Description

Presenters:

Dr. David Thornton
Dr. Sharon Kelley

Polygraph testing has been a longstanding contentious issue for professionals who provide assessment, treatment, and/or supervision for individuals convicted of sexual offenses. One side of the debate has raised concerns about the interpretation of field studies of polygraph accuracy, a lack of standardized applications in the administration or interpretation of polygraphy, and unresolved clinical and ethical issues (Rosky, 2013; Vess, 2011). Others have argued that polygraph tests are more accurate than other methods of assessing credibility and can be helpful to obtain offense-related information needed for treatment needs assessments and risk management (Elliott & Vollm, 2018; Gannon et al., 2014; Honts et al., 2021).

As with all assessment and clinical tools, it is without question there are pros and cons when considering use of polygraph testing in practice. The current presentation will provide a review of the research as well as the benefits and limitations of polygraph testing. In particular we will distinguish different ways polygraph examinations may be used in various assessment, therapy, and supervision practices. It will be argued that polygraph examinations can sometimes be helpful and sometimes counter-productive. Suggestions will be made as to how to focus on more productive uses of polygraph results.