CPE Question Formulation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a polygraph examination, a 'sacrifice relevant' question is used primarily to:
- Establish the examinee's baseline response pattern
- Reduce the impact of an orienting response to the first relevant question (Correct answer)
- Identify concealed information about secondary issues
- Replace a comparison question that failed to elicit response
Correct answer: Reduce the impact of an orienting response to the first relevant question
A sacrifice relevant question absorbs the heightened orienting response that typically occurs at the start of a series, so that subsequent relevant questions yield cleaner data.
Question 2: Which characteristic is MOST important when constructing a comparison question for a Directed Lie Test (DLT)?
- The question must reference an act the examinee is known to have committed
- The examinee must be instructed to lie when answering it (Correct answer)
- The comparison act must be more serious than the relevant issue
- The question must be open-ended to maximize arousal
Correct answer: The examinee must be instructed to lie when answering it
In a DLT, the examiner instructs the subject to deliberately lie on the comparison question, providing a known-lie physiological standard for comparison.
Question 3: A relevant question that asks 'Did you steal any money from your employer at any time during the past ten years?' is problematic because it:
- Is too short to elicit a measurable physiological response
- Covers an excessively broad time frame that may introduce extraneous concerns (Correct answer)
- Uses the word 'steal,' which is legally ambiguous
- Should reference a specific dollar amount to be admissible
Correct answer: Covers an excessively broad time frame that may introduce extraneous concerns
Overly broad time references can trigger anxiety in innocent examinees who worry about forgotten minor infractions, reducing diagnostic accuracy.
Question 4: During question review, the examinee denies involvement in the relevant issue. How should the examiner handle this information?
- Skip the review phase and proceed directly to chart collection
- Note the denial and proceed without modifying questions, preserving blind scoring
- Adjust the relevant questions to reflect the denial and strengthen their specificity (Correct answer)
- Replace relevant questions with symptomatic questions to probe the denial
Correct answer: Adjust the relevant questions to reflect the denial and strengthen their specificity
Refining question wording based on the examinee's pre-test statements increases question clarity and ensures the subject fully understands what is being asked.
Question 5: The term 'outside issue' in polygraph question formulation refers to:
- A relevant question added by a third-party requestor
- A concern unrelated to the examination issue that may contaminate physiological responses (Correct answer)
- A comparison question drawn from the examinee's personal history
- Any question administered without the examinee's prior knowledge
Correct answer: A concern unrelated to the examination issue that may contaminate physiological responses
Outside issues are personal concerns (health worries, relationship stress) that can produce physiological reactivity unrelated to the examination target, distorting results.
Question 6: Which of the following BEST describes the 'you' principle in relevant question construction?
- Every question must begin with the word 'you' for grammatical consistency
- Questions should be phrased in second-person to ensure the subject understands personal accountability
- Using 'you' ensures the question is behaviorally specific to the examinee rather than general (Correct answer)
- The principle requires the examiner to maintain eye contact when asking relevant questions
Correct answer: Using 'you' ensures the question is behaviorally specific to the examinee rather than general
Phrasing relevant questions in second person ('Did you…') anchors accountability to the individual examinee, preventing deflection and improving diagnostic clarity.
Question 7: A symptomatic question such as 'Do you believe I will ask you a question on this test that we have not reviewed?' is designed to:
- Detect deception about secondary criminal acts
- Identify examinees who are concealing relevant information or fear surprise questions (Correct answer)
- Serve as the first relevant question in the series
- Establish a truthful baseline for scoring
Correct answer: Identify examinees who are concealing relevant information or fear surprise questions
Symptomatic questions probe for undisclosed concerns or fear of test manipulation that could contaminate physiological responses on the primary relevant questions.
CPE Question Formulation 2
In a polygraph examination, a 'sacrifice relevant' question is used primarily to: