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Show Hilltop Times mm FOR Jan. 15, 1988. VOUC2 INFORMATION. Department of Defense Tests with the a Those holding sensitive posts will be asked to take the test These reactions can occur when someone is trying to deceive a polygraph examiner. by Tom Joyce American Forces Information Service There is also a psychological aspect The entire process is D n the next few years, thousands of Depart ment of Defense civilians and military members holding sensitive positions will be asked to take a polygraph examination. No one will lose or be denied a security clearance based solely on the results of a polygraph examination, but those who refuse to take the test can lose access to classified information. Even people who have nothing to hide can become quite anxious about a polygraph exam. Dr. William J. Yankee, director of the DOD Polygraph Institute, Fort McClellan, Ala., said most of that anxiety comes from a fear of the unknown. "The entire process is explained up front," he stressed. "The questions that will be asked as part of the test will be reviewed and discussed with the persons to make sure they understand the questions and agree with them." No questions will be asked during the examination that haven't been discussed in advance. And no personal-lifestyl- e questions can be asked in connection with security or counterintelligence exams. The test itself records three basic physiological activities. The first two are respiratory and cardiovascular changes. The third, galvanic skin responses, records changes in the electrical resistance of the skin due to changes in one's emotional state. Tubes strapped around the chest and abdoe men record respiration. A cuff on the bicep records cardiovascular changes, and the galvanic skin response is charted using electrodes placed on the fingertips. The polygraph measures various organs and glands activated by the peripheral nervous blood-pressur- explained up front. The questions that will be asked as part of the test will be reviewed and discussed with the persons to make sure they understand the questions and agree with them. gg Dr. William of the polygraph. "Reacting when we lie is a learned response," said Dr. Yankee. "Most of us were immune to punishment until about the age of 2. Eventually, if we did something wrong, we were punished in one way or another. After many such experiences, merely being questioned about a wrong act become threatening and thus response." produces a conditioned-fea- r will activate the symThreatening questions a pathetic system during polygraph when someone is trying to hide a wrong act. "The reason a person lies is because he does not want the truth to be known regarding some wrong act he committed," Dr. Yankee said. J. Yankee "Thus, questions relating to the wrong act are threatening. A person who is telling the truth about a wrong act he did not commit is not threatened in the same way." The examination questions are carefully formulated and account for much of the time examiners use before a test. Director, DOD Polygraph Institute system. The body performs certain functions on its own for example, the heart beats and relaxes all on its own through the autonomic por4 tion of that system, t As part of that system, two types of nerve fibers activate each organ: the parasympathetic and the sympathetic. "The parasympathetic nerve fibers regulate organ and gland activitiy under normal conditions," Dr. Yankee said. "They keep things going at the minimum level of need. For example, the heart won't beat any more than it needs to when someone is calm and Throe kinds off questions can be asked: con- trol, relevant and irrelevant. Using the theft of $10,000 as an example, a control question might be: "Before Aug. 1 (the date of the theft), did you ever steal money from anyone?" A relevant question might be phrased, "Did you steal the $10,000?" An irrevelant question might be, "Is today Monday?" Once an examination is completed, the examiner will diagnose the results. The polygraph charts are then forwarded to quality-contrexaminers at a higher headquarters for a "blind" examiners concur reading. If the quality-contrwith the original examiner's diagnosis, the subexaminers ject is informed. If the quality-contro- l do not concur, the subject is scheduled for resting." The sympathetic fibers work during "emergencies." When a person senses danger, the body ol mobilizes. "It's immediate," said Dr. Yankee. "Within two seconds, some organs and glands will speed up to provide the body with the added fuel and oxygen needed to meet the emergency. This is often referred to as the fightflight mechanism." ol Though confroveirsiiGil, testing important io security P We have a psychology, the function of the olygraph testing is con troversial, but it will continue to play an important role in safeguarding the security policies of the United States. This is evidenced by the increasing number of service and Department of Defense personnel who have graduated from DOD Poly- EG major research effort aimed at process more credible... to interpret our Ala., in recent months. The polygraph has always been a part of military police criminal investigations. Major corporations, such as Citicorp and E.F. Hutton, routinely test employees. However, DOD will emphasize its polygraph testing on screening out and identifying security risks. Congress has placed strict limits on the scope of these tests. No one will lose or be denied a security clearance based solely on the results of a polygraph examination. But those who refuse to take the test can lose access to classified information. d making the graph Institute, Fort McClellan, results. Dr. William rjrj J. Yankee Director, DOD Polygraph Institute With so much riding on the polygraph examination, the training to become a certified examiner is intense and demanding. The DOD Polygraph Institute is expected to graduate more than 100 examiners each year. Students come from each service and DOD elements, as well as from many other federal agencies, including the FBI and the National Security Agency. The CIA is the only other federal agency that has its own training program. To graduate, each student has to perform 50 polygraph examinations successfully. Said one long-timArmy special agent, "We will not graduate anyone we wouldn't want to run a polygraph on us." The basic curriculum consists of lectures on law, physiology and e polygraph instrument, operating and maintaining the instrument, interpreting polygraph charts and other polygraph-relatesubjects. Also covered in the performance-oriente- d classes is how to conduct interviews and interrogations, polygraph tests and writing polygraph reports. Following graduation, each new examiner serves a internship under the supervision of a senior polygraph examiner. On'.y then does an examiner receive certification. The school is involved in much more than training examiners. "We have a major research effort aimed at making the process more credible," said Dr. William J. Yankee, director of the DOD Polygraph Institute. "Among other things, we are looking at the causes of false positives, false negatives and better ways to use the computer technology available to interpret our results." |