Do Polygraph Tests Work?
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There is little to no evidence that polygraph tests can catch liars, and quite a bit of evidence against it. Polygraphs work primarily by measuring skin conductance, which spikes upwards in the presence of sweat. But experienced liars do not sweat. Indeed, numerous double agents and spies in the US Government have evaded numerous polygraph tests effortlessly. Other variables measured by the polygraph, including changes in heartbeat and blood pressure, can also easily be faked. The famous CIA spy for the Soviet Union, Aldrich Ames, passed polygraph tests on numerous occasions. He asked his Soviet handler what to do about these tests, and the handler only laughed, “Don’t worry, they don’t work.” He was right. Richard Nixon once famously quipped, “I don’t know anything about lie detectors other than they scare the hell out of people.” The law enforcement agents and police officers who use polygraph machines are not scientists – they are merely told the machine can be used to detect lies,
