Attempts to defeat the polygraph examination by influencing tonic physiological activity, or altering phasic lability. Typical approaches include the use of drugs, meditation, biofeedback, and fatigue. The goal of state countermeasures is to diminish the body’s responses to all polygraph questions. State countermeasures may affect testing techniques that rely on the presence or absence of responses to diagnose deception, such as the Concealed Information Test or Peak of Tension tests. Because comparison question tests use differential responsivity to different types of questions, state countermeasures are more likely to result in inconclusive findings than errors. See: Honts & Amato (2002).
