Polygraph examinations continue to be one of the most accurate ways to tell if an individual is lying. While it has gotten a bad reputation over the years, especially with how many institutions would use them against LGBTQIA+ individuals and other minorities. Despite the reputation that it has garnered over the past few years, many still rely on it as meaningful evidence.
Polygraph examination in Oklahoma also holds up in court, making it a very powerful form of evidence. But some factors can affect the outcome of a test that a polygraph examiner in OKC will inform you of first.
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Factors That Could Affect the Outcome of a Polygraph Test
Mental Illness
Mental illness is possibly one of the most common ailments affecting Americans today. With everyday problems taking their toll on individuals, anxiety, and depression have become dangerously common. And while mental illness can affect everything you do daily, it can affect a polygraph examination in Oklahoma City.
It is almost impossible to tamper with a polygraph test on purpose, especially when there is an experienced polygraph examiner in OKC conducting the test. Regardless though, an individual with a mental illness will affect the outcome of an examination.
Since a polygraph examination makes uses both physical and emotional signs to see if an individual is lying. But if the subject of the test suffers from a mental illness, it can alter the test results. A polygraph test of an individual suffering from a mental illness does not count in court.
But while depression or anxiety can alter the test results slightly, conditions like schizophrenia and paranoia are very different. If a person has these mental conditions, they can completely throw off the polygraph examination results in OKC.
Simply put, any condition that affects an individual’s perception of reality can greatly affect the results of a test. Most professional polygraph examiners in Oklahoma City will look at an individual and see if they are suffering from such a condition. And if they have any reason to believe the subject is not fit for the test, they will stop it.
Inexperienced Examiners
You might have heard of many individuals who were able to cheat a polygraph test. And while there are plenty of cases to look at in recent years, a common factor in all of the examinations was that the polygraph examiners in OKC were inexperienced. The fact that they could cheat the test in the first place shows that the examiner did not know what they were doing.
Good and efficient polygraph examiners can notice any bias within the exam before the decisive results come in. And as they recognize this bias, they will then proceed to extract it from the testing environment, ensuring that there is no variable left to chance.
Of course, the examiner also plays a critical role in the polygraph examination in Oklahoma City. If they are too menacing, they can make the individual nervous, which can affect the test results. And if they are too nice, they can make the subject feel too comfortable, which can also change the test outcome.
When looking for a good polygraph examiner in Oklahoma, you want to find someone who has the right training. They know how to create the perfect environment where individuals will be neither comfortable nor nervous. Essentially, a professional will keep a consistent testing environment for accurate results.
Drugs and Medication
Aside from mental illness and the testing environment, the subject’s medication can also affect how the test responds. The drug will usually alter other bodily functions such as the heart rate or blood pressure. One of the most popular types of medication that change bodily functions is the one used to treat hypertension.
Anti-hypertension medication will usually lower an individual’s heart rate and blood pressure, adding bias to the proceedings. The heart rate and blood pressure are two metrics that most lie detectors use when searching for deception in an individual if both of them are low during a Polygraph examination.
In people that have gone through gender reassignment surgery, hormone blockers and other medication for the surgery could affect the polygraph examination in OKC. While experts have yet to test this theory out, it is safe to assume that trans people early in transition could unintentionally affect the test outcome.
Anti-anxiety medication can also have a similar effect on the outcome of a test as that of anti-hypertension medicine. It will also slow down the heart rate and the subject’s blood pressure to the point that it can tamper with the results. Anti-depressants similarly affect a subject during a polygraph examination in Oklahoma City.
Finally, illegal substances and drugs can also affect a polygraph examination in OKC considerably. They can either put an individual in a relaxed state, making them completely unable to answer any questions. Some might increase their blood pressure, making them incapable of answering simple questions without seeming suspicious.
A professional Polygraph examiner in Oklahoma will be sure to ask if the individual has taken any medication before the test. If they suspect that the individual might have taken some medication, they will stop the test immediately.
Getting the Right Polygraph examination
At Oklahoma Judicial Process Servers, we can offer you a professional testing environment with experts in the field. They will be sure to keep biases or any form of tampering out of the question, ensuring that you give accurate results. Dr. Tinsley Keefe and Dr. Makayla Saramosing will ensure that the test and the experts you get will help you with your specific case.
