GENERAL RULES IN FORMULATING TEST QUESTIONS (Batalang,n.

d)
1. Must be simple and direct
2. Questions must be answerable by a "yes" or "no."
3. Must not involve legal terminology
4. It should be as short as possible
5. Meaning must be clear and unmistakable
6. It should be phrased in a language or dialect; the subject can easily understand
7. Must not be in the form of an accusation (accusation would cause subject to feel examiner has already concluded)
8. Must never contain an inference that presupposes knowledge on the part of the subject
9. Must refer to only one offense
10. Must refer to only one element of an offense

NATURE OF TEST QUESTIONS (Batalang)

1. RELEVANT QUESTIONS

• These are questions that are related to the crime under investigation
• These are questions of which the examiner wants a result. Only the subjects know the truth about and are the
reason for undergoing the test (Damme, n.d.)
According to the recommended guidelines for clinical polygraph examinations of sex offenders (1998) of
the Joint Polygraph Committee on Offender Testing (JPCOT) to design an effective polygraph examination and
adherence to standardized and recognized procedures can be achieved when questions are:
a) Simple, direct, and short.
b) Do not include legal terminology (sexual assault, fondling, rape, incest, etc.). Legal terminology allows for
examinee rationalization and utilization of other defense mechanisms.
c) Each question's meaning must be clear, not allow for multiple interpretations, and should not be accusatory.
d) Do not presuppose knowledge of the examiner.
e) Do not use language that "Crosses the Time Barrier";
f) Contains language easily understood by the examinee.
g) Must be clearly and easily answerable by yes or no.
However, it is recommended that relevant questions be phrased in a manner that is answerable by "NO."
This is because the examination is concerned with the subject's physiological reaction and not with the answer.
h) Should avoid the use of any emotionally-laden terminology (i.e., molest).

Relevant questions are split up into four categories, which are considered as "the four legs of the crime."
a. Did you do it
b. Did you help
c. Do you know who did it
d. Did you get anything out of it

STRONG RELEVANT

• a direct question having an intense and specific relationship to the crime or problem being considered
• designed and constructed to test for direct or primary involvement only
• specifically designed to produce an emotional response in the person attempting deception
WEAK RELEVANT

• A question concerning some secondary element of the crime of problem being considered
• Guilty knowledge, partial involvement- type question
i.e., Theft of car
Did you help anybody to steal the car?
GUILTY KNOWLEDGE
i.e., Theft of car
Do you know who stole the car?
EVIDENCE CONNECTING
i.e., Theft of car (Forensic Criminology and Psychophysiology, n.d.)
Did you get any reward coming from the theft of that car? or
Do you know where that car is at present?

2. IRRELEVANT

• It does not relate to the matter under investigation

• Must deal with a known fact about which the subject cannot lie
• Designed to absorb the initial response as the question sequence starts
• Should produce little or no emotional change in the subject
• Questions that give a truthful answer (Damme, n.d.)
The polygraph examination includes questions that develop baseline readings to establish how individuals would
physically respond when telling the truth or lying. For example, a question targeting a known truth for a 35-year-
old male examinee might be "Are you 35 years old?" to which the examinee would truthfully answer "yes."
(Polygraph Exam Services in Dallas TX - How Polygraphs Work...n.d.).

This kind of question gives the examiner a good idea of how the subject reacts when being truthful. It also allows
the parasympathetic system to bring back homeostasis (Forensic Criminology and Psychophysiology, n.d.).
Examples:
Is today ______________________________
Is your name _________________________
Are you sitting in a chair? ______________________________
Were you born in ______________________________________

1. CONTROL QUESTONS (Damme, n.d.)

• These are questions on which all subjects will be potentially untruthful.

• Used to absorb any anxiety of a truthful subject and draw the attention away from the relevant questions
• Designed to draw a possible lie from the subject to items broadly similar to the issue on hand
• Reaction to this type of question will be compared to the relevant question in order to give a result
• A question typically answered by "NO." When the subject says yes to a question when asks if he ever stole
anything, the examiner will quietly ask what he stole. Most subjects will then say "small things" or mention a few
neglectable items. The examiner will then rephrase: Apart from what you told me, did you ever steal anything else
in your life? Which will then result in the desired "No" answer.
Examples of Control Questions:
- Before this year, did you ever steal anything in your life?
- Before this year, did you ever lie to someone who trusted you?
- Do you remember if you ever stole anything from a place where you worked?
- Do you remember ever seriously lying to any of your colleagues?
2. PROBABLE LIE (CONTROL QUESTIONS)

• Designed to produce a response in an innocent subject

• Serves as a basis for evaluating the subject's perceptual set
• General formulation rules
a. When appropriate, it should be of a similar type but unrelated to the specific crime or problem being considered
b. It should be constructed so the subject can answer "no." However, the subject can give a "yes" answer
c. It should be such that the examiner can reasonably know that the subject's answer is a lie
When Use:
a. Examiner must condition and stimulate the subject in the pretest interview, causing the subject to believe that test
questions are important to the procedure and final test results
b. The theory of the control question must not be discussed with the subject because the subject will not respond if
he understands the theory
c. Control questions are generally broad in scope and time. It must not, however, include the offense under
investigation, that is, 3 to 5 year to the current offense
i.e.
Before you were 21 years of age, did you ever steal anything?
Do you remember stealing anything before you were 21 years of age?
Besides what you have told me about, did you ever steal anything else before you were 21?
Besides what you have told me about, have you ever stolen any money from a former employer?

3. CHARACTER QUESTIONS (http://www.polygraph. to/polyprocess2.shtml).

The character questions are ones to which the examinee will likely have reservations because the truth may be less
personally or socially acceptable. For example, an examinee may be uncomfortable with "Have you ever lied to someone
who trusted you?"
Both questions (3 and 4) allow the examiner to record the blood pressure, pulse, perspiration, and respiration of the
examinee and then observe and compare those responses to the results measured for questions regarding the crime or
relevant issue. Within the relevant test, the examinee will face a variety of questions. All the questions require only a simple
"yes" or "no" answer. The examiner is trying to measure the individual's knowledge, participation, and involvement in the
incident under investigation through most of these questions. Deceptive answers are recognized by increases in perspiration,
blood pressure, and pulse, and changes in breathing patterns. These are telltale signs of a lie.

4. SYMPTOMATIC QUESTION

• Designed to detect and evaluate the presence of outside issues, which may suppress responses to relevant
questions
i.e.
"Are you completely convinced that I will not ask you a question on this test that has not already been reviewed?
"Is there something else you are afraid I will ask you a question about, even though I have told you I would not?"

5. SACRIFICE RELEVANT QUESTIONS

• A question of a standard format designed to absorb the response normally generated by the introduction of the
relevant question
i.e.
Regarding the stolen money, do you intend to answer each question truthfully about it?

6. GUILT COMPLEX QUESTIONS

Acts as a safeguard against mistaking the relevant response of the guilt complex reactor for deception responses; that is, it
acts as a specialized control question
Rules to follow:
a. Based on a fictitious crime situation constructed by the examiner
b. The fictitious crime should be specific rather than general
c. The fictitious crime situation should be closely parallel with the actual crime under investigation and should be equal in
weight
d. The examiner, before approaching the subject concerning the crime situation, must be certain the fictitious crime was
never actually committed
e. The situation must be constructed so that the subject could be considered a logical suspect; that is, it must cover a time
for
which the subject does not have an alibi
f. Details of the fictitious crime must be specific enough that the guilty subject can be sure he did not commit this
particular offense
i.e.
"Did you steal the money from the house at Palma Street?"
"Did you forcibly have sexual intercourse with the nurse wearing a white uniform at the Kalinga Provincial Hospital?"

7. SKY QUESTIONS
A series of 3 questions used only on the third chart of BZCT and designed to conform to the previous two charts and
detect indirect involvement or guilty knowledge
i.e.
i. Do you SUSPECT anyone in particular of stealing Ana's money?
ii. Do you KNOW for sure who stole Ana's money?
iii. Did YOU steal Ana's money?

What May NOT Legally Asked (http://www.polygraph.to/ polyprocess2.shtml)

Personal and intrusive questions have no place in & properly conducted polygraph examination. Many state licensing
laws, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, as well as the American Polygraph Association, prohibit non- related
intrusive questions in the following areas:

• religious beliefs or affiliations

• beliefs or opinions regarding racial matters
• political beliefs or affiliations
• beliefs, affiliations, or lawful activities regarding unions or labor organizations
• sexual preferences or activities
In a specific issue polygraph examination of an evidentiary nature, the relevant questions focus on the particular act under
investigation.
Suppose the issue involves a sexual offense, or a sensitive security matter is at stake. In that case, there may be
documented exceptions to the preceding prohibitions.