometimes employed in the screening of employees for government organizations.{{cite web|title=Pre-Employment Polygraph|website=Royal Canadian Mounted Police|url=http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/pre-employment-polygraph|date=2016-05-10|access-date=2018-04-17|archive-date=2021-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226205643/http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/pre-employment-polygraph|url-status=dead}}

In the province of Ontario, the Employment Standards Act, 2000 prohibits employers from asking or requiring employees to undergo a polygraph test.{{cite web|title=Lie Detector Tests |website= Ontario Ministry of Labour|url=http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/pubs/guide/liedetectors.php}}{{cite canlaw |short title=Employment Standards Act, 2000 |abbr=S.O. |year=2000 |chapter=41 |part=XVI |wikilink=Employment Standards Act |link=https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/00e41 |linkloc=Ontario e-Laws}} Police services are permitted use polygraph tests as part of an investigation if the person consents.{{citation |title=Behavioural Assessment |website=Toronto Police Service |url=https://www.tps.ca/organizational-chart/specialized-operations-command/detective-operations/investigative-services/sex-crimes/behavioural-assessment/ |access-date=2025-05-04}}

In a majority of European jurisdictions, polygraphs are generally considered to be unreliable for gathering evidence, and are usually not used by local law enforcement agencies. Polygraph testing is widely seen in Europe to violate the right to remain silent.{{cite book|last1=Meijer|first1=Ewout H|last2=van Koppen|first2=Peter J|editor1-last=Canter|editor1-first=David|editor2-last=Žukauskiene|editor2-first=Rita|title=Psychology and Law : Bridging the Gap|date=2017|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1351907873|chapter=Chapter 3. Lie Detectors and the Law: The Use of the Polygraph in Europe|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4VJBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT62}}{{rp|62ff}}

In England and Wales a polygraph test can be taken, but the results cannot be used in a court of law to prove a case.{{cite news |title=How widely are lie detectors used in the UK? |work=BBC News |date=29 June 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48775614 |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=28 August 2020}} However, the Offender Management Act 2007 put in place an option to use polygraph tests to monitor serious sex offenders on parole in England and Wales;{{cite web | author-link= Wendy M. Grossman |last1=Grossman |first1=Wendy |title=Letter to America: The Black Box that Wouldn't Die |date=25 August 2020 |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/letter-to-america-the-black-box-that-wouldnt-die/|magazine=Skeptical Inquirer|access-date=28 August 2020}} these tests became compulsory in 2014 for high risk sexual offenders currently on parole in England and Wales.{{cite web |last1=Bowcott |first1=Owen |title=Lie detector tests introduced to monitor released sex offenders |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/08/lie-detector-polygraph-tests-introduced-monitor-sex-offenders |work=The Guardian |date=8 August 2014 |access-date=28 August 2020}}

The Supreme Court of Poland declared on January 29, 2015, that the use of polygraph in interrogation of suspects is forbidden by the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure. Its use might be allowed though if the suspect has been already accused of a crime and if the interrogated person consents of the use of a polygraph. Even then, the use of polygraph can never be used as a substitute of actual evidence.{{Cite web|date=2015-01-30|title=SN: tylko bez wariografu w przesłuchaniu I KZP 25/14|url=https://czasopismo.legeartis.org/2015/01/sad-najwyzszy-przeciwko-wariografowi/|access-date=2021-07-09|website=Czasopismo Lege Artis|language=pl-PL}}

As of 2017, the justice ministry and Supreme Court of both of the Netherlands and Germany had rejected use of polygraphs.{{rp|62ff}}Bundesgerichtshof: Entscheidungen vom 17.12.1998, 1 StR 156/98, 1 StR 258/98

According to the 2017 book Psychology and Law: Bridging the Gap by psychologists David Canter and Rita Žukauskienė Belgium was the European country with the most prevalent use of polygraph testing by police, with about 300 polygraphs carried out each year in the course of police investigations. The results are not considered viable evidence in bench trials, but have been used in jury trials.{{rp|62ff}}

In Lithuania, "polygraphs have been in use since 1992",{{cite journal |last1=Saldžiūnas |first1=Vitas |last2=Kovalenko |first2=Aleksandras |date=2008| title=The Event Knowledge Test (EKT) |url=https://repozytorium.ka.edu.pl/bitstream/handle/11315/24938/SALDZIUNAS_The_event_knowledge_test_2008.pdf?sequence=6&isAllowed=y |journal=European Polygraph |volume=1 |issue=3 |page=21}} with law enforcement utilizing the Event Knowledge Test (a "modification"{{cite journal |last1=Saldžiūnas |first1=Vitas |last2=Kovalenko |first2=Aleksandras |date=2015 |title=Selecting the Most Optimal Conditions for the Polygraph Examination |url=https://www.polygraph.pl/vol/2015-2/european-polygraph-2015-no2-saldziunas-kovalenka.pdf |journal=European Polygraph |volume=9 |issue=2 (32) |page=70 |doi=10.1515/ep-2015-0003|s2cid=148000927 }} of the Concealed Information Test) in criminal investigations.

In 2008, an Indian court adopted the Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature Profiling test as evidence to convict a woman who was accused of murdering her fiancé.{{cite journal | last1 = Gaudet | first1 = Lyn M | title = Brain Fingerprinting, Scientific Evidence, and "Daubert": A Cautionary Lesson from India | year = 2011 | url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/41307131 | journal = Jurimetrics: The Journal of Law, Science & Technology | volume = 51 | issue = 3| pages = 293–318 | jstor = 41307131 }} It was the first time that the result of polygraph was used as evidence in court.{{cite news|last=Giridharadas |first=Anand|title = India's Novel Use of Brain Scans in Courts is Debated|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/world/asia/15brainscan.html|date=September 14, 2008|access-date = 2008-09-15}}

On May 5, 2010, The Supreme Court of India declared use of narcoanalysis, brain mapping and polygraph tests on suspects as illegal and against the constitution if consent is not obtained and forced.{{cite news|title = No narcoanalysis test without consent, says SC|work=The Times of India|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/No-narcoanalysis-test-without-consent-says-SC/articleshow/5892348.cms|date=May 5, 2010|access-date = 2010-05-05|first1=Dhananjay|last1=Mahapatra}} Article 20(3) of the Indian Constitution states: "No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself."{{cite journal|url=https://www.ijlmh.com/paper/right-against-self-incrimination-a-detailed-study-analysis-of-laws-prevailing-in-india/|title=Right against Self-Incrimination: A Detailed Study & Analysis of Laws Prevailing in India|author=Mittal, Akshat; Mishra, Aakarsh|journal=International Journal of Law Management and Humanities|date=2021|accessdate=December 21, 2021|archivedate=April 11, 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411160316/https://www.ijlmh.com/paper/right-against-self-incrimination-a-detailed-study-analysis-of-laws-prevailing-in-india/}} Polygraph tests are still legal if the defendant requests one.{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/polygraph-test-can-only-be-conducted-with-consent-of-the-accused-karnataka-hc-101615972372932.html|newspaper=Hindustan Times|author=Bose, Joydeep|title=Polygraph test can only be conducted with consent of the accused: Karnataka HC|date=March 17, 2021|accessdate=December 21, 2021|archivedate=March 17, 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317101847/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/polygraph-test-can-only-be-conducted-with-consent-of-the-accused-karnataka-hc-101615972372932.html}}

The Supreme Court of Israel, in Civil Appeal 551/89 (Menora Insurance v. Jacob Sdovnik), ruled that the polygraph has not been recognized as a reliable device. In other decisions, polygraph results were ruled inadmissible in criminal trials. Polygraph results are only admissible in civil trials if the person being tested agrees to it in advance.{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/when-a-job-interview-turns-into-an-interrogation/|title=When a job interview turns into an interrogation|magazine=Times of Israel|author=Weinglass, Simona|date=March 6, 2016|accessdate=November 16, 2021|archivedate=March 7, 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307105056/https://www.timesofisrael.com/when-a-job-interview-turns-into-an-interrogation/}}

The results of polygraph tests are inadmissible in court in the Philippines.{{cite news |last1=Patag |first1=Kristine Joy |title=How forensic science is making a breakthrough in the Philippines |url=https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/03/27/1797029/how-forensic-science-making-breakthrough-philippines |access-date=9 September 2023 |work=The Philippine Star |date=27 May 2018}}{{cite web |title=G.R. Nos. 116196-97: Philippines vs. Pablo Adoviso |url=https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/37355 |website=Supreme Court E-Library |publisher=Supreme Court of the Philippines |access-date=9 September 2023}} The National Bureau of Investigation, however, uses polygraphs in aid of investigation.{{cite news |last1=Mayol |first1=Ador Vincent |last2=Bongcac |first2=Doris C. |last3=Pateña |first3=Patricia Andrea |title=Polygraph tests start for Ballesteros, center staff |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/131345/polygraph-tests-start-for-ballesteros-center-staff |access-date=9 September 2023 |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |date=20 January 2012 |language=en}}

File:DOD polygraph brochure.pdf (DSS) about polygraph testing]] File:Administration of Polygraph.jpg

File:NSApolygraphvideo.webm (NSA)-produced video on the polygraph process)]]

In 2018, Wired magazine reported that an estimated 2.5 million polygraph tests were given each year in the United States, with the majority administered to paramedics, police officers, firefighters, and state troopers. The average cost to administer the test is more than $700 and is part of a $2 billion industry.{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Mark |url=https://www.wired.com/story/inside-polygraph-job-screening-black-mirror/ |title=The Lie Generator: Inside the Black Mirror World of Polygraph Job Screenings |magazine=Wired |date=October 1, 2018|access-date=October 2, 2018}}

{{As of|2007|alt=In 2007}}, polygraph testimony was admitted by stipulation in 19 states, and was subject to the discretion of the trial judge in federal court. The use of polygraph in court testimony remains controversial, although it is used extensively in post-conviction supervision, particularly of sex offenders. In Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (1993),{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/92-102.ZS.html|title=Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993).|publisher=Cornell University}} the old Frye standard was lifted and all forensic evidence, including polygraph, had to meet the new Daubert standard in which "underlying reasoning or methodology is scientifically valid and properly can be applied to the facts at issue." While polygraph tests are commonly used in police investigations in the US, no defendant or witness can be forced to undergo the test unless they are under the supervision of the courts.{{cite journal |last1=Vance |first1=Stephen |title=Looking at the Law: An Updated Look at the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination in PostConviction Supervision |journal=Federal Probation |number=1 |volume=75 |url=https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/75_1_6_0.pdf}} In United States v. Scheffer (1998),{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/96-1133.ZS.html|title=United States v. Scheffer, 523 U.S. 303 (1998)|publisher=Cornell University}} the US Supreme Court left it up to individual jurisdictions whether polygraph results could be admitted as evidence in court cases. Nevertheless, it is used extensively by prosecutors, defense attorneys, and law enforcement agencies. In the states of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, Delaware and Iowa it is illegal for any employer to order a polygraph either as conditions to gain employment, or if an employee has been suspected of wrongdoing.{{Cite web|url=https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXI/Chapter149/Section19B|title=General Law – Part I, Title XXI, Chapter 149, Section 19B|website=malegislature.gov|access-date=2019-04-03}}{{Cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/codes/maryland/2013/article-gle/section-3-702/|title=2013 Maryland Code :: Labor and Employment :: § 3-702 – Lie detector tests|website=Justia Law|language=en|access-date=2019-04-03}} The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (EPPA) generally prevents employers from using lie detector tests, either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment, with certain exemptions.{{cite web|url=http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-eppa.htm|title=Compliance Assistance By Law – The Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)|work=dol.gov|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050923221110/http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-eppa.htm|archive-date=2005-09-23}} As of 2013, about 70,000 job applicants are polygraphed by the federal government on an annual basis.Taylor, Marisa and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. "[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/08/16/199590/seeing-threats-feds-target-instructors.html#.UiIeOn9fuSp Seeing threats, feds target instructors of polygraph-beating methods]". McClatchy Newspapers. August 16, 2013. Retrieved August 31, 2013. In the United States, the State of New Mexico admits polygraph testing in front of juries under certain circumstances.{{Cite web|url=https://swrtc.nmsu.edu/files/2014/12/New-Mexico-Rules-of-Evidence.pdf|title=New Mexico Rules of Evidence|website=New Mexico State University, Southwest Regional Training Centre|access-date=30 March 2019|archive-date=24 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924184043/https://swrtc.nmsu.edu/files/2014/12/New-Mexico-Rules-of-Evidence.pdf|url-status=dead}}

In 2010 the NSA produced a video explaining its polygraph process.{{cite news|author=Nagesh, Gautham|url=https://thehill.com/policy/technology/163354-nsa-video-tries-to-dispel-fear-about-polygraph-use-during-job-interviews/|title=NSA video tries to dispel fear about polygraph use during job interviews|work=The Hill|date=June 14, 2010|access-date=June 15, 2013}} The video, ten minutes long, is titled "The Truth About the Polygraph" and was posted to the website of the Defense Security Service. Jeff Stein of The Washington Post said that the video portrays "various applicants, or actors playing them—it’s not clear—describing everything bad they had heard about the test, the implication being that none of it is true."Stein, Jeff. "[https://archive.today/20130705215730/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2010/06/facing_nsas_lie_detector_relax.html NSA lie detectors no sweat, video says]". The Washington Post. June 14, 2010. Retrieved on July 5, 2013. AntiPolygraph.org argues that the NSA-produced video omits some information about the polygraph process; it produced a video responding to the NSA video. George Maschke, the founder of the website, accused the NSA polygraph video of being "Orwellian".

The polygraph was invented in 1921 by John Augustus Larson, a medical student at the University of California, Berkeley and a police officer of the Berkeley Police Department in Berkeley, California.{{cite web|title=Polygraph/Lie Detector FAQs|publisher=International League of Polygraph Examiners|url=http://www.theilpe.com/faq_eng.html}} The polygraph was on the Encyclopædia Britannica 2003 list of greatest inventions, described as inventions that "have had profound effects on human life for better or worse."{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://corporate.britannica.com/press/inventions.html |title=Encyclopædia Britannica's Great Inventions |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Almanac 2003, via Wayback Machine |access-date=5 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519003729/http://corporate.britannica.com/press/inventions.html |archive-date=May 19, 2012}} In 2013, the US federal government had begun indicting individuals who stated that they were teaching methods on how to defeat a polygraph test."[https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/owner-polygraph-indicted-allegedly-training-customers-lir-during-federally-administered "Owner of 'Polygraph.com' Indicted for Allegedly Training Customers to Lie During Federally Administered Polygraph Examinations"]. Department of Justice, November 14, 2014. Accessed March 19, 2018.Taylor, Marisa. "[http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2021772209_lyingpenaltyxml.html Indiana man gets 8 months for lie-detector fraud]". The Seattle Times. McClatchy Newspapers. September 6, 2013. Retrieved on September 8, 2013. During one of those investigations, upwards of 30 federal agencies were involved in investigations of almost 5000 people who had various degrees of contact with those being prosecuted or who had purchased books or DVDs on the topic of beating polygraph tests.{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/09/coach-who-taught-people-how-to-beat-lie-detectors-headed-to-prison/|title=Coach who taught people how to beat lie detectors headed to prison|work=Ars Technica|date=2013-09-09}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/11/14/208438/americans-personal-data-shared.html|title=Washington: Americans' personal data shared with CIA, IRS, others in security probe|work=McClatchy DC}}{{cite web|url=http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2021772209_lyingpenaltyxml.html|title=Indiana man gets 8 months for lie-detector fraud|work=The Seattle Times}}

In 1995, Harold James Nicholson, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee later convicted of spying for Russia, had undergone his periodic five-year reinvestigation, in which he showed a strong probability of deception on questions regarding relationships with a foreign intelligence unit. This polygraph test later led to an investigation which resulted in his eventual arrest and conviction. In most cases, however, polygraphs are more of a tool to "scare straight" those who would consider espionage. Jonathan Pollard was advised by his Israeli handlers that he was to resign his job from American intelligence if he was ever told he was subject to a polygraph test.{{cn|date= September 2023}} Likewise, John Anthony Walker was advised by his handlers not to engage in espionage until he had been promoted to the highest position for which a polygraph test was not required, to refuse promotion to higher positions for which polygraph tests were required, and to retire when promotion was mandated.

In 1983, CIA employee Edward Lee Howard was dismissed when, during a polygraph screening, he truthfully answered a series of questions admitting to minor crimes such as petty theft and drug abuse. In retaliation for his perceived unjust punishment for minor offenses, he later sold his knowledge of CIA operations to the Soviet Union.{{cite web|url=http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/1008570.html|title=RPCV and CIA defector Edward Howard dies in Moscow|date=2002-07-22|publisher=Peace Corps Online}}

Polygraph tests may not deter espionage. From 1945 to the present, at least six Americans have committed espionage while successfully passing polygraph tests. Notable cases of two men who created a false negative result with the polygraphs were Larry Wu-Tai Chin, who spied for China, and Aldrich Ames, who was given two polygraph examinations while with the CIA, the first in 1986 and the second in 1991, while spying for the Soviet Union/Russia. The CIA reported that he passed both examinations after experiencing initial indications of deception.{{Cite web|url=http://www.loyola.edu/dept/politics/intel/hitzrept.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705120623/http://www.loyola.edu/dept/politics/intel/hitzrept.html|url-status=dead|title=The Adrich H. Ames Case: An Assessment of CIA's Role, Oct. 21, 1994 Memorandum for Heads of Agency Offices from Director of Central Intelligence|archivedate=July 5, 2009}} According to a Senate investigation, an FBI review of the first examination concluded that the indications of deception were never resolved.{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/congress/1994_rpt/ssci_ames.htm|title=An Assessment of the Aldrich H. Ames Espionage Case and Its Implications for U.S. Intelligence – Senate Select Committee on Intelligence – 01 November 1994 – Part One|work=fas.org}}

Ana Belen Montes, a Cuban spy, passed a counterintelligence scope polygraph test administered by the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in 1994.{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/feature/wp/2013/04/18/ana-montes-did-much-harm-spying-for-cuba-chances-are-you-havent-heard-of-her/ | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=Magazine}}

Despite these errors, in August 2008, the DIA announced that it would subject each of its 5,700 prospective and current employees to polygraph testing at least once annually.Hess, Pamela, "Pentagon's Intelligence Arm Steps Up Lie-Detector Efforts", Arizona Daily Star, August 24, 2008. Also in Fox News via AP [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,409502,00.html] This expansion of polygraph screening at DIA occurred while DIA polygraph managers ignored documented technical problems discovered in the Lafayette computerized polygraph system.{{cite web|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/05/20/191542/glitch-in-widely-used-polygraph.html|title=Glitch in widely used polygraph can skew results|work=McClatchy DC|access-date=2013-05-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527014932/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/05/20/191542/glitch-in-widely-used-polygraph.html|archive-date=2013-05-27|url-status=dead}} The DIA uses computerized Lafayette polygraph systems for routine counterintelligence testing. The impact of the technical flaws within the Lafayette system on the analysis of recorded physiology and on the final polygraph test evaluation is currently unknown.{{cite web|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/polygraph/|title=McClatchy – The Polygraph Files|work=mcclatchydc.com|access-date=2013-05-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527013422/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/polygraph/|archive-date=2013-05-27|url-status=dead}}

In 2012, a McClatchy investigation found that the National Reconnaissance Office was possibly breaching ethical and legal boundaries by encouraging its polygraph examiners to extract personal and private information from US Department of Defense personnel during polygraph tests that purported to be limited in scope to counterintelligence matters.{{cite web|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/07/10/155644/the-ig-complaint-of-mark-phillips.html|title=The IG complaint of Mark Phillips concerning the NRO|work=McClatchy DC}} Allegations of abusive polygraph practices were brought forward by former NRO polygraph examiners.Taylor, Marisa, "[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/07/27/158078/sen-charles-grassley-seeks-probe.html Sen. Charles Grassley Seeks Probe Of Polygraph Techniques At National Reconnaissance Office]", The McClatchy Company, 27 July 2012

Most polygraph researchers have focused more on the exam's predictive value on a subject's guilt. However, there have been no empirical theories established to explain how a polygraph measures deception. A 2010 study indicated that functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) may benefit in explaining the psychological correlations of polygraph exams. It could also explain which parts of the brain are active when subjects use artificial memories.{{clarify |date=October 2016 |reason=What is an artificial memory?}}{{cite journal | last1 = Bell | first1 = B. G. | last2 = Grubin | first2 = D. | year = 2010 | title = Functional magnetic resonance imaging may promote theoretical understanding of the polygraph test | journal = Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology | volume = 21 | issue = 1| pages = 52–65 | doi=10.1080/14789940903220676| s2cid = 144428132 }} Most brain activity occurs in both sides of the prefrontal cortex, which is linked to response inhibition. This indicates that deception may involve inhibition of truthful responses.{{cite journal | last1 = Langleben | first1 = DD | last2 = Schroeder | first2 = L | last3 = Maldjian | first3 = JA | last4 = Gur | first4 = RC | last5 = McDonald | first5 = S | last6 = Ragland | first6 = JD | last7 = O'Brien | first7 = CP | last8 = Childress | first8 = AR | year = 2002 | title = Brain activity during simulated deception: an event-related functional magnetic resonance study | journal = NeuroImage | volume = 15 | issue = 3| pages = 727–732 | doi = 10.1006/nimg.2001.1003 | pmid = 11848716 | s2cid = 14676750 }} Some researchers believe that reaction time (RT) based tests may replace polygraphs in concealed information detection. RT based tests differ from polygraphs in stimulus presentation duration and can be conducted without physiological recording as subject response time is measured via computer. However, researchers have found limitations to these tests as subjects voluntarily control their reaction time, deception can still occur within the response deadline, and the test itself lacks physiological recording.{{cite journal | last1 = Verschuere | first1 = B. | last2 = Crombez | first2 = G. | last3 = Degrootte | first3 = T. | last4 = Rosseel | first4 = Y. | year = 2010 | title = Detecting concealed information with reaction times: Validity and comparison with the polygraph | journal = Applied Cognitive Psychology | volume = 24 | issue = 7| pages = 991–1002| doi=10.1002/acp.1601}}

Earlier societies utilized elaborate methods of lie detection which mainly involved torture. For instance, in the Middle Ages, boiling water was used to detect liars, as it was believed honest men would withstand it better than liars.{{cite journal | last1 = Grubin | first1 = D. | last2 = Madsen | first2 = L. | year = 2005 | title = Lie detection and the polygraph: A historical review | journal = Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology | volume = 16 | issue = 2| pages = 357–369 | doi=10.1080/14789940412331337353| s2cid = 144898901 }} Early devices for lie detection include an 1895 invention of Cesare Lombroso used to measure changes in blood pressure for police cases, a 1904 device by Vittorio Benussi used to measure breathing, the Mackenzie-Lewis Polygraph first developed by James Mackenzie in 1906 and an abandoned project by American William Moulton Marston which used blood pressure to examine German prisoners of war (POWs).{{cite web|url=http://www.nitv1.com/History.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203185847/http://www.nitv1.com/History.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2007-12-03|title=History of CVSA|work=nitv1.com}} Marston said he found a strong positive correlation between systolic blood pressure and lying.

Marston 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.{{cite journal|last1=Marston|first1 = William M|year=1917|title = Systolic Blood Pressure Changes in Deception|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1429147|journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology|volume=2|issue=2|pages=117–163|doi=10.1037/h0073583}} Marston's main inspiration for the device was his wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston. "According to Marston’s son, it was his mother Elizabeth, Marston's wife, who suggested to him that 'When she got mad or excited, her blood pressure seemed to climb{{'"}} (Lamb, 2001). Although Elizabeth is not listed as Marston’s collaborator in his early work, Lamb, Matte (1996), and others refer directly and indirectly to Elizabeth's work on her husband's deception research. She also appears in a picture taken in his polygraph laboratory in the 1920s (reproduced in Marston, 1938).National Research Council (2013); [http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10420&page=292 Page 292]

Despite his predecessors' contributions, Marston styled himself the "father of the polygraph". (Today he is often equally or more noted as the creator of the comic book character Wonder Woman and her Lasso of Truth, which can force people to tell the truth.)Lepore, Jill. The Secret History of Wonder Woman, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014, {{ISBN|978-0385354042}}, pp. 183–209. Marston remained the device's primary advocate, lobbying for its use in the courts. In 1938 he published a book, The Lie Detector Test, wherein he documented the theory and use of the device.Marston, William Moulton. The Lie Detector Test. New York: Richard R. Smith, 1938. In 1938 he appeared in advertising by the Gillette company claiming that the polygraph showed Gillette razors were better than the competition.{{cite magazine|magazine=Reason magazine|date=May 2001|title=William Marston's Secret Identity|url=http://www.reason.com/news/show/28014.html}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.antipolygraph.org/documents/marston-razor-high-res.pdf|title=Lie Detector Charts Emotional Effects of Shaving – 1938 Gillette Advertisement|access-date=2007-01-10|archive-date=2018-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010213555/https://www.antipolygraph.org/documents/marston-razor-high-res.pdf|url-status=dead}}[http://www.antipolygraph.org/documents/marston-fbi-file.pdf FBI File of William Moulton Marston] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070621154436/http://www.antipolygraph.org/documents/marston-fbi-file.pdf |date=2007-06-21 }}(including report on Gillette advertising campaign)

A device recording both blood pressure and breathing was invented in 1921 by John Augustus 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.Katherine To for Illumin. Fall 2003. [https://illumin.usc.edu/43/lie-detection-the-science-and-development-of-the-polygraph/ Lie Detection: The Science and Development of the Polygraph] Further work on this device was done by Leonarde Keeler.{{cite web|url=http://www.lie2me.net/thepolygraphmuseum/id12.html|title=Leonarde Keeler and his Instruments|work=lie2me.net}} As Larson's protege, Keeler updated the device by making it portable and added the galvanic skin response to it in 1939. His device was then purchased by the FBI, and served as the prototype of the modern polygraph.

Several devices similar to Keeler's polygraph version included the Berkeley Psychograph, a blood pressure-pulse-respiration recorder developed by C. D. Lee in 1936Inbau, Fred E. Lie Detection and Criminal Interrogation, The Williams & Wilkins Company, 1948 and the Darrow Behavior Research Photopolygraph, which was developed and intended solely for behavior research experiments.{{cite journal | last1 = Troville | first1 = P.V. | year = 1939 | title = A History of Lie Detection | journal = Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology | volume = 29 | issue = 6| page = 848 }}{{cite journal | last1 = Troville | first1 = P.V. | year = 1939 | title = A History of Lie Detection | journal = Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology | volume = 30 | issue = 1| page = 104 }}

A device which recorded muscular activity accompanying changes in blood pressure was developed in 1945 by John E. Reid, who claimed that greater accuracy could be obtained by making these recordings simultaneously with standard blood pressure-pulse-respiration recordings.{{cite journal | last1 = Reid | first1 = J. E. | year = 1945 | title = Simulated Blood Pressure Responses in Lie-Detection Tests and a Method for Their Deception | journal = Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology | volume = 36 | issue = 1| pages = 201–215 }}

Lie detection has a long history in mythology and fairy tales; the polygraph has allowed modern fiction to use a device more easily seen as scientific and plausible. Notable instances of polygraph usage include uses in crime and espionage themed television shows and some daytime television talk shows, cartoons and films. Numerous TV shows have been called Lie Detector or featured the device. The first Lie Detector TV show aired in the 1950s, created and hosted by Ralph Andrews. In the 1960s Andrews produced a series of specials hosted by Melvin Belli. In the 1970s the show was hosted by Jack Anderson. In early 1983 Columbia Pictures Television put on a syndicated series hosted by F. Lee Bailey.{{Cite web|url=http://www.impac-systems.com/world/americas/ct.asp|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024193643/http://www.impac-systems.com/world/americas/ct.asp|url-status=dead|title=IMPAC: F. Lee Bailey bio|archivedate=October 24, 2008}} In 1998 TV producer Mark Phillips with his Mark Phillips Philms & Telephision put Lie Detector back on the air on the FOX Network—on that program Ed Gelb with host Marcia Clark questioned Mark Fuhrman about the allegation that he "planted the bloody glove". In 2005 Phillips produced Lie Detector as a series for PAX/ION; some of the guests included Paula Jones, Reverend Paul Crouch accuser Lonny Ford, Ben Rowling, Jeff Gannon and Swift Boat Vet, Steve Garner.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kr3xmUi61goC&dq=Lie+Detector+F.+Lee+Bailey&pg=PA151|title=Lie Detectors: A Social History|first=Kerry|last=Segrave|date=November 18, 2014|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786481613 |via=Google Books}}

In the UK, shows such as The Jeremy Kyle Show used polygraph tests extensively. The show was ultimately canceled when a participant committed suicide shortly after being polygraphed. The guest was slated by Kyle on the show for failing the polygraph, but no other evidence has come forward to prove any guilt. Producers later admitted in the inquiry that they were unsure on how accurate the tests performed were.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/jeremy-kyle-show-cancelled-itv-lie-detector-accuracy-producer-tom-mclennan-a8973756.html|title=Jeremy Kyle producer unable to say how accurate lie detector tests were|newspaper=The Independent|author=Barr, Sabrina|language=en|url-status=live|date=June 25, 2019|access-date=December 15, 2022|archivedate=June 26, 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626061810/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/jeremy-kyle-show-cancelled-itv-lie-detector-accuracy-producer-tom-mclennan-a8973756.html}}

In the Fox game show The Moment of Truth, contestants are privately asked personal questions a few days before the show while hooked to a polygraph. On the show they asked the same questions in front of a studio audience and members of their family. In order to advance in the game they must give a "truthful" answer as determined by the previous polygraph exam.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.tvweek.com/news/2007/11/darnell_in_defense_of_the_trut.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080221113425/http://www.tvweek.com/news/2007/11/darnell_in_defense_of_the_trut.php|archive-date=2008-02-21|title=Darnell in Defense of the 'Truth': Fox Executive Talks About the Network's Controversial Lie Detector Show|magazine=TV Week|author=James Hibberd|date=2007-11-25|access-date=2008-03-11}}

Daytime talk shows, such as Maury Povich and Steve Wilkos, have used polygraphs to supposedly detect deception in interview subjects on their programs that pertain to cheating, child abuse, and theft.{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/post/176031-thetruth-about-maury/|title=The Tested Truth About 'Maury Povich'|last=O'Dell|first=Cary|date=November 12, 2013|work=Pop Matters|access-date=9 December 2014}}

In episode 93 of the US science show MythBusters, the hosts attempted to fool the polygraph by using pain when answering truthfully, in order to test the notion that polygraphs interpret truthful and non-truthful answers as the same. They also attempted to fool the polygraph by thinking pleasant thoughts when lying and thinking stressful thoughts when telling the truth, to try to confuse the machine. However, neither technique was successful for a number of reasons. Michael Martin correctly identified each guilty and innocent subject. Martin suggested that when conducted properly, polygraphs are correct 98% of the time, but no scientific evidence has been offered for this.For critical commentary on this episode, see {{cite web | last=Maschke|first=George|title=Mythbusters Beat the Lie Detector Episode featuring Michael Martin|publisher=AntiPolygraph.org|date=December 7, 2007|url=https://antipolygraph.org/cgi-bin/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1197009999}}

The history of the polygraph is the subject of the documentary film The Lie Detector, which first aired on American Experience on January 3, 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/2022/12/20/american-experience-the-lie-detector|author=Robinson, Jennifer|title=American Experience: The Lie Detector|publisher=KPBS|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=December 20, 2022|access-date=January 4, 2023|archivedate=January 2, 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102080908/https://www.kpbs.org/news/2022/12/20/american-experience-the-lie-detector}}

A hand-held lie detector is being deployed by the US Department of Defense according to a report in 2008 by investigative reporter Bill Dedman of NBC News. The Preliminary Credibility Assessment Screening System, or PCASS, captures less physiological information than a polygraph, and uses an algorithm, not the judgment of a polygraph examiner, to render a decision whether it believes the person is being deceptive or not. The device was first used in Afghanistan by US Army troops. The Department of Defense ordered its use be limited to non-US persons, in overseas locations only.{{cite web|first=Bill|last=Dedman|date=April 9, 2008|title=New anti-terror weapon: Hand-held lie detector|publisher=NBC News|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna23926278|access-date=May 12, 2025}}

Polygraphy has been faulted for failing to trap known spies such as double-agent Aldrich Ames, who passed two polygraph tests while spying for the Soviet Union.Ames provides personal insight into the U.S. Government's reliance on polygraphy in a 2000 letter to Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists at {{cite journal|first=Aldrich|last=Ames|author-link=Aldrich Ames|date=November 28, 2000|title=A Letter from Aldrich Ames on Polygraph Testing|journal=Federation of American Scientists|url=https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/polygraph/ames.html}} Ames failed several tests while at the CIA that were never acted on.{{cite web|author=Ronald Kessler|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/08/opinion/spies-lies-averted-eyes.html|title=Spies, Lies, Averted Eyes|work=The New York Times|date=March 8, 1994|access-date=March 19, 2018}} Other spies who passed the polygraph include Karl Koecher,{{cite news|last=Kessler|first=Ron|title=Moscow's Mole in the CIA: How a Swinging Czech Superspy Stole America's Most Sensitive Secrets|newspaper=Washington Post|date=April 17, 1988|page=C1}} Ana Montes,{{cite web|last=Bachelet|first=Pablo|title=Book outlines how spy exposed U.S. intelligence secrets to Cuba|publisher=McClatchy Washington Bureau|date=October 13, 2006|url=http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/15754464.htm|quote=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.}} and Leandro Aragoncillo.{{cite web|author1=Ross, Brian |author2=Richard Esposito |name-list-style=amp |title=Investigation Continues: Security Breach at the White House|publisher=ABC News|date=October 6, 2005|url=https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1190375|quote=Officials say Aragoncillo passed several lie detector tests that are routinely given to individuals with top secret clearances.}} CIA spy Harold James Nicholson failed his polygraph examinations, which aroused suspicions that led to his eventual arrest.{{cite web|title=Dept. of Energy, Office of Counterintelligence|work=Harold James Nicholson Dossier|url=http://www.hanford.gov/oci/ci_spy.cfm?dossier=62#|access-date=2009-06-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921234938/http://www.hanford.gov/oci/ci_spy.cfm?dossier=62|archive-date=2008-09-21|url-status=dead}} Polygraph examination and background checks failed to detect Nada Nadim Prouty, who was not a spy but was convicted for improperly obtaining US citizenship and using it to obtain a restricted position at the FBI.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/13/AR2007111302033.html|title=Ex-FBI Employee's Case Raises New Security Concerns Sham Marriage Led to U.S. Citizenship|newspaper=Washington Post|date=2007-11-14 |first1=Joby |last1=Warrick |first2=Dan |last2=Eggen |access-date=May 22, 2010}}

The polygraph also failed to catch Gary Ridgway, the "Green River Killer". Another suspect allegedly failed a given lie detector test, whereas Ridgway passed. Ridgway passed a polygraph in 1984; he confessed almost 20 years later when confronted with DNA evidence.{{cite web|url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/special-reports/article25855150.html|title=What made Ridgway kill still a riddle|work=The News Tribune|date=2003-11-09}} Conversely, innocent people have been known to fail polygraph tests. In Wichita, Kansas in 1986, Bill Wegerle was suspected of murdering his wife Vicki Wegerle because he failed two polygraph tests (one administered by the police, the other conducted by an expert that Wegerle had hired), although he was neither arrested nor convicted of her death. In March 2004, evidence surfaced connecting her death to the serial killer known as BTK, and in 2005 DNA evidence from the Wegerle murder confirmed that BTK was Dennis Rader, exonerating Wegerle.{{cite episode|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/btk-out-of-the-shadows/|title=BTK: Out Of The Shadows|series=48 Hours Mysteries|network=CBS News|date=October 1, 2005}}

Prolonged polygraph examinations are sometimes used as a tool by which confessions are extracted from a defendant, as in the case of Richard Miller, who was persuaded to confess largely by polygraph results combined with appeals from a religious leader.{{cite web|url=http://www.afda.org/afda/news/Opinion_Miller.pdf|title=United States of America versus William Galbreth|date=1995-03-09|access-date=2008-02-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227114423/http://www.afda.org/afda/news/Opinion_Miller.pdf|archive-date=2008-02-27|url-status=dead}} In the Watts family murders, Christopher Watts failed one such polygraph test and subsequently confessed to murdering his wife.{{Cite news|url=https://abc13.com/chris-watts-wife-killed-our-girls-so-i-strangled-her/4009246/|title=Chris Watts: Wife killed our girls, so I strangled her|date=August 20, 2018|publisher=KTRK-TV|location=Houston|access-date=February 2, 2019}} In the 2002 disappearance of seven-year-old Danielle van Dam of San Diego, police suspected neighbor David Westerfield; he became the prime suspect when he allegedly failed a polygraph test.{{cite web|last=Roth|first=Alex|url=http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/metro/danielle/20030109-9999_1m9david.html|title=Westerfield failed polygraph test badly: 'Greater than 99%' chance he was lying, examiner says on tape|work=San Diego Union-Tribune|date=January 9, 2003|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929224315/http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/metro/danielle/20030109-9999_1m9david.html|archive-date=September 29, 2012}}

{{Portal|United States}}

• Bogus pipeline
• Cleve Backster
• Doug Williams (polygraph critic)
• Ecological fallacy
• Ronald Pelton
• Voice stress analysis
• P300 (neuroscience)#Applications

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite journal | last1 = Aftergood | first1 = Steven | year = 2000| title = Essays on Science and Society: Polygraph Testing and the DOE National Laboratories| journal = Science | volume = 290 | issue = 5493| pages = 939–940 | doi = 10.1126/science.290.5493.939 | pmid = 17749189 | s2cid = 153185280 }}
• {{Cite book | last = Alder | first = Ken | title = The Lie Detectors | publisher = Free Press | location = New York | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-0-7432-5988-0 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/liedetectorshist0000alde }}
• Bunn, Geoffrey C. The Truth Machine: A Social History of the Lie Detector (Johns Hopkins University Press; 2012) 256 pages
• Blinkhorn, S. (1988) "Lie Detection as a psychometric procedure" In "The Polygraph Test" (Gale, A. ed. 1988) 29–39.
• Cumming, Alfred (Specialist in Intelligence and National Security). "[https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL31988.pdf Polygraph Use by the Department of Energy: Issues for Congress]." ([https://web.archive.org/web/20140328190935/http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL31988.pdf Archive]) Congressional Research Service. February 9, 2009.
• {{Cite magazine|last=Harris|first=Mark|date=October 1, 2018|title=The Lie Generator: Inside the Black Mirror World of Polygraph Job Screenings |url=https://www.wired.com/story/inside-polygraph-job-screening-black-mirror/?mbid=nl_100518_backchannel_list_p|magazine=Wired}}
• {{Cite book | last = Jones | first = Ishmael | title = The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture | publisher = Encounter Books | location = New York | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-1-59403-382-7 }}
• {{Cite book | last = Lykken | first = David | title = A Tremor in the Blood | publisher = Plenum Trade | location = New York | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-0-306-45782-1 }}
• Maschke, G.W. & Scalabrini, G.J. (2018) The Lie Behind the Lie Detector. 5th ed. Available on-line at [https://antipolygraph.org Learn How to Pass (or Beat) a Polygraph Test].
• McCarthy, Susan. "[http://www.salon.com/2000/03/02/lie_detection/ Passing the polygraph]." Salon. March 2, 2000.
• {{Cite journal| first1 = N. J.| first2 = D. W. | title = Twenty years of bogus pipeline research: A critical review and meta-analysis | journal = Psychological Bulletin | volume = 114| issue = 2 | pages = 363–375 | year = 1993| last1 = Roese | doi = 10.1037/0033-2909.114.2.363| last2 = Jamieson}}
• {{Cite book | last = Sullivan | first = John | title = Gatekeeper | publisher = Potomac Books Inc | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-1-59797-045-7 }}
• Taylor, Marisa (Tish Wells contributed). "[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/12/06/176313/feds-expand-polygraph-screening.html Feds expand polygraph screening, often seeking intimate facts]." McClatchy. December 6, 2012.
• Woodrow, Michael J. "The Truth about the Psychophysiological Detection of Deception Examination 3rd Edition" Lulu Press. New York {{ISBN|978-1-105-89546-3}}

{{commons category|Polygraphs}}

• [http://www.antipolygraph.org AntiPolygraph.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905164151/https://antipolygraph.org/ |date=2019-09-05 }}, a website critical of polygraph
• [http://www.lie2me.net/thepolygraphmuseum/ The Polygraph Museum] Historical photographs and descriptions of polygraph instruments.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070610165851/http://psych.utoronto.ca/~furedy/napoly.htm The North American Polygraph and Psychophysiology: Disinterested, Uninterested, and Interested Perspectives] by John J. Furedy, International Journal of Psychophysiology, Spring/Summer 1996
• [http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v7n1/clarke71_text.html Trial By Ordeal? Polygraph Testing In Australia]
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=rNoDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1935+plane+%22Popular+Mechanics%22&pg=PA414 "Thought Wave Lie Detector Measures Current in Nerves" Popular Mechanics, July 1937]
• {{cite web| first =David| last =Mikkelson| date = July 11, 2011| title =Next case on the Legal Colander| website=Snopes|

url = http://www.snopes.com/legal/colander.asp}}

{{Pseudoscience|state=autocollapse}}

{{Authority control}}

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