Could You Beat a Polygraph? 1 in 12 People Say Yes

Think you could beat a lie detector? If you answer yes, you might just be overly confident—and maybe a man under 30.

1 in 12 people think they could.

A poll by YouGov found 8% of Americans are confident they could trick a polygraph into thinking they were telling the truth.

Men under 30 are the most confident they could beat a polygraph.

Men and people between 18 and 29 were the most likely to say they’re a good enough liar to outsmart those tests –– 11% of guys compared to just 6% of women, and 13% of people under 30 think they could do it too.

But here’s the twist: a lot of people don’t trust lie detectors in the first place.

Around 1 in 8 think polygraphs consistently identify truthful people as liars, and 3 in 4 think that kind of mistake happens at least occassionally. And it goes both ways. Roughly the same numnber think polygraphs let liars off the hook.

So, are we lying to ourselves about how good we are at lying? Or, were the people surveyed just lying about lying?

Honestly… that feels pretty on brand.