Corvus+2014-15+Polygraph+Tests

Historical by Haley Stamper

The polygraph test is man’s attempt to tell without doubt when an individual is being honest and it has historically had a controversial reception. The polygraph test was developed to make both the cops and the criminals more honest. The polygraph was developed by police officer John Larson who wanted “ to use the science to make the cops more law-abiding themselves, to substitute this new scientific interrogation for what was formerly known as the third degree, which was a way of getting information from people by beating them up ” (//bbc.com//). He based the machine off of, at the time, recent research that suggested blood pressure changed when a person was lying. Current day polygraphs “ measures a range of physical changes such as pulse and breathing as well as blood-pressure ” ( // bbc.com // ) however they are still “ work under the assumption that lies can be detected by certain measurable physiological changes, a theory proposed more than 100 years ago ” (To). Multiple times through history individuals have been seen to be able to trick a polygraph into saying they speak the truth while individuals who are not guilty have failed the test (//bbc.com//). These incidences combined with the “subjective” nature of the principles upon which polygraph tests operate leads professionals to be skeptical of them.

Sources: “The Curious Story of How the Lie Detector Came to Be”. //bbc.com//. 21 May 2013. Web. 29 October 2014. To, Katherine. “ [|Lie Detection: The Science and Development of the Polygraph] ”. ilumin.usc.edu.Volume I Issue I. 6 December 2002. Web. 29 October 2014.

Cultural by Justine Chavez

Polygraphs test are also known as lie detector test that are used in court cases to prove if someone in innocent or a criminals with the evidence the test provides. According to the American Psychological Association, “Recently, the United States Supreme courts have decline the use of polygraph test because they are unreliable” (American Psychological Association). The test shows the shocks of an individual nerves when they tell a lie. Previously before victims have been sent to jail when other evidence such as fingerprints proved wrong. These test are a secret of simple test so many individuals who take this test are nervous already because of all the whites the police have to put on them. According to the National Academies Press, “Most psychologists and other scientists agree that there is little basis for the validity of polygraph tests because  appropriate criterion of validity can be slippery; truth is often hard to determine; and it is difficult to disentangle the roles of physiological responses, interrogators’ skill, and examinees’ beliefs in order to make clear attributions of practical results to the validity of the test ” (The Polygraph and Lie Detector). In today’s society polygraph are used as much because off all technology such as fingerprints and DNA.

Sources: "The Truth About Lie Detectors (AKA Polygraph Tests)”. American Psychological Association. 5 Aug. 2004. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

"The Polygraph and Lie Detections " //Nap.edu. 2003. Web. 30 Oct. 2014//
Polygraph examinations have been likened to psychological testing. It is defined as “An instrument used to measure physiological responses in humans when they are questioned in order to determine if their answers are truthful” (Legal Dictionary). As such, polygraph testing is best described not in the singular but, instead, as a series of tests. These tests are designed to assess truthfulness and deception in situations that range from screening job applicants to investigations of specific criminal incidents. Polygraph examiners, employed both within and outside Government agencies, use a variety of polygraph testing techniques, each of which has a somewhat different underlying logic and demonstrated validity. The goal of all such applications of the polygraph is the detection of deception or substantiation of truthfulness. The nature of the test situation, however, leads to important differences in the way a polygraph examination is conducted. Unfortunately, the published research literature deals almost exclusively with the use of the polygraph by police and military examiners for criminal investigations. The research literature on a number of important uses of polygraph testing, such as for national security purposes and for employment screening, is extremely limited (APA).
 * Aim of Polygraph Tests by Jack Gillette **

"Polygraph Tests." thefreedictionary.com. Web. 30 October 2014. "Polygraphs." APA.org. Web. 30 October 2014.

__**Audience by Jay Chambers: **__



Polygraphs, also known as a lie detector, records and measures psychological indications such as respiration, pulse, etc., while the person being used for the polygraph is asked a bunch of questions. Most people know of it as a lie detector, in which they are used in TV shows, movies, etc. It determines whether or not someone is lying about such things. The type of people who use polygraphs are people such as attorneys in civil litigation, employers and companies on issues of employee theft, public defenders offices, etc (Truth or Lie). Those type of people use polygraphs to determine whether or not people are telling the truth about certain things. For example: polygraph can determine whether or not somebody is guilty for credit card fraud, or if someone did commit the crime, etc. So basically, polygraphs are efficient tools in society, which is why Dick referenced them in his writings, especially in this book. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,“the polygraph machine does not rely on verbal response; it lets the body speak the truth” (Kelman 162). So basically, the polygraphs are a whole lot different than the ones in real life because of the fact that the ones in the book determine based on body language, not verbal responses. So overall, the audience is really people who are working for the law or who are company based, in which the law cooperates with that.

“When Are Polygraph Lie Detector Exams Used?” truthorlie.com. Web. 30 October 2014.

Kelman, David. //Counterfeit Politics: Secret Plots and Conspiracy Narratives in the Americas.// Maryland: Bucknell University Press, 2012. Print.