Controversy Behind A Polygraph Test example essay topic

Title: The Polygraph Speaker: Neil Thesis: To inform my audience about polygraphs, the polygraph tests, and the controversy of them. Introduction I. Attention Getter: For more than 15 years, Robert Hanssen had led a double life. In one life he was a 25-year veteran with the FBI who had access to some of the nation's most-classified information. In his other life, he was a spy for the Russian government. Hannssen's deception was finally discovered, and in February 2001 he was arrested, and then took a polygraph test which forced him to plead guilty to 15 espionage-related charges. II.

Thesis Statement: Today, I am here to talk to you about Polygraphs, the polygraph tests, and the controversy of them.. Credibility: My brother-in-law had to take a polygraph test for his job. And he was forced to prepare for it a year in advance, ever since I saw his preparation for this one test; I have forever been fascinated by this invention IV. Preview: First of all I will give you a bit of background information on polygraphs, and then I will talk about the actual test you take. Finally, I will discuss the controversy behind a polygraph test. (Transition: How did the Polygraph test come about?) Body.

Background information. John A. Larson, a medical student at the University of California, was the inventor of the polygraph. B. John invented this machine based on the theory that when a person tells a lie, he / she will have a fear of being caught and their body will react with that fear. C. The polygraph record the amount of stress produced by measuring changes in breathing, blood pressure, pulse and perspiration, continuously and simultaneously. (Transition: Now that you know how a polygraph works, I will now talk about the test it-self.) II. The TestA.

The average time a polygraph test takes is from 90-120 minutes. The examiner goes through a 6 step process in order find out wheatear or not a person is telling the truth or lying. B. All the questions asked by the examiner are "yes" or "no" questions. The examiner asks questions in sets of 3's. The first question would be a known-truth question, the second question would be a case-related question, and the third questions would be a probable-lie question (Transition: Now that you know how a polygraph test is taken. I will now discuss the controversy of using a polygraph test.) .

The controversy over the polygraph testA. Polygraph tests are known to be from 80-90% accurate and are not questioned until a high profile case that uses a polygraph comes around. B. The courts in most jurisdiction, denies the reliability of a lie detector test and refuses to admit the results into evidence. The only people that can give a polygraph test and use its results are Federal, State, & local government employees. To be a "professional" polygraph examiner you must have a minimum of 5 years of experience in the field or if you have received your baccalaureate degree. The reason that the polygraph tests are so controversial is because of inexperienced or biased examiners (Transition: Now that you know a little about the controversy of the polygraph tests, I will now sum up everything that I have just discussed.) Conclusion I. Summary: Hopefully now I have been able to educate you on polygraph tests, & why there is a controversy with using them. II.

Review: The polygraph test was the first and only of its kind. After over 80 years of use, we have devised a way of administering the test with the highest accuracy rates possible, but are still yet to perfect the test.. Creative Conclusion: So the next time that you suspect your girl / boy friend cheating on you, or even if you want to know if your little brother ate the last cupcake, a simple polygraph test would determine the truth.

Bibliography

Anonymous. (2005, July 14).
Polygraph. web (2005, July 14).
Lie Detector Testing. web action / download resources / info papers/4. cfm David T. Lyk ken. 1998.
Plenum Publishing Corporation. A Tremor in the Blood, Uses and Abuses of the Lie Detector. Leonard H. Harrelson. 1998.