In this article, we will talk about the accuracy of polygraphs, including how often they can result in mistakes and unreliable data as well as inconclusive reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
False Positive vs. False Negative<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Again, a polygraph test, while considered highly accurate, is not at all foolproof. Needless to say, there are instances where the result is an error. And when an error occurs, it can either be a false positive or a false negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are an innocent person, you don’t want a false positive to be the outcome of your exam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simply put, a false positive lie detector examination result occurs<\/a> when a truthful person is reported as being deceitful. So, in other words, you are 100% telling the truth but the polygraph examiner deems you are fabricating lies. According to a scientific review<\/a>, the average rate of false positive outcomes is 19.1%.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n But just because your polygraph exam result is a false positive doesn’t mean that you should doubt yourself. There are many things that can cause it to occur. Some of them include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, if you are accusing someone of something and you are convinced that he or she is guilty, you don’t want the lie detector test to be a false negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being the polar opposite of a false positive polygraph result, a false negative examination result occurs when someone who is lying is reported as being truthful. Needless to say, if the test is admissible in court, the examinee could get away with whatever he or she is completely guilty of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scientists say that false negative outcomes in polygraph tests have an average rate of 10.2%<\/strong>. So, in other words, taking the figure mentioned earlier into account, false positives are more common than false negatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some of the most common causes of a false negative result in a polygraph exam:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s not uncommon for psychopaths and sociopaths to pass a lie detector test, which means that their examination can easily lead to a false negative outcome. That’s because not only can they tell a good lie \u2014 they can also believe the lie they tell. As a result of this, their stress levels remain constant whether being truthful or being deceitful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Online, you can easily come across things you may do so that you can beat a polygraph test. However, most of them do not bring the desired results, especially if the examiner is an experienced one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are false positive and false negative results. And then there’s also what’s referred to as an inconclusive result, which a lot of the critics of polygraph testing conclude as an error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An inconclusive result, however, is nothing like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a polygraph examination is judged inconclusive, it simply means that the test failed to determine whether or not the examinee is being truthful or deceitful. In such instances, usually, a second lie detector test is administered at a later schedule. When using the latest polygraph machine, an inconclusive result rarely happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To illustrate how the inclusion of inconclusive test results can distort accuracy figures, consider the following example: <\/p>\n\n\n\n If 10 polygraph examinations are administered and the examiner is correct in 7 decisions, wrong in 1, and has 2 inconclusive test results, we calculate the accuracy rate as 87.5% – 8 definitive results, 7 of which were correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Critics of the polygraph technique would calculate the accuracy rate in this example as 70% – 10 examinations with 7 correct decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since those who use polygraph testing do not consider inconclusive test results as negative and do not hold them against the examinee, to consider them as errors is clearly misleading and certainly skews the figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the nature of an inconclusive result, it’s not uncommon for some employers who are not covered by the EPPA<\/a> to sometimes refuse to hire an applicant for having the said kind of polygraph outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a handful of things that can cause an inconclusive lie detector test result to come into being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"polygraph](\"https:\/\/truthorlie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/lie-detector-327795071-1024x768.jpeg\")
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An Inconclusive Result: What Does It Mean?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n