Polygraph in the Media

Most people obtain their polygraph "knowledge" from researching the Internet, watching television, and watching movies. There have been a number of talk and reality shows that portray a polygraph test being done. In reality it would not be accurate to conduct a test in front of an audience or live air. In most cases these are staged for the audience and for effect.

• Polygraph exams cannot be done correctly in front of an audience. 
• Polygraph exams, to be done correctly, must be done in a controlled environment with no distractions.
• Polygraph accuracy drops as you add more questions (there is usually a limit of 3 to 4 relevant questions permitted per examination). 
• Polygraph answers are limited to "yes" and "no" (narrative answers are not done). 
• Polygraph questions are spread out so that reactions have time to dissipate from the previous question (the average time between questions should be around 25 seconds).
• Movement by the examinee causes distortions with the graphs and ultimately the test results (the data becomes unreliable).
• Polygraph exams must in fact be done at least 3 times or more before a decision can be correctly rendered (an acquaintance calibration test is also done as the 1st chart before the others).
• Polygraph examinations take approximately 2 hours or longer if done correctly. 
• Polygraph questions must be objective - about facts - not about opinions or feelings. 
• Surprise questions are not permitted (all questions are reviewed before the test).

Sometimes they are, but most of the time they are not. 

When a highly qualified examiner conducts polygraphs for television, the exams are done off-camera before the show and can take several hours. The examiner may then re-enact a small portion of the exam for the audience, so what you see is not an actual polygraph test.

Precision Polygraph of Texas does not conduct polygraphs for media.