::THE POLYGRAPH:
The Modern Lie
Detector ::
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ORIGIN |
SIGNIFICANCE |
IMPACT |
ENDNOTES |
BIBLIOGRAPHY |
"If man learned to lie not long after he acquired language, we may
assume that the first attempts at lie detection soon made their
appearance....We are all human lie detectors; we must be to survive in
our mendacious society."1
~David
Thoreson Lykken, A
Tremor In the Blood: Uses and Abuses of The Lie Detector
In 1921, Raphael Demos wrote in the
Yale
Review, "a lie may be
defined as any statement made with the intent to deceive."2
This intent is what the modern polygraph stakes its reputation on;
without it,
the polygraph would be just a method of reading blood pressure, pulse
rate,
depth of breath and sweat levels simultaneously. Literally,
the word "polygraph" is derived from
Greek, meaning “many writings,” because it simply records these
measurements on
a drum of paper; it cannot interpret the meaning of the measurements.
That is
the task of the polygraph examiner, who must judge based on the
responses shown
on the chart whether the subject is lying, or telling the truth. The
polygraph’s original acclaim in American society arose from a
belief that
it worked, that it really could tell truth from deception. In a study
conducted in 2003
by the National Research Council, evaluators agreed that the invention
of the
polygraph finds its justification in the “mystique--the systems of
beliefs
that surround and support the techniques.”
3 The
polygraph has become a cultural
ideal rather than a truly useful technological innovation.
This website will cover the evolution of the modern polygraph from its mechanical antecedents to the impact of this invention on American society and culture. When the first polygraph was used in aUnited States
This website will cover the evolution of the modern polygraph from its mechanical antecedents to the impact of this invention on American society and culture. When the first polygraph was used in a
...Welcome
to the history and controversy of
the modern polygraph...
Site created by Kati Singel for HIST325: American Technology and Culture
taught by Professor Jeffrey McClurken at the University of Mary Washington
Questions/Comments- ksing2os@umw.edu
Last updated on 05 / 01 / 05