A lie detector is a device very "popularized" by the power and many other structures that allows you to determine whether a person is telling the truth or lying by tracking vital signs. But is the polygraph really such a "powerful" device that an ordinary person has absolutely no chance of tricking him?
How a lie detector works
A lie detector, or polygraph, is a device for conducting psychophysiological research by synchronously recording vital parameters: heartbeat, respiration, electrical resistance of the skin and bursts of activity in certain parts of the brain.
The results of the summarized and recorded indicators are then used to determine the reliability of the information obtained during the interview.
The history of the emergence of the polygraph as a tool for determining a lie goes back to antiquity - thousands of years ago, uniting into large and small social groups, people began to understand the need to identify those responsible for a particular crime.
So, for example, in China, a person who was indicted was filled with rice, and at the end of the conviction he spat it back out: if the rice was dry, then it was believed that the person was guilty, because with the fear of exposure, the person's salivation stops.
An interesting way of determining the reliability of information was practiced in Ancient and Medieval India: there, the accused had to answer any first word that came to his mind to questions about the details of the crime that the prosecutor told him, and at the same time bang the gong. Usually, the response to a critical word was accompanied by a stronger gong bang.
Today, the polygraph device is very common, but is often criticized by scientists and psychologists who question the fact that the polygraph collects "at least 95 percent reliable information."
Ways to cheat a polygraph
That "advertisement" of one hundred percent accuracy of a polygraph is an excellent tool in the hands of bosses and government agencies, which, in fact, allows you to win even before the start of the battle, forcing a possible interrogated to suppress any desire to deceive or hide information.
In fact, there are many ways to deceive such devices, and American and NATO soldiers even have a special program - "Resistance to Interrogation", during which soldiers are taught how to deceive lie detectors.
There are a number of people who will find it much easier to cheat a polygraph. These include: social psychopaths (for them there are completely different norms - their heart does not skip when yours does), pathological liars and good actors.
The first step towards deceiving a polygraph is to realize that it is just a device, a machine. It is necessary to overcome the "reverential" fear of the lie detector and of the polygraph operator.
The first and most common method is beta blockers, which hide changes in your vital signs. The palm (to which the sweat sensors are attached) are usually covered with salicylic acid or other antiperspirant ointments.
The second method is completely unrelated to the use of some kind of chemistry, but is associated with the use of other "substances". So, on the eve of a polygraph test, you can get drunk - a dull emotional state in the morning will not allow you to adequately analyze questions and, therefore, will not cause a proper reaction. In addition to alcohol, prolonged sleep deprivation is also very helpful, which also disrupts the work of the central nervous system.
If alcohol, beta-blockers or lack of sleep can sometimes be seen with the naked eye, then the third method will not be determined when passing a polygraph in any way. The method consists in the complete suppression of one's emotions by deconcentration and fixed attention on one object (a glass, a drawing on the wall, a lamp). A neutral voice, an answer to an earlier asked question, and an absent gaze directed into emptiness are the main signs of the application of this method.
