British Polygraph Testing Information

A polygraph examination is the Psychophysiological detection of deception. This means that the mind (psyche) controls the body and when a person tells a lie the unconscious part of their mind affects their body, it is these changes that the polygraph monitors. A polygraph can literally be broken down like this. Poly means ‘many’ in Greek and Graph means ‘chart’ quite literally it means ‘many charts’. A trained polygraph examiner of good standing (I.E a member of the British Polygraph Association) then uses these charts to determine whether or not there has been any deception. Each graph is an exact representation of what each of the sensors (as listed below) is monitoring. A polygraph examination usually lasts between 2-4 hours and consists of a pretest interview, the data collection during the test, the analysis of the data and followed up by a post-test review. Pre-Test The pre-test interview is usually where we spend the most of our time discussing the issue at hand as well as explaining briefly how a polygraph works along with each of the components. We will also complete any necessary paperwork and will also go over the questions to be asked numerous times! At no point will an examinee be asked a question that has not been fully reviewed with them. Each question will be asked so that only a simple yes or no answer can be given. All the questions will be reviewed so there is absolute clarity between the examinee and the examiner regarding what each question means. All polygraphs have audio and visual recordings. This is to ensure that both parties conduct themselves in a professional manner and they may also be used for quality control and/or training purposes.