I received the following response from Dr Rovner after making the last Blog Post:
Ms. Cato,
There is a sound reason for not having an audience and camera crew at a polygraph test. Any unexpected sound, even as minor as someone clearing his throat, will cause a physiological reaction in the person being tested (psychologists call this an orienting response). One or more orienting responses that occur during a polygraph test are likely to make the physiological tracings difficult, if not impossible, to accurately interpret. This is why professional examiners go to great lengths to ensure that no extraneous or unexpected noise interferes with their tests.
However, there is a good option for you. All professional examiners make a video of their tests. This is a feature present in all modern polygraph software programs. You can take your test and have the video to present as evidence of your truthfulness, if you so choose.
One last suggestion: if you go ahead with this, be certain that the examiner uses a method called the Utah Zone of Comparison Test. According to a recent study published by the American Polygraph Association, this is the most accurate technique in use today. You certainly don’t want anything but the best.
Louis Rovner, Ph.D.
PolygraphReality.wordpress.com
All I can add to that is Berkeley County Clerk John Small’s video of a Polygraph test would make for interesting viewing on the evening news. Though, for the record, it must be said that pathological liars can, in many cases, easily pass a Polygraph test.
Louis Rovner, Ph.D. says:
About your last remark: Pathological liars are no better at beating a polygraph test than anyone else. Scientific research dating back as far as 1978 has shown that psychopaths and people with antisocial personalities are detected in their lies by a polygraph test at the same accuracy rate as everyone else. Other research has shown that virtually no one can beat a properly administered polygraph test.