I thought that it was interesting to find out that even though polygraphs are the tool that is used most to find out if someone is telling the truth, there is a high percentage of results that are "false positives". That is that a person could be telling the truth but because of being nervous there is a huge chance that the truth could still make the machine say that the person is lying. There is also ways to get around polygraphs. If you can stay relaxed and keep your heart rate under control, it is very possible to make the polygraph believe that you are telling the truth even if you are lying about your answer. Why would we still use a machine that is so inconsistent? Why would we use a machine that is "biased against the innocent"? (pg. 419)
Polygraphs: A False Truth
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That's pretty interesting considering how vital polygraph test used to be/still are essential to identifying if someone is telling the truth or not. Is there a statistic that you found regarding how often a false positive is produced?
I think we still use the machine because even though it can have mistakes, its proven many times the it is also correct. Which is just like the human mind, we also make mistakes and also right at times.
I think the problem is that machine lacks validity. And since it lacks validity, it doesn't even matter whether the result is consistent or not. And I am thinking about maybe polygraph can be used to test whether a person fall in love for someone or not...
I totally agree on the biasness of the polygraphs. I do not exactly think that it is the most reliable source to figure out who is lying and who is not. As a bit of anxious person myself, I think I would be very nervous if I was on the spot interrogated and produce "false positives." I think polygraphs are definitely "biased against the innocent," and it should not be used to find who the real criminal is because it may be the innocent who shed the blood.