MovieChat Forums > High Crimes (2002) Discussion > polygraph

polygraph

posted 17 years ago by mdoherty06
5 replies | jump to latest

ok, i saw this movie a while ago so my memory may be a little rusty.

with the polygraph lie detector thing, is it known to be inaccurate? is it able to beat the machine?
my thoughts are that it is beatable and requires some basic training and the ability to stay calm and cool while under immense pressure.

example:
lets say a guy murders their wife. they agree to a polygraph to prove their innocence. now when the question of, "did you murder your wife?" comes up,they have to think. in their mind they know that they cannot lie directly to the question, so they replace it wiht a question they know is true. something like, "are you a female?" obiviously, the answer is no.
now my question is, would this kind of thing work under the test? assuming their only responses were speaking only and no physical sings whatsoever, would the test be able to detect the actual truth?

i apologize if this sounds confusing, but it is an area of interest to me.
thank you to all who reply.

[–] mdoherty06 17 years ago

BUMP

[–] mdoherty06 17 years ago

anybody?

[–] sierraromeo 17 years ago

Yes, lie detector tests are not reliable which is why they are not used in the court of law. Many military personel have been trained to beat lie detectors should they ever be captured by an enemy, they will be able to get away with lies.

[–] Twisted_Pixie420 16 years ago

Lol I have always wanted to take a test to see if I could lie and not get caught. They say it is really really hard to get past one of these.

No, no. No, see this is a really *beep* idea. You know why? Because it's really obviously a *beep* idea

[–] layer8 16 years ago

You can use any trick you like, so long as the end result is that your body responds the same way as if you were telling the truth. And you definitely *can* directly lie and still pass.

However, the polygraph measures your physical response to the question itself as much as, if not more than, your own answer. So if you start sweating and your heart starts racing the moment the question hits your ears, that's evidence right there, even if you stay silent and don't answer.

The trick is to stay calm despite the fact that you're being interrogated - and the tester will likely do many things to make you just uncomfortable enough for stressful questions to produce a clear physical response. You have to have a certain detachment; pretend you're taking an oral test in high school on a book you've read, and don't worry, you'll ace it since you know all the answers. (Depending on your high-school experience, this may or may not be a good idea.)