12-04-2011, 02:17 AM
The polygraph test came up in this thread before... I am curious about something. How reliable is it in the eyes of the police?
My sense is that although it cannot be too reliable (because it is impossible to codify the meaning of human emotional responses), it is nonetheless taken seriously by the police. Or is it not? Clearly, trauma studies show that people have extremely strong emotional responses to associative memories; so, say you are asked whether you remember something related to a crime, but your memory of some past trauma in your own life is triggered, and your emotions get extremely raw and alert. The polygraph records that as related to the crime question, and you are implicated in a crime that has nothing to do with you. This is just an example of how emotions get triggered, since of course there are millions of other ways. So, my sense is that the polygraph is really not a conclusive test because human emotions respond in much more complicated ways to the world than the assumptions of this test. But, how much are police employees trained in the complexities of trauma studies for example? I doubt that a whole lot... It is hard to square the reliability of the polygraph with even the basics of trauma psychology. My opinion at least... But do the police take this test as reliable?
My sense is that although it cannot be too reliable (because it is impossible to codify the meaning of human emotional responses), it is nonetheless taken seriously by the police. Or is it not? Clearly, trauma studies show that people have extremely strong emotional responses to associative memories; so, say you are asked whether you remember something related to a crime, but your memory of some past trauma in your own life is triggered, and your emotions get extremely raw and alert. The polygraph records that as related to the crime question, and you are implicated in a crime that has nothing to do with you. This is just an example of how emotions get triggered, since of course there are millions of other ways. So, my sense is that the polygraph is really not a conclusive test because human emotions respond in much more complicated ways to the world than the assumptions of this test. But, how much are police employees trained in the complexities of trauma studies for example? I doubt that a whole lot... It is hard to square the reliability of the polygraph with even the basics of trauma psychology. My opinion at least... But do the police take this test as reliable?
"In the evening of life you will be judged on love."
(Msgr. Oscar Romero)
(Msgr. Oscar Romero)