The polygraph procedure is a popular service in the modern world, which often helps to understand and find the truth even in the most difficult and confusing situations. At the same time, this method of testing raises many questions due to the lack of understanding among most people of how it works. The most common question is who is suitable for lie detector testing, and whether there are people who can deceive the polygraph or, conversely, fail the test due to their mental characteristics.
Today we will talk about how a polygraph works if a person suffers from psychopathy, antisocial personality disorder, or simply has low emotional indicators.
Features of the polygraph
To understand who the lie detector works effectively on, it is necessary to understand the principle of operation of such equipment. It is worth immediately understanding that the polygraph is a precise device capable of recording physiological indicators in the human body and changes in them.
To do this, various sensors are connected to the subject, capable of reading:
- heart rate;
- breath;
- blood pressure;
- electrodermal activity (sweating).
During the answers to different types of questions, data is recorded in a state of rest, and then the indicators that change when answering certain relevant questions. When a question has a certain meaning for a person, is associated with some events, fear of being exposed, this inevitably provokes an increase in the level of stress and tension in a normal person. This is reflected in physiological indicators. After receiving all the necessary data, the polygraph examiner analyzes the indicators and prepares a conclusion.
How psychopaths differ from normal people
Above we described the characteristics of reactions of an ordinary mentally healthy person. In the case of those who have certain deviations expressed in the absence of emotions, the situation is different. Such people are characterized by certain features, namely:
- manipulative behavior;
- lack of empathy and compassion;
- keeping cool in stressful situations;
- reduced anxiety levels;
- decreased ability to experience guilt or fear.
However, it is worth mentioning that we are not talking about mentally ill criminals and those who are undergoing treatment in specialized institutions. In fact, people with low emotionality live peacefully among us, socialize well, and sometimes even occupy leadership positions in large companies, because such personality traits largely contribute to the formation of excellent management skills and achieving success in business.
The main problem with testing such people on a lie detector is that their emotional reactions are atypical. When an ordinary person wants to lie, certain parts of his brain are activated, which provoke changes in physiological reactions. In psychopaths, such mechanisms work completely differently, as a result of which they do not worry at the moment of lying, do not experience internal conflict and stress, and also skillfully manipulate, maintaining complete composure. All this leads to the fact that the expert is often unable to recognize a lie in the reactions received.
Can a psychopath be tested with a polygraph?
It is quite difficult to give a clear answer to this question. Theoretically, it is possible to conduct the study, but it will require a lot of experience and careful preparation on the part of the polygraph examiner. For the test to work, it is important:
- Formulate questions correctly. They must be well structured and carefully thought out.
- Pay attention to behavior. Behavioral reactions in such cases can become reliable signals. However, it is important to interpret them correctly.
- Know the characteristics of such people. Specialists who understand the characteristics of antisocial personalities are able to more effectively identify the slightest changes in reactions. It is also worth knowing that not all psychopaths are the same. This should be taken into account when analyzing the results of the test.
Based on this, we can talk about the potential possibility of testing psychopaths and emotionless people on a polygraph. However, this will require complex work and multi-level analysis, which makes such testing on a lie detector significantly more difficult compared to testing people with typical emotions.
To take a polygraph test and obtain the most reliable, impartial, and accurate results, it is important to only use trusted organizations and specialists with extensive experience. In this case, testing on a lie detector will allow you to achieve all of your goals.