I encourage a polygraph test given to an unfaithful spouse for several reasons. First, it offers the person an opportunity to come clean before the test, which often happens, giving the couple an opportunity to recover the right way. It also gives the betrayed spouse an opportunity to ask specific questions that have not been answered to their satisfaction. But another very important reason is that to refuse the test gives the betrayed spouse plenty of reason to suspect that an affair might actually be going on in the present.

At first, I was somewhat reluctant to recommend it in the case of suspected or proven infidelity. But with so many people doing it now with very positive results, I am completely convinced that it's a very good idea.

Granted, polygraph tests are not necessarily reliable. Lies can go undetected, and the truth can look like a lie. They can't be used in a court of law because of those problems. And yet, if it is used as part of an overall approach to gaining the truth with other evidence to support or refute the results, it can be a valuable tool. Law enforcement uses it regularly as did your employer because of the advantages I mentioned.

Dr. Harley