If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Options
Polygraph tests
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
unfortunately i cannot find this article online, however it's from New Scientist 14th August.
This article, written by Lykken, a professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, says basically that polygraphs work by testing a persons reactions to different questions.
Some of these questions are "general" or "control" questions- such as "Have you ever told a lie to get out of trouble?"
Others are related more specifically to the crime in question- the example given in the article is " During May this year, did you take 4-year-old Tommy's penis in your mouth?"
The theory is that guilty people will be uncomfortable answering the specific questions, yet not bothered by the control questions; and that innocent people will be more uncomfortable about answering the control questions.
how many innocent people will have been condemned by this method? i for one would certainly get flustered at being accused of things, how can they claim this is an accurate method?!
the polygraph is still the most popular tool for ferreting out the guilty. strange, says David Lykken. Not only is it easy to beat, there is also no evidence that it works.
This article, written by Lykken, a professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, says basically that polygraphs work by testing a persons reactions to different questions.
Some of these questions are "general" or "control" questions- such as "Have you ever told a lie to get out of trouble?"
Others are related more specifically to the crime in question- the example given in the article is " During May this year, did you take 4-year-old Tommy's penis in your mouth?"
The theory is that guilty people will be uncomfortable answering the specific questions, yet not bothered by the control questions; and that innocent people will be more uncomfortable about answering the control questions.
guilty suspects, on the other hand, can easily learn to fool the polygraph by atificially raising their physiological respones to the control questions, say by pressing their foot on a tack they have secreted in their shoe. they then appear more in disturbed by the control questions than by the relevant questions
how many innocent people will have been condemned by this method? i for one would certainly get flustered at being accused of things, how can they claim this is an accurate method?!
0
Comments
Here are some related articles
US Government critised for use of lie detector
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992896
Thermal camera capture guilty faces
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991736
As interogation or as evidence in court?
Polygraph testing is not admissible in UK courts of law.
Monitoring in what sense?
Serial killer research?
They have to pass the test before being let out sort of thing?
They're bringing it in to monitor sexual offenders, as a way of keeping tabs on them.
Someone think of the children! :rolleyes:
Like when they go to meet their parole officers sort of thing?
Yeah. As a way of enforcing release terms.
The deterrent will stop them breaking the terms, apparently.
Surely they can challenge the legitimacy of the test in court though?
Sex offenders won't be allowed to ever go to court if The Sun and it's lapdog David "Oberfuher" Blunkett get their way.
But aside from the sarcasm, I'm not really sure. It's more a way of monitoring them than punishing them; a fail would arouse suspicion rather than anything else.
You missed an 'r' out of fuhrer. The umlout I'm sure can rest.
Would the testing remain purely a monitoring system for long though?
I know. And I don't care enough to edit the typo:p
Under Mr Blunkett, I doubt very long.
That man makes Stalin look like a defender of democracy.
the body language an interrogater looks for is mainly hands, eyes and feet.
If for example you look up into your top left quadrant of your eye socket while recalling something, it generally means your searching the part of the brain where the imagination is, and so fabricating a story, if however you look up into your top right quadrant it means your searching your memory and so arnt lying.