Polygraph Testing
Lizor et al.
were asked to fill out the pre-polygraph screening booklet prior to arrival. Some of the participants
did fill this out beforehand, and some filled it out when they arrived. Participants were randomly
assigned a number in order to protect their identity.
The participants were shown three videos in ASL; the first video explained the consent
form for the researchers, the second, the video release form, and the third, the consent form of the
polygraph examiner. In addition to the ASL videos, all the participants were also given each of the
forms to read. The participants were able to choose the level of privacy that felt comfortable in
relation to the video recording. Because the participants use ASL, which is a visual-gestural
language, they had to be video recorded. Participants had the option of choosing who could see
their videos based on the video release form, which gave them the following options: (1) very
limited, such as only the research team could view, (2) expanded, such as clips of the videos could
be shown at conferences, (3) and finally: still photos could be used in publications.
Once all the forms were signed, the participants began the pretest process with the
polygraph examiner. All the polygraph examinations were conducted by the same certified
polygraph examiner who utilized a calibrated polygraph machine. In the 22 years working as a
polygraph examiner, the examiner had no prior experience working with the deaf
community. During the polygraph examination in both Phase I and II, when the participants were
hooked up to the machine, the participants used the Silent Answer Test protocol to answer the
question posed by the polygraph examiner. This means that they did not communicate their
answers by either vocalizing or in ASL, instead they simply thought of the answer.
During Phase I, the polygraph examiner had to come up with ways to communicate with
the deaf participants. Starting with the pretest, the participant sat with the polygraph examiner and
they went over the questions in the booklet. Some communication methods included: (1) pointing
at the English words in the booklet, (2) writing back and forth, and (3) speechreading.
Communicating with deaf people who typically use ASL to communicate was new to the
polygraph examiner. He came up with various strategies to build rapport with the participants. The
examiner asked the person about themselves, as most people like say good things about
themselves. The chit chat was actually multifaceted as the examiner was listening and figuring out
how to use what they were talking about to open up. The examiner noted that the “gift of gab”
assists in doing this. The polygraph examiner noted that he engaged in more conversation with all
of them than he may have with a non-deaf individual. However, he felt that it was not different
from working with a non-deaf individual, just more time consuming. Developing rapport with
someone who will be taking a polygraph examination is an integral part of the testing process.
When the pretest interview was concluded, the participants were given a break. Once the
break was over, the participants then sat on a cushioned portable subject’s chair on an activity
sensor seat pad. A standardized blood pressure cuff with pump and bulb with gauge was attached
to measure heart rate; two pneumo-chest assemblies, which measure the changes in respiration
was placed on the chest and stomach; and a finger electrode was set to measure the electrodermal
activity (EDA) with sensors that measure the changes in a person’s perspiration. These pieces of
equipment were then attached to the examiner’s computer utilizing the Lafayette LX4000
computerized polygraph LX software 11.6.0. All examinations were video recorded by a camera
set up by the research team (who were not present in the room at any time during the polygraph
process) and the polygraph examiner. When the polygraph concluded, the participants took another
break. Then the posttest was conducted to go over the process and to see if there were any
questions. When the polygraph examination process was complete, the participants met with the
deaf researcher to be interviewed about their experiences with the polygraph process. The
SASLJ, Vol. 2, No.1 – Spring/Summer 2018
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