Lie detector or polygraph tests cost between £500 and £750 pounds in the UK and around $400 in the U.S where the technology is more prevalent.
This price includes the test, the tester and technology’s travel to the place you want the test done, the type of test and the duration and analysis of test.
Polygraph tests are used to determine whether a person is telling the truth.
They measure this through a number of factors that take into account a person’s body movements and reactions to certain questions. These physiological tests include respiratory rate, blood volume, pulse rate and galvanic skin response among others.
Users will usually be asked sample questions before hand to determine responses to the truth so as to gauge responses during the real test.
Polygraph test equipment varies in cost and older analogue equipment can now be purchased for about $1200. Newer computer based digital equipment, which is considered more accurate can cost between $6,000 and a five figure sum, depending on the machine.
There has been plenty of dubiousness over the reliability of polygraph tests, with many members of the scientific community claiming they are merely pseudoscience and are nothing more than a gimmick.
There are also some well-known counter measures to pass polygraph tests. These include breathing techniques, speeding up heart rate during control questions through thinking of scary things and the use of deodorant on hands to prevent galvanic skin responses.
Polygraph tests are used as evidence in court in very few countries for the aforementioned reason, though they may be used as for questioning during interviews or for espionage or security clearances and were especially common during the Cold War.
