Describe how lie detector tests are performed. If you were charged with a crime and you were innocent, would you take a lie detector test? Defend your answer

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Lie detector (polygraph) tests are based on the theory that, if a person tells a lie, he or she will feel some emotion, such as guilt or fear. Feeling guilty or fearful will be accompanied by involuntary physiological responses, which are difficult to suppress or control and can be measured with a machine called a polygraph.

The basic problem with lie detector tests is that researchers have been unable to identify a pattern of physiological responses specific to lying. This means a number of diff erent emotions—such as guilt, fear, or worry—can trigger physiological responses that make a person appear to be lying when he or she is telling the truth. Also, the person administering the polygraph test) can have a bias about the subject and not provide objective interpretations of the results. Because of these serious problems, researchers estimate that lie detector tests are wrong 25% to 75% of the time.