Maybe. The same can be said for placebo. But if it works - it works.

▲ parineum 8 hours ago | parent [-]

There is really no evidence that it works, even in that way though.

The fact that the person is being asked to take the test is a pretty good indication that investigators think there's something there. The suspicion caused the interview and the interview caused the admission. There's no way to know what happens in an alternate universe with no polygraph. I worry a lot more about law enforcement that use it as justification for their erroneous suspicion.

It's a fine tool as long as the interviewer doesn't think it actually works. I've seen enough police interviews on TV shows to know that many of them are believers.

▲ defrost 8 hours ago | parent [-]

Police interviews on scripted TV copoganda dramas, or fly on the wall 'reality' police TV shows?

Either way a great many police are believers in the power of theatre. As they should be, staging power imbalnce, inserting faux sympathy, etc. are all powerful tools with strong potential for misuse which has prompted regulation in a number of countries demanding full recording of interactions with suspects.

Speaking of police interviews on TV shows:

  Opening scene to Season 5 of The Wire.
  Classic moment where a copy machine is used for a lie detector.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgrO_rAaiq0

▲

parineum 6 hours ago | parent [-]

I'm not talking about fiction, I'm talking about interviews with detectives on a show like 20/20.

The way they talk about both people refusing to take the polygraph and whether they pass or fail belies a belif in their credibility. I also know some police personally who speak in the same way but that's a much smaller sample size.

	▲	defrost 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		This is still subjective feels. I absolutely believe that some police detectives have real genuine faith in polygraphs being accurate. I strongly suspect a good many do not. That's orthoganal to how detectives that don't have faith in polygraph results being "real" feel about people that refuse to take them. Many may feel that people that refuse tests that supposedly tell truth telling from lying can be ranked with people that refuse a search or to unlock their phones ... ie. that's a sign that that they very probably have something to hide. > I'm talking about interviews with detectives on a show like 20/20. These are professionals being interviewed who are projecting all manner of things, if they don't actually trust that polygraphs work as scientifically accurate tests that reliably detect lies they are still motivated to not say so and to project belief, that's all part of the theatre of manipulating suspects.