Completed CSBD Projects

Study to Review the Scientific Evidence on the Polygraph

Connection to project scope, roster, and meetings (CPS system)

The Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences and the Committee on National Statistics, under the National Research Council's Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, have convened a panel to conduct a scientific review of the research on polygraph examinations that pertain to their validity and reliability, in particular for personnel security screening. The review will include what is known about the effect of medications, sleep deprivation, and illnesses on the physiological responses measured. The panel's work began in January 2001. The panel will issue a final report approximately eighteen (18) months from that date. The report will present the panel's assessments of and recommendations for polygraph examinations for personnel security purposes and the panel's suggestions for further research. The sponsor for this panel is the U.S. Department of Energy.