Talking about a Polygraph Test in your novel or movie or whatever . . .

There’s one big problem anytime you read someone else’s work, and that’s do they know what they’re talking about? Want to blow a novel for me, don’t do your research and then take too many liberties with how things really work. For an analogy, it’s the difference between 2001: A Space Odyssey and a 1950s space movie. One is very accurate, the other . . .

Talking about a polygraph test in a book, or showing it in a movie is often a place where writers and directors take liberties they shouldn’t. Truth is, they have to make it exciting.

Why? Because taking a polygraph test is about as boring a proposition as you can imagine.

Before getting started, let me point out that I’m not a polygrapher. I’ve been in the chair three times, and I’ve used the test several times to assist in investigations. But here’s how they run:

1. First, it happens in a room that’s rather comfortable. It’s quiet and if there’s windows the drapes will be closed. Ideally it’s a place you wouldn’t mind taking a nap. There’s no smoking in there, no music playing, and the paint scheme is very soothing.
2. It’s  you, the polygrapher, and maybe (and I mean maybe) an observer. If there is one, that person will almost always keep their mouth shut. In movies and books they often times show half dozen cops in there, many smoking and all firing questions at the person being interviewed. That won’t happen. You’ll be asked not to fidget or move about during the test (hence the comfort factor).
3. Before you ever sit down to be interviewed, you go over the questions that will be asked. There are NO surprise questions. The questions are prepared well in advance. Why? It’s a science and we want the conditions to be as controlled as possible. Also the polygrapher wants to make sure that you understand what’s being asked, and of course he or she records your answer when going over it.
4. There is no shouting, or calling the person a liar. The polygrapher maintains an even keel in their voice. Most have a voice so soothing, they could double as a DJ on the classical music channel.
5. Questions can be asked in any order, or even repeated.
6. Answers are “Yes” or “No.” There’s no explaining your answer at a polygraph. For instance, a question might be “Did you shoot so and so?” There’s no explaining why you shot him. It’s a simple yes or no answer.
7. Different people react differently. One of the thing the polygrapher needs to do is get an idea of the person they’re interviewing. Is this a naturally hyper person, or what? That’s one of the many reasons they try to make it as calm as possible an why questions might be repeated.
8. You can lie to the machine. I really need to qualify that. You hear a lot of stories of people doing this or that, but that almost always fails. The only way to do that is to be 100% convinced that whatever you answer is true. An example, if you were asked if you ever climbed Mount Everest, most of us would have to answer “no.” But if you’re convinced you did, it will show you as telling the truth. That’s why people who have had encounters with UFOs, etc., and have taken the test afterwards pass. Either they actually encountered things from another world, or believe it so much that it’s true to them. It can only show what you know.  It doesn’t mean it happened. It only shows you believe it happened.
9. Tied in with number 8. In one blog I talk about a surveillance mission I was on. One of our witnesses was put on the box and passed it. Why? Because he wasn’t lying. He reported accurately what he saw and believed to be true. It wasn’t his fault that he was cast in the role of an unwitting witness to something so well contrived he’d believe it. That’s why going over questions before hand is so important. During the course of the investigation, there was a suspicion this individual might still be alive. He was asked if the man was still alive, and his answer was “I don’t think so.” This indicated that some doubt had been injected into his mind someplace and wouldn’t make a good question. It was changed to “Have you had any contact since the incident with so and so?” Check out that story here.

So be careful with what you do in a story. Don’t assume that what you see written in another book or on a movie reflects how it’s really done. If you get it wrong, there’s people out there with first hand experience and they will shoot you out of the saddle rather quickly.