Anxious, nervous person on a polygraph, lie detector test. How do nerves affect the polygraph test?
Channel: bearforensics
Date: 2018-09-24

Anxious and nervous people are often scared for polygraph or lie detector tests.

How do nerves affect a test? Is it possible that the test does not pass through the nerves? Will a nervous person fail a polygraph test?

All very popular and reasonable questions. Human beings are different and react differently to situations. Some might be a little bit more anxious than others  and could consider this a problem to submit to a polygraph test.

This video tries to explain how this can affect during the polygraph test.

The polygraph is an instrument that records the consequences that originate in the autonomic nervous system, therefore nerves are an important aspect of an examination.

However, the type of nerves that this question refers to do not have a negative effect on the test but rather contribute to the proper development of the test.

Being nervous is normal, especially when a person is in an unfamiliar situation or under scrutiny. It is a natural state of a person.

The procedure of the polygraph test is designed so that the examinee has the time to calm down and be able to explain his or her version with confidence. This is one of the main reasons why a polygraph exam is only administered to the person examined, in all privacy and lasts for two hours.

In addition, the polygraph techniques used contain types of questions that serve to balance the emotional discharge of the examinee and in this way allow to contrast the peaks of that emotional discharge. That is to say, if a person is nervous when connecting to the polygraph, it will be during the whole test and the technique used will allow balancing that emotional response in such a way that it is possible to detect the deviations.

However inform the examiner if there is any situation that may affect the nervousness as for example that has been subjected to an interrogation, accused for a long period of time of having done something, etc. In case of doubt, do not hesitate to tell the technician.

Especially if you have been:

- Interrogation
- Falsely accused for a long period of time
- Recent traumatic situation 

+-+-+-+-+

Video produced by Amável Sanches, forensic psychophysiologist, polygraph expert, member of the American Polygraph Association, Primary Polygraph Instructor, major in forensic sciences by the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

For more information please visit our website or send us an email:
Web: http://bearforensics.com
Email: info@bearforensics.com

Thank you,
B.E.A.R. FORENSICS