r/911dispatchers • u/No-Push-7111 • 5d ago
[APPLICANT/DISPATCHER HOPEFUL] Advice for the polygraph as an overthinker?
I have to take my poly next week and while I'm excited to get this step of the process out of the way I'm super nervous. I have OCD so when I say im an overthinker im an OVERTHINKER. I filled out my questionnaire already and all i can think is "what if i forgot about something i did" and I'm feeling guilty like I've done something wrong although I've been completely honest throughout the process. I've heard so many stories of other people failing bc of overthinking and i just dont know how im supposed to switch my brain off while being interrogated. Especially with having OCD. (I just started medication for it so it is being treated). Any advice for prep or during the test would be so appreciated!!
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u/bk_23103 5d ago
You'll be asked if you went online and researched how polygraphs work. So tell the truth.
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u/No-Push-7111 5d ago
i def am. I havent researched countermeasures by any means just wanted to know what i was getting into. I figure a lot of people do look it up so no need to hide it.
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u/BoosherCacow I've heard some shit 5d ago
You're doing what I did, the bad news is you probably can't help it. The good news is all you have to do is relax. It's junk science, it does not work. Let me repeat that: It does not work. Take this as a fun little experience you can tell your grand kids about, don't lie (but not because of the poly; because if they catch you in a lie, even 10 years down the road THAT is game over) and just enjoy the ride.
PD's use it to scare away people who slip through the cracks in the initial screening by using it as a scare tactic. You'll be fine.
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u/BrilliantIll1387 5d ago
Answer the questions and only the questions. Do. Not. Ramble. Be sure and confident in your responses.
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u/Razvee 5d ago
There's a few different kind of polygraphs. When I started at my agency we went through the ringer, we got the same poly's that the street officers took. Very invasive, very "professional" in that it was done in a police interrogation room by one of the on-staff polygraph "experts" who actually interpreted the results... Now we've switched to a private company and use it as more of a scare tactic. Like they ask all the questions, but don't interpret any results. They will ask "have you done illegal drugs in the last year?" and if you answer "yes" that will be disqualifying, but if you say "no" and your heart rate increases by 3bpm, that won't mean anything to us. Surprisingly this still disqualifies a fair amount of people.
As an overthinker, it'll be a little difficult, but not impossible... Don't make the mistake I did... Question: "Have you ever watched child pornography" and I answered "I don't think so" instead of just "no"... That immediately led to a half a dozen follow up questions about that, what did I mean, what did I see, where was it at.... But in my head all I was thinking was "I mean, it's not like they flash their ID's at the beginning, how was I supposed to know"...
So just a solid "yes" or "no"... If you lean one way or the other, just commit to it fully with "yes" or "no"...
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u/Electrical_Switch_34 4d ago
Don't overthink the polygraph. Just be honest.
When I took the polygraph, I had just returned from my second deployment to Iraq during the early part of the war. I shot at people, been shot at etc. You can imagine how nervous I was. I told this to the examiner and it was not a big deal.
I was honest with my answers and I got hired. Just be honest.
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u/No-Push-7111 4d ago
Thank you! I can imagine your nerves must've been pretty bad. I'm sure mine are nowhere near that point so I appreciate this. It's helped ease my mind a bit. Thanks for your service as well!
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u/Yuri909 5d ago
They are smoke and mirrors. It's just a tool to make you nervous and compel you to be more honest with the detective. It's not a truth machine. You flinching will absolutely be alerted by the machine because that's all it really does. Just tell the truth no matter how embarrassing. Their operation manual tells them they need to get the interviewee to admit something. It should just be something small and silly like when you were 5 you stole your teacher's gum. Anything serious you didn't disclose will dropkick you from consideration.
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u/ap_org 5d ago
You should know that pre-employment polygraph failure rates on the order of 50% are typical in public agencies.
You should also know that polygraph "testing" has no scientific basis. It's a thoroughly discredited, century-old, cop-invented pseudoscience.
I suggest you review the material available on AntiPolygraph.org, all of which is free. See, especially, the book The Lie Behind the Lie Detector:
https://antipolygraph.org/pubs.shtml
Chapter 3 explains the trickery on which the "test" depends, and Chapter 4 provides suggestions for reducing the risk of wrongly failing.
Good luck!
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u/BoosherCacow I've heard some shit 5d ago edited 5d ago
Chapter 3 explains the trickery on which the "test" depends
That was simultaneously a fun trip down memory lane and also a very not fun trip down memory lane. I knew the minute I started talking to that idiot who did my test that he was a fucking hack and a liar, even if I didn't yet understand fully the polygraph. God I was so naive.
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u/Razvee 5d ago
I've only taken two polygraphs, but they both gave me pretty much the exact same intro speech, including the same hypothetical, which is kind of funny.
"You're driving and just come over a hill, you see a police car parked on the side of the road pointing it's radar gun at you. Without you controlling it, your heartbeat speeds up, your breathing catches and you start to get a little cold sweat! That's what we're looking for and what we measure, how the questions impact you regardless of your answer."
Which is really funny when you think about it... There's no mention of you speeding or doing anything to cause trouble for the officer pointing a radar gun at you... If you weren't speeding you'll still likely have those reactions. Kind of gives away the plot.
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u/Alydrin 5d ago
Ironically, the advice is to try to relax and be truthful.
It always helps me in interviews and tests to imagine failing and how the day continues on after that. I'd be disappointed and embarrassed, but I'd leave and never see those people again most likely. I'd still get lunch after. I'd apply for other jobs. I'd know how it works if I end up doing it again for another interview. Life would continue and I'd be okay - giving myself permission to try and fail helps.