The intelligence community uses it for employment in both counterintelligence and full-scope (read: life style) polygraphs. It also uses it for credibility assessments of HUMINT and counterintelligence sources.
There are two keys: the polygrapher and the moral constitution of the one being polygraphed. It can be defeated and manipulated. I've had many. Some good, some exceptionally poor.
But it isn't junk science. It's an imperfect science that has remarkable results if done correctly. Its imperfection is why it cannot be used in courts.
Great summary. And I will say that if I had a recovered memory and was contemplating putting myself in great jeopardy by going public with a story based on it, the first thing I would do is take a polygraph from a good polygrapher to get an objective assessment. Of course there’s a huge difference between lying when you know your are being untruthful and accurately portraying an event the way you truly believe it to be. Everyone has been in a position of truly believing something that turns out to be factually incorrrect. We’re only human.
Thank you, i knew that. Polygraph for detecting the truthfulness of an individual is unreliable.