Comments on: Lie Detectors, Sex Offenders And Benefit Cheats http://www.thepickards.co.uk/index.php/200904/lie-detectors-sex-offenders-and-benefit-cheats/ ranting and rambling to anyone willing to listen Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:30:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: The Goldfish http://www.thepickards.co.uk/index.php/200904/lie-detectors-sex-offenders-and-benefit-cheats/comment-page-1/#comment-49618 The Goldfish Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:36:07 +0000 http://www.thepickards.co.uk/?p=2318#comment-49618 I'm glad someone wrote about this. As you say, these are really being used to intimidate people into telling the truth to begin with. However, the worst thing is that a person who is nervous is likely to read a false positive - and the whole point of the scheme is to make people nervous. Meanwhile, a person who has something to hide can do an awful lot to prepare to fool the test. If the sex offenders were tested spontaneously, that would be one thing, but if they know it's going to happen, those without remorse can train themselves to give the physiological appearance of truth-telling. Lying and truth-telling is a really interesting part of psychology because we're so very poor at it. And generally people who you'd think would have an edge on this stuff - like police officers - are found to be just as bad at it as the rest of us. I’m glad someone wrote about this. As you say, these are really being used to intimidate people into telling the truth to begin with. However, the worst thing is that a person who is nervous is likely to read a false positive - and the whole point of the scheme is to make people nervous.

Meanwhile, a person who has something to hide can do an awful lot to prepare to fool the test. If the sex offenders were tested spontaneously, that would be one thing, but if they know it’s going to happen, those without remorse can train themselves to give the physiological appearance of truth-telling.

Lying and truth-telling is a really interesting part of psychology because we’re so very poor at it. And generally people who you’d think would have an edge on this stuff - like police officers - are found to be just as bad at it as the rest of us.

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