Q 01/05

A polygraph records several bodily signals at once. Which of these is one of them?

A) Body temperature

B) Pupil size

C) Brain waves

D) Skin conductivity

Answer · why

D) Skin conductivity

It also tracks pulse, breathing rate and blood pressure while the subject answers questions.

Q 02/05

The polygraph appeared on which reference work's 2003 list of greatest inventions, "for better or worse"?

A) Encyclopaedia Britannica

B) Popular Mechanics

C) The Guinness Book of Records

D) The Oxford English Dictionary

Answer · why

A) Encyclopaedia Britannica

Larson's original instrument is now in the Smithsonian.

Q 03/05

What does the scientific community largely consider polygraphy to be?

A) A branch of neurology

B) A form of hypnosis

C) Pseudoscience

D) Settled science

Answer · why

C) Pseudoscience

The American Psychological Association says most psychologists agree there is little evidence it can accurately detect lies.

Q 04/05

A 2003 review of polygraph research concluding there was "little basis for the expectation that a polygraph test could have extremely high accuracy" was issued by which body?

A) National Academy of Sciences

B) American Bar Association

C) Congressional Budget Office

D) Federal Bureau of Investigation

Answer · why

A) National Academy of Sciences

It found 57 of the roughly 80 studies the American Polygraph Association relied on were significantly flawed.

Q 05/05

In a polygraph session, what is the "stim test"?

A) A practice run with no recording

B) A test of the machine's electrodes

C) The subject is told to lie so the examiner can 'catch' it

D) A caffeine shot to raise the pulse

Answer · why

C) The subject is told to lie so the examiner can 'catch' it

The idea is to convince guilty subjects that the machine works, though innocent ones may become just as anxious.