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Can A Lie Detector Test Be Wrong?

The lie detectors used by many private investigators operate on certain principles. It is on the basis of these principles that a private investigator conducting a lie detector test is able to infer whether a person is telling the truth or not. This means that lie detectors on their own cannot be wrong.

However, under certain circumstances a private detective can misinterpret the results from a lie detector. This is not uncommon if the private investigator conducting the experiment is inexperienced or hasn't undergone proper training on how professional private investigators should conduct such tests.


The Accuracy Of Private Detective Lie Detector Tests

Some private investigators claim that lie detector tests can have accuracies higher than 90 percent while other people claim the accuracies are much lower than this. Both the private eye and the doubters could be telling the truth depending on who the examiner is.

The principle of a private detective lie detector is relatively straightforward. When people tell lies, their bodies tend to respond in certain ways. Lie detectors simply measure these responses and from the output of the device, a trained private detective will be able to tell if a person is being truthful.

The main problem with this system is that there are other factors that could lead the subject to exhibit similar responses during the test that have nothing to do with dishonesty and these can mislead the private eye. These include:

  • Feeling nervous about the whole idea of taking a lie detector test
  • Being overly passionate about their innocence in the matter at hand
  • Feeling unwell
  • Having taken some kind of medication or drug prior to the test
  • Feeling stressed about an unrelated issue

These factors are not just present in some of the cases, they're likely to be present in most cases since these are all very normal human experiences.

Before the concept of lie detectors was properly understood, dealing with these factors was a problem for many private detectives. However, modern private eyes have had to change their approach to limit the effect of the factors that cause inaccuracies in lie detector tests.


How Examiners Make Private Investigator Lie Detector Tests More Accurate

Lie detector private detectives have come up with a number of ways to increase the accuracy of lie detector tests over the years. The methods commonly used by private detectives are:

  • Limiting the effects of factors that cause responses similar to lying
  • Learning to spot signs that someone is trying to falsifying certain responses

To limit the effects of factors that cause responses similar to lying, private eyes now take measures such as:

  • Choosing a setting that is calm and free from distractions
  • Familiarizing the subject of the investigation with the equipment and the test itself so they know what to expect from a private investigator lie detector test
  • Interviewing the subject before the test to assess the possibility of factors that can lead to inaccurate analysis by an investigator such as illness and intoxication

Private investigators must also conduct the test in a manner that doesn't influence the responses of the subject e.g. by avoiding threatening language. In addition to this, experienced private detectives also know how to come up with a broader range of questions that enable them to do a much deeper analysis and establish more accurately what responses to expect when the subject is telling the truth and when they are lying.

Private investigators have also learned to pay attention and even record body movements and other factors that can betray attempts to falsify stress responses in the body. If the private investigator is experienced, it takes a lot more effort to fool them.



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