From the executive summary:
Almost a century of research in scientific psychology and physiology provides little basis for the expectation that a polygraph test could have extremely high accuracy. Although psychological states often associated with deception (e.g., fear of being judged deceptive) do tend to affect the physiological responses that the polygraph measures, these same states can arise in the absence of deception. Moreover, many other psychological and physiological factors (e.g., anxiety about being tested) also affect those responses. Such phenomena make polygraph testing intrinsically susceptible to producing erroneous results. This inherent ambiguity of the physiological measures used in the polygraph suggests that further investments in improving polygraph technique and interpretation will bring only modest improvements in accuracy.
Polygraph research has not developed and tested theories of the underlying factors that produce the observed responses. Factors other than truthfulness that affect the physiological responses being measured can vary substantially across settings in which polygraph tests are used. There is little knowledge about how much these factors influence the outcomes of polygraph tests in field settings. For example, there is evidence suggesting that truthful members of socially stigmatized groups and truthful examinees who are believed to be guilty or believed to have a high likelihood of being guilty may show emotional and physiological responses in polygraph test situations that mimic the responses that are expected of deceptive individuals.
I always thought they were admissible in court... But, then again, I ain't no stinking, lousy, back stabbing lawyer...
So you can flunk the test and still be hired by the FBI?
Or flunk and still be given clearance?
I am pretty sure they are used for personnel decisions all the time.
Not sure how good they are but they are used for a lot of folks in sensitive areas...”regular” TS/SCI doesn’t require one but when one gets into positions where the data becomes more critical require polygraphs.....in my years as a Security manager, I never heard of a specific individual failing one and being denied the position but have heard from a couple that they caused some “spikes” which resulted in additional interview time to try to determine if there was a real issue - who knows if they serve their purpose....some folks can beat them w/o problem and other give false positives...perhaps the majority can be fairly well vetted but nothing is perfect and individuals can make the decisions......
“how reliable are those things?”
I’d say, “Not very”. I watch a lot of true crime on TV and am surprized at how often total retard loser criminals pass polygraphs with flying colors. Sometimes it’s because they’re sociopaths - and that makes some sense. But often they’re just regular people who lie well, I guess.