Polygraph testing can only be used to resolve factual issues. Due to degrees of uncertainty and excessive cognitive processing issues, there are many categories of questions that are inappropriate (prohibited) for relevant question formulation. This page contains a partial list of topics that a legitimate polygraph examiner will not ask.
THOUGHTS
Polygraph can not read minds. We can not determine what a person is thinking. That means we can not ask questions about processes that only take place inside someone’s head. We can, however, test on any outward manifestation of that thought. For example, we can NOT ask “Did you ever think about hurting John?” but we CAN ask “Did you ever attempt to injure John?”
DREAMS & VISIONS
Similar to Thoughts, we can not test someone on the content of a dream or vision. Those are personal experiences that can not be independently verified, and are subject to the Examinee’s interpretation.
PARANORMAL EXPERIENCES
We can not test for non-physical experiences, such as Premonitions, Mind Reading ability, Remote Viewing, ExtraSensory Perception (ESP), Clairvoyance, Past Lives, Out of Body Experiences, Possession of Super Powers, Being Remotely Controlled or Affected, etc. However, we can test for manifestations of the above. For example, we can NOT ask “Did you foresee the fall of the Twin Towers?” but we CAN ask “About a year before the Twin Towers fell, did you tell John that they were were to fall?”
PREFERENCES
We can not ask about preferences, as these fall into the “Thoughts” category. For example, we can NOT ask a male “Do you prefer having sex with men instead of women?” but we CAN ask “As an adult, did you ever have sex with another man?”
EMOTIONS & FEELINGS
We can not ask about feelings and emotions, as these also fall into the “Thoughts” category. For example, we can NOT ask “Are you in love with John?” but we CAN ask “Did you ever tell John that you loved him?”
PLEASURE & PAIN
We can not ask about whether someone is experiencing (or has experienced) pleasure or pain. These are individual perceptions and can not be sufficiently quantified for a polygraph question. For example, we can NOT ask “Did John cause you pain?” but we CAN ask “Did John hit you in the face with his fist?”
ALIEN ENCOUNTERS
Many individuals attribute “lost time” and similar experiences to interaction with aliens. In many cases, this is simply a conclusion that the Examinee has arrived at based on the information available, but not the result of direct (waking) observation. However, we CAN test on actual observations of “alien” encounters (such as UFO sightings) if the questions are worded properly. For example, we can NOT ask “Did you see a UFO over Chicago last week?” but we CAN ask “Last week, did you observe a cigar-shaped object hovering over Chicago for 15 minutes?”
RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES, INTERPRETATIONS, AND BELIEFS
For the same reason we can not ask about Thoughts and Visions, we can not ask about Religious Experiences or Interpretations. These are personal experiences that can not be independently verified by any means. We can NOT ask someone “Do you believe there is a god?” or “Did god tell you to kill your children?”
FUTURE INTENTIONS
As with Thoughts, we can not ask about what someone is merely contemplating in the future. For example, we can NOT ask “Do you plan to ever leave your wife?” but we CAN ask “Have you taken any steps toward leaving your wife?” (such as meeting with attorneys, looking for apartments, moving money into hidden accounts, etc.)
MEDICAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSES
Unless the person being tested is a medical professional, we can not ask about medical diagnoses. A person may believe they have a particular ailment, injury or condition, but we can not test someone on a belief. For example, we can NOT ask “Did you ever have an STD?” but we CAN ask “Have you ever been medically diagnosed with an STD?” Similarly, we can NOT ask “Has a tracking chip been implanted in your body?” but we CAN ask “Has a medical professional ever told you that there is a tracking chip (or unknown object) in your body?”