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The Polygraph

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A lie detector test is commonly called a polygraph. They are used to record a subjects natural reactions, such as an increase in heart rate, to questions. The polygraph tracks and records these factors using multiple smaller devices. It has been built and developed since 1878 (Côté, Michel, Sergeant). The polygraph has its advantages and disadvantages, some people even claim it can be tricked. The United States uses them, but scientist are still uncertain of their accuracy. Many other countries do not use them out of concern for accuracy. In recent years, their use has decreased due to the uncertainty. Polygraphs have always been, and might always be, controversial.
As stated before, Polygraphs aren't used as frequently as one would think. …show more content…

The polygraph was not built on its own. It was progressively put together by multiple different devices. The idea began in 1878 when an Italian physiologist, Angelo Mosso, created a device called a plethysmograph. It was created for use in his research on emotions, particularly fear when being questioned. He studied the effects on cardiovascular and respiratory activity. Next, In 1914, Italian psychologist Vittorio Benussi figured out a method to calculate the inhalation to exhalation time and use it to detect deception in a subject. This device was called a pneumograph. Just a year later Dr. William Marston, an American attorney and psychologist, developed the discontinuous systolic blood pressure test. It was a way to continually track a subject's blood pressure. In 1921, the first device to be called a polygraph was created. Psychologist John A. Larson, employed by the Berkeley Police Department in California, added a way of tracking respiration rate (a new type of pneumograph) directly to the systolic blood pressure test. It could read respiration and blood pressure at the same time and document their ups and downs on a revolving roll of paper. Leonarde Keeler (whom worked with John A. Larson in California), in 1938 advanced the polygraph by adding a third measuring component. He created the galvanometer (Côté, Michel, Sergeant). This measures changes in a subject's skin's …show more content…

A lot of things about them have their ow positives ad negatives to them. It seems to be most successful in getting guilty subjects to confess out of fear. Others countries, such as Europe, have deemed the polygraph as "far too unreliable for any evidence to be used in court." ( Palmer, Alun.) Part of why they are unreliable traces back to the fact that people fear them. This is an advantage and a disadvantage. It has been considered an advantage because guilty subjects likely to confess out of fear for the test. At the same time, an innocent subject could fail the test out of fear. "Polygraph tests, in a way, detect nervousness. This can lead to false results." (Robinson, Bryan.) Another disadvantage already mentioned earlier is that businesses, companies, and corporations cannot legally use a polygraph test on employees or potential employees. The main advantage of Polygraphs is what they have done for technology. Scientist have been working on them since 1878 (Côté, Michel, Sergeant). It has created motivation for many other device, particularly the ones needed to create the polygraph mentioned

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