Polygraph Services: Q & A
Dishonesty and criminal behaviour can affect both your business and home life. Polygraph Truths offers polygraph services that help you find the truth in amongst the lies. We have answered common polygraph service questions to demonstrate how you can benefit from polygraph services at work or home.
About Polygraph Truths:
Polygraph Truths understands that our world is burdened by people who lie and perform criminal actions. When an event occurs in the workplace or at home, dishonesty or criminal behaviour can cause pain, anger, and frustration. In these moments, Polygraph Truths is the company you can turn to in order to discover the truth.
Polygraph Truths will provide you with professional polygraph services. Our polygraphy services are conducted by a professional, experienced examiner who is proficient in operating polygraph machines and analysing the data. Polygraph Truths will provide you with the truth in a fast, affordable, and accurate way with our polygraph services.
Questions and Answers:
Are you suspicious of an employee or partner? Do you want to use a polygraph service but are unsure of how it will work? We have answered the common questions regarding polygraph services so that you can feel confident with the results you gain from a polygraph test.
What is a Polygraph?
A polygraph is commonly referred to as a lie detector. This is an inaccurate description, as a polygraph machine does not detect lies. A polygraph is a machine that tests a person’s physiological responses to questions. Analysts will then decipher the data captured by the polygraph to decipher if a person was being truthful or dishonest when answering the questions.
Have you ever been in a situation where a person you know well is lying to you and you can tell by their mannerisms? Maybe it is the fact that they cannot look you straight in the eye, or they shift their body weight around, or the tone of their voice changes. Somehow, you just know that they are lying based on their physiological responses.
A polygraph is based on the theory that a person is unable to lie without demonstrating psychophysiological reactions. This is simply because humans find it physiologically easier to tell the truth than it is to lie. When we lie, we feel stress, anxiety, or fear that we will be caught lying and get into trouble.
There are four physiological responses a polygraph will measure.
- Heart Rate.
- Blood Pressure.
- Respiratory Rate.
- Perspiration.
When a person lies, they typically have physiological responses of an increased heart rate and blood pressure. As their heart rate and blood pressure increases, their body will begin to sweat. The lying person’s respiratory rate, or the pace of their breathing, will become faster and shallow.
What is a Polygraph Service?
Polygraph services are offered by companies, such as Polygraph Truths, as a method of discovering the truth. A polygraph service will use a polygraph machine to acquire data from an examinee who is suspected of being dishonest. The polygraph service will then provide you with a detailed report which will demonstrate the examinee’s physiological responses to the questions.
What Does a Polygraph Service Entail?
There is a procedure that will occur when you use a polygraph service. Firstly, you will need to arrive at the polygraph service venue. An accurate polygraph test should take roughly two hours. You will then be met by a trained examiner who has professional experience in polygraph testing.
Certain polygraph services will perform a polygraph pre-test. The trained examiner will sit with the person who is being tested and have a discussion. The discussion will usually revolve around the person’s feelings about doing a polygraph test and the situation that has caused them to be in a polygraph office. This can help the examiner create a profile about the examinee and understand the person better.
The trained examiner will then set up the polygraph testing by attaching various sensors to the examinee.
Cardiograph: A cardiograph is used to measure the examinee’s heart rate and blood pressure. This machine will register the beats per minute and note any irregularities over the questioning period.
Pneumograph: A pneumograph is used to measure changes in the examinee’s breathing rate. This is done through strain gauges which are attached to the person’s chest and abdomen.
Electrodes: Electrodes will be attached to the person’s finger and measure if there are any changes in the electrical resistance of the skin. When a person sweats, there will be an increase in electrolytes, and this will change the electrical resistance in the electrode.
During a polygraph test, you will be asked a variety of questions that will have a “yes” or “no” answer. You will be asked baseline questions initially. The person’s responses to these control questions will then set the standard against which the rest of the questions are measured and compared. These are examples of common baseline questions.
- Do you live in South Africa?
- Do you work in an office?
- Are you married?
- Were you born in 1996?
You will then be asked target questions that are relevant to the issue. For example, if you were suspected of stealing at work, one of the questions will be “have you ever stolen something at work?”.
Once the polygraph testing is completed, the professional examiner will analyse the data produced by the polygraph test. The examiner will answer whether the examinee was being honest, dishonest, or if the polygraph test was inconclusive.
What can a Polygraph Service be Used for?
Polygraph services are used to determine if a person is lying. We have outlined a few various scenarios at work and at home where polygraph services can be useful to determine if a person is being dishonest or has been involved in criminal activity.
At Work:
Before Employment: Polygraph services are an excellent way to determine if the person you are considering hiring is suited to your workplace. A polygraph test can demonstrate if the person has been dishonest about their CV, previous work experiences, or criminal background.
Theft: Theft from a business, whether it is in the form of money, expensive equipment, or stationery supplies, can quickly become a financial burden. If you notice that there has been a theft in your workplace, you can use a polygraph service to figure out who is to blame.
Damaged Property: Imagine arriving at work and discovering that your entire workplace has been destroyed. An easy way to eliminate your employees from your suspect list is to ask them to do a polygraph test.
At Home:
Infidelity: Unfortunately, infidelity is common in many relationships. If you suspect that your partner is being unfaithful based on suspicious behavioural patterns, a polygraph test can determine if they are being dishonest.
Theft: It can be difficult to accept that a family member can steal from you. Your family is meant to the people who you can always trust. When cash or expensive objects are going missing from your home regularly, you can use a polygraph test to determine if it is a family member or someone else.
Drug Use: If you suspect a family member is taking drugs, you have two options. The first is to ask them to take a drug test. Certain drugs leave the body quickly and will thus not be picked up on a generic drug test. Your best solution is a polygraph test as you will know if your family member has ever taken drugs.
Who Can Benefit from Polygraph Services?
We have selected specific people who can benefit from using polygraph services, but anyone suspicious that someone around them is lying can reap the benefits of accurate polygraph services.
1) Employers:
Employers can enjoy many benefits from using a polygraph service on their employees. If anything goes missing or is damaged at the workplace, using a polygraph test will allow you to figure out who is to blame. You are then able to take accurate actions against your guilty or dishonest employee.
Using a polygraph service also sends a message to other employees. If employees see that you are unable to figure out who is guilty when there is theft or damages in your workplace, more employees may begin to take advantage. This can lead to unnecessary financial costs and strain within your business.
When you use a polygraph service openly, you demonstrate to your employees that dishonesty or criminal behaviour is not tolerated in your workplace. This will act as a natural deterrent and hopefully prevent any future instances of workplace issues.
2) Spouses:
Polygraph testing in a relationship can be tricky. When you ask your spouse to take a polygraph test, you are openly admitting that you suspect them of something and do not trust them to be honest with you.
Sometimes, your partner’s actions can speak louder than a polygraph test. If they blatantly refuse a polygraph test revolving around an issue you are suspicious about, this can demonstrate that they might be guilty. If they were not guilty, they would have nothing to
lose. If your partner agrees to do a polygraph test, and their results are that there were not being dishonest, you can then benefit from feeling confident enough to trust them.
3) Law Enforcement:
Polygraph services are regularly used in law enforcement and are highly beneficial in numerous ways. Firstly, they can help determine if a person is being honest or dishonest about their suspected involvement in criminal activity. A polygraph test can also be used to determine the reliability of witnesses to a crime.
White Lies; Good or Bad?
Yes, we have all been in situations where our partner has asked if they look great in their new jeans, and to avoid upsetting the person, we bend the truth. Whether you call it a white lie, purple lie, or rainbow lie, a lie is simply a lie no matter the context.
The problem with “white lies” is that lying has an impact on the functioning of our brain. Studies have shown that when we lie, our amygdala, which is the part of our brain which processes emotional responses, will respond negatively. This will make you feel bad about your lie, guilty, and troubled.
As we continue to tell “white lies” to our friends, family, and partners, our amygdala quickly becomes desensitised to responding negatively. We lose the emotional limit of feeling guilty or uncomfortable about our lies. This can then create a slippery slope where your “white lies” become significant lies that can hurt and enrage people around you.
Stop yourself from telling “white lies” and avoid possibly finding yourself in the offices of Polygraph Truths, strapped into the polygraph machine.
Polygraph Truths provides excellent polygraph services to discover the truth at work or home.
