A polygraph does not detect lies directly; it measures physiological responses such as heart rate, breathing, and skin conductivity that tend to rise under stress, on the assumption that lying causes more stress than truth telling. The assumption does not hold for everyone. A person telling the truth but terrified of not being believed can show the same physiological spike as someone actually lying, and a practiced liar who feels little anxiety about deception can pass cleanly. Courts in most jurisdictions do not admit polygraph results as evidence for exactly this reason: the test measures something correlated with lying, not lying itself.
It can be inferred from the passage that a truthful person who fears not being believed might
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Correct answer to question 114 (Paragraph Comprehension): register a physiological response similar to someone lying
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The passage states a truthful person terrified of not being believed can show the same physiological spike as someone lying, supporting the third choice without claiming automatic failure or exemption.
Updated: November 2026
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