When a polygraph test is judged inconclusive, this is no reflection on the examinee. Rather, such a judgment means that the test has failed to show whether the examinee was truthful or untruthful. Nevertheless, employers will sometimes refuse to hire a job applicant because of an inconclusive polygraph test result.
Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn from the information above?
26. When a polygraph test is judged inconclusive, this is no reflection on the examinee. Rather, such a judgment means that the test has failed to show whether the examinee was truthful or untruthful. Nevertheless, employers will sometimes refuse to hire a job applicant because of an inconclusive polygraph test result. Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn from the information above? (A) Most examinees with inconclusive polygraph test results are in fact untruthful. (B) Polygraph tests should not be used by employers in the consideration of job applicants. (C) An inconclusive polygraph test result is sometimes unfairly held against the examinee. (D) A polygraph test indicating that an examinee is untruthful can sometimes be mistaken. (E) Some employers have refused to consider the results of polygraph tests when evaluating job applicants. Argument Construction Situation Employers sometimes refuse to hire job applicants because of inconclusive polygraph tests, even though inconclusive tests reveal only the failure of the test itself to determine the truthfulness or untruthfulness of the person tested. Reasoning What conclusion can be drawn from this information? Inconclusive polygraph results do not reveal anything about the person tested; they reveal only the failure of the polygraph test. Nevertheless, employers may choose not to hire an applicant whose polygraph test has had an inconclusive result. It is reasonable to conclude that these employers unfairly treat the lack of fi rm polygraph results as counting against the candidate—not against the polygraph test. A Th is statement makes a judgment that is explicitly contradicted in the passage, which states that an inconclusive polygraph result is no refl ection on the examinee. B Th is sweeping conclusion is not as well supported by the passage as is (C). Th e passage discusses only inconclusive polygraph results. C Correct. Given the information in the passage, one can infer that inconclusive polygraph tests are sometimes used unfairly against job applicants—if one makes the reasonable assumption that judging a job applicant unsuitable is unfair if the judgment is based merely on the failure of a particular technique to provide reliable evidence. D Th e passage is concerned only with inconclusive tests, not cases when the polygraph test is mistaken. E Information about employers who do not consider polygraph tests is irrelevant to the discussion.
(C) An inconclusive polygraph test result is sometimes unfairly held against the examinee. (D) A polygraph test indicating that an examinee is untruthful can sometimes be mistaken.