Why do people still believe in polygraphs?

If someone is willing to take the test and is not particularly sophisticated with regard to how polygraphs work, their willingness indicates a certain sense of confidence that they can tell the truth and not be contradicted by analysis of the machine's results. It doesn't prove anything other than the subject's confidence.

Your narrative is so obsessed with her being a helpless victim that you seem to overlook that she is has a Doctorate in Psychology.

But your insistence in arguing that Dr. Ford is "not particularly sophisticated..." is ridiculous.

But what gave you the idea that Professor Blasey Ford, who teaches psychology at a reputable university , would be "not particularly sophisticated with regard to how polygraphs work"?

His scientifically justified distrust, that is.

Oh, you really think they're not suggesting anything by it?

The European papers I read, many of whom were fiercely critical of Kavanaugh, completely ignored it.

Well, as I said, it had nothing to do with my opposition to Kavanaugh.

You have mentioned Kavanaugh in every post you have made to this thread.

The first post you made to this thread didn't even mention anything about polygraphs. I don't have a problem with that... but I do find it funny.

But it can still be useful in a trial because the results can influence a jury, whether or not the results are backed up by hard science.

Quote:

The European papers I read, many of whom were fiercely critical of Kavanaugh, completely ignored it.

Well, as I said, it had nothing to do with my opposition to Kavanaugh.

Quote:

I was neither pro-Kavanaugh or anti-Kavanaugh.

That seems pretty wishy washy. Even without the Blasey-Ford allegations the pro-business, anti-environment judge seemed pretty far to the right. Any moderate could find his views objectionable and oppose his nomination. What kind of justices do you want on the Supreme Court?

Quote:

His scientifically justified distrust, that is.

But we don't know that.

He might find polygraph results useful in some cases but, given his anger, resentment, and emotional stress, he might have feared a bad result which could look awfully bad in the popular mind.

But it can still be useful in a trial because the results can influence a jury, whether or not the results are backed up by hard science.

Someone like Kavanaugh, who may be more knowledgeable about polygraphs, may simply believe that the test represents a risk not worth taking. It doesn't prove anything other than his distrust of polygraph results.

In his opinion, Kavanaugh concluded that polygraphs are a valuable tool for the government to determine credibility and decide who should be allowed to handle classified information.

Quote:

As the Government notes, law enforcement agencies use polygraphs to test the credibility of witnesses and criminal defendants. Those agencies also use polygraphs to “screen applicants for security clearances so that they may be deemed suitable for work in critical law enforcement, defense, and intelligence collection roles.”

The Government has satisfactorily explained how polygraph examinations serve law enforcement purposes

.

Blasey’s polygraph results do not prove that she is telling the truth about Kavanaugh. But her decision to subject herself to the invasive, anxiety-inducing procedure does show her effort to exhaust all available means of proving that she’s telling the truth.

His scientifically justified distrust, that is.

In Kavanaugh’s opinion for the court, he noted that “the reports about polygraph use were compiled for law enforcement purposes,” because law enforcement agencies use them for functions such as “test[ing] the credibility of witnesses and criminal defendants” and “screen[ing] applicants for security clearances,” and therefore “the reports help ensure that law enforcement officers optimally use an important law enforcement tool.”

Quote:

His scientifically justified distrust, that is.

But we don't know that. He might find polygraph results useful in some cases but, given his anger, resentment, and emotional stress, he might have feared a bad result which could look awfully bad in the popular mind.

Just what are you hoping to contribute to the polygraph discussion by attempting to read Kavanaugh's mind?

But since the topic of this thread is polygraphs, not Kavanaugh, I have to ask: what were you hoping to discuss here?

I feel that justified skepticism in the reliability of the polygraph as a "lie detector" is tending to obfuscate the actual usefulness of the device in real world conditions

Polygraphs are scientifically invalid according to research.

If the goal is to tell whether someone is being deceptive or not, the polygraph is useless.