Lie Detectors Tell Lies : The Unreliability of Polygraphs Used in Criminal Trials and
             Polygraphs, commonly known as lie detector tests, are in question to whether or not they
             are realiable enough to use in court cases. The common test used in criminal investigations is the
             Control Question Test (CQT) . The CQT works by comparing physiological disturbances that
             occur when questions are asked which are relative to the crime in question. Vague control
             questions are asked to allow an innocent person to show more physiological disturbances to the
             vague questions than to the questions which are directly relevant to the crime at hand. If the
             person in question shows more disturbances when asked the relevant questions, it is a good
             indication of deception (Honts 309). Even though courts and criminal investigators do permit
             other unreliable evidence such as eyewitness testimonies, the polygraph is not reliable enough to
             be allowed as evidence in the delicate process and evidence in criminal investigations.
             Polygraphs can too easily be defeated by simple countermeasures to be accepted as
             reliable and allowed in criminal investigations. Charles Honts , David Raskin, and John Kircher
             from the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah state the following in their article
             "Mental and Physical Countermeasures Reduce the Accuracy of Polygraph Tests":
             Research has shown that training in simple physical maneuvers, such as biting the
             tongue or pressing the toes to the floor, can be effective in defeating polygraph
             tests by enhancing physiological reactions to control questions. Honts, Hodes, and
             Raskin reported that 60% of their decisions were incorrect when subjects had
             been trained to unobtrusively bite their tongues and press their toes to the floor
             when control questions were presented during the test. Using similar training and
             stronger incentives to pass the test, Honts, Ra...