One of the things concerning lie detection that really stuck out to me was how lie detectors are often most successfully for their ability to elicit confessions from someone who has failed a polygraph test and actually was lying in the first place. Often when someone is in fact lying when they take the test and then end up failing it, they don't know that they could make the argument that the test is far from conclusive or that it is inadmissible in court. Once they fail it they panic and assume that their act is up and then proceed to spill the beans.
This makes me wonder if a better way to detect lying is to not solely trust the results of the polygraph test itself, but see how people react when the test is over. If someone fails the test and starts insisting that something must be wrong with the test, they're probably an honest person. If someone fails the test and then admits to their lies, then they're probably lying after all. Although, even this method seems really easy to fool.
I think another interesting thing about polygraph tests is how they can sometimes convince people they are lying if the test says they are. For instance, I remember watching this T.V. show where a woman was asked if she loved this specific man and she said no but the polygraph test said that was a lie. Suddenly, she questioned if she did love the man and fooled herself into thinking she loved him.
Overall, Polygraph tests seem to be a big waste of time to me. They're hypocritical in the sense that they might be telling the biggest lie of all when deciding if someone is lying.
Lie Detectors Lie Too Much
I liked your post, I think that its kind of scary how wrong lie detector tests can be, especially that it messes with your own mind. It would be interesting to see how many things you could make people believe based off of the results of a lie detector test.
I really liked this post and I agree that polygraph tests are not the best. I like how you said that it can make people question if they are truly lying or not when they fail a question. I think that polygraph tests are very misleading and don't really benefit that many people. Hopefully some day they can come up with a new way of telling if people are lying or not.
A polygraph test is used in a lot of TV shows and movies, but they do seem to be very faulty! Hopefully our law enforcement can figure out a much more reliable test, so we do not accidentally prosecute innocent people! I guess we should all steer clear of getting in trouble with the law to avoid ever having to deal with the test!
I enjoyed reading your blog, and I cannot agree more with what you said about lie detectors, except that lie detectors are not only a waste of time but a huge waste of money. I would have personally preferred having the same amount of money spent in installing cameras everywhere, and then have a digital proof of crimes in progress. I personally believe, today with the technologies we have, it is still impossible to tell if people are lying. And the people that think they have a sixth sense for detecting lies are only lying to themselves. Thank you for a great post!!
I completely agree with this! Polygraphs should not be used anymore they are highly unreliable. If you are nervous it can mess it up or even just get flustered because even though you are telling the truth they may be asking a very emotional question. I think that there is no way to tell if someone is lying except for evidence.
100% agree with this! Polygraphs are far too unreliable to determine someone's guilt. I agree that they could still use the polygraph test for the possibility of someone to confess their guilt, but a hard-nosed criminal would not just admit their guilt. Someone who would panic and admit their guilt that easily would be very likely to admit it at some point later on. Very good article!
I think it is strange that, although there has been evidence that polygraph tests are unreliable as you have stated, major organizations still choose to use them. Although the idea that telling people they are lying will make the real liars confess, I feel like this method would not be helpful at all. People who are actually liars and who have been accused of lying could just use their skills to lie their way out of it some more.
Great post and a very convincing argument. I agree with you that polygraph tests are unreliable at best, and should not be used in any major organization or by the police. At least polygraph test are inadmissible in courts of law.
Great post! I think after reading about polygraph tests it is fair to say they are not a reliable way to detect if someone is guilty or not. Because they are inadmissible in courts I always wonder if polygraph testing is used in real life as much as it is on television shows, I certainly hope they are not!
Great post. Very good background information regarding the topic but I feel it could have used a picture or video or something. The content was very good though.