Categories: Legal

Can You Beat a Lie Detector Test?

Although lie detector tests (polygraph examinations) are not admissible in court, you may be asked to take one as part of a routine investigation or as a condition of your parole. Many people wonder if it is possible to beat a lie detector test, and the answer is yes. Those who have practiced for many years on how to control their physical reactions to questions are capable of beating a lie detector, but it isn’t easy.

A lie detector uses four major physical responses to determine whether or not you are telling the truth when you are asked a question. Your respiration, perspiration, heart rate and blood pressure all help the polygraph examiner to determine the truthfulness of each of your statements. Some advanced polygraphs may also measure things like arm, leg and eye movement, but we won’t get into that for the purposes of this article.

If you want to beat a lie detector test, you have to be able to control those bodily functions sufficiently to confuse or ‘hoodwink’ the polygraph machine. This takes long hours of concentration, but many have managed to accomplish this. Of course, it’s far easier to simply tell the truth, and one mistake can undo all of the work you did to prepare. And some people, regardless of how hard they try, will never be able to beat a lie detector test.

Perspiration

The easiest section of the lie detector test to beat is perspiration. If you can maintain a calm, cool, collected mentality, or if you naturally sweat profusely, you can easily hoodwink the lie detector test into not registering a different. The polygraph examiner will look to see if there are changes in your perspiration when you are asked certain telling questions. If there isn’t, it comes down to the other three factors.

Respiration

A slow, deep, even respiration is desirable during a lie detector test, and it’s impossible to beat one without. If your respiration speeds up or you start to blow harder through your nose, the polygraph examiner will record this as a betrayal of guilt.

Heart Rate and Blood Pressure

These two points are the hardest to change when you are trying to beat a lie detector test. You have to be completely comfortable with telling a lie in order for it to work, and most people aren’t sufficiently calm for this to happen. Of course, you are hooked up to machines and you’re already in a stressful situation, but any sharp spike in either heart rate or blood pressure will trigger the polygraph.

Subjectivity

The final factor to consider when determining if you can beat a lie detector test is the knowledge that the polygraph examiner is responsible for interpreting data. The information is fed through the machine, and different examiners may come up with different results. For this reason, beating a lie detector test is never a surefire way to get out of trouble.