John Grogan is no stranger to the small screen, as he was recently hired to appear on Real Housewives of Orange County to administer a lie detector test.
Who is John Grogan?
According to his Instagram bio, John has been conducting “Los Angeles polygraph tests since 1980s.”
“$145. 818 883-6969 1000+ TV/media appearances. 13,000+ persons tested. TV’s ‘Lie Detector Guy’.”
John shared a link for his business, CertifiedPolygraph.com, which has been seen on multiple Real Housewives franchises and on Dr. Phil.
He claims credentials such as a training certificate from the American College of Forensic Studies (ACFS) and graduation from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS).
Let’s dig a little deeper …
Credibility concerns have been voiced regarding John Grogan’s work.
First, the ACFS certificate was “honorary.” They are not intended to qualify someone as a polygraph examiner. In fact, ACFS is not an accredited polygraph school. AAFS is not a training institution at all.
According to the Global Polygraph Network, John was “denied membership” to the Global Polygraph Network in 2005 due to a lack of legitimate training documentation. Additionally, they flagged him as a known fraudulent examiner. The Global Polygraph Network explicitly lists him as someone to avoid.
Let’s pretend all of John Grogan’s credentials checked out …
Even if Grogan were a certified examiner, it’s important to note that polygraphs (aka: lie detectors) themselves are widely considered pseudoscientific. While Polygraphs measure physiological responses like blood pressure, respiration, and skin conductance, these do not reliably equate to deception.
Major institutions, including the National Research Council and American Psychological Association, conclude that polygraphs are inaccurate and potentially misleading.
