PERSUASION SOCIAL INFLUENCE & COMPLIANCE GAINING Robert H. Gass & John S. Seiter

Chapter 12 Deception

DECEPTION AS A FORM OF PERSUASION Deception is a form of persuasion It is intentional, purposeful communication. It seeks to alter beliefs, attitudes, impressions about another. It involves two or more persons. witty food/Shutterstock.com

MOTIVATIONS FOR LYING Lie to benefit another Lie for affiliation Lie to protect privacy Lie to avoid conflict Lie to appear better (self promotion) Lie to protect self Lie to benefit self Lie to harm another (malicious intent) Lie for amusement (duping delight)

INFORMATION MANIPULATION THEORY Liars manipulate the quantity of information. Not telling the whole truth Liars manipulate the quality of information. Distortions, exaggerations Liars manipulate the manner in which they present information. Ambiguity, vagueness, equivocation Liars manipulate the relationship or relevance of information. Irrelevant statements, nonresponsive information mikute/Shutterstock.com

Four FACTOR MODEL Arousal: Lying increases anxiousness, nervousness. Attempted control: Liars try to control signs of arousal. Sending capacity hypothesis: Liars know the face has high sending capacity. Liars concentrate on controlling facial cue leakage. Nervous energy leaks in other ways (legs, feet) Affective factors: Lying triggers negative emotions. Guilt, fear Cognitive factors: lying requires more mental effort.

INTERPERSONAL DECEPTION THEORY strategic behaviors (intentional behaviors and plans) uncertainty and vagueness (few, sketchy details) nonimmediacy, reticence, withdrawal (psychological distance, disinterest, aloofness) dissociation (distance self from message, fewer “I” or “me” statements) image and relationship protecting behavior (smiling, nodding) nonstrategic leakage (unintentional leakage) arousal and nervousness negative affect incompetent communication performance Viktoriia_M/Shutterstock.com

PERSONALITY FACTORS Machiavellian personalities tend to be better liars High self monitors tend to be better liars People skilled at expressing feelings and emotions are better liars Trained actors can play roles convincingly—demonstrating that deception is a skill SvetaZi/Shutterstock.com

EASY LIES AND DIFFICULT LIES Prepared lies (rehearsed) are easier to tell than spontaneous lies Lengthy lies are harder to tell than shorter lies Emotional lies are harder to tell than unemotional lies Lying about transgressions is more difficult

MOTIVATIONAL IMPAIRMENT EFFECT High stakes lies are more difficult to tell High stakes liars tend to over- control their behavior Note: In real-life settings, as opposed to the laboratory, penalties for lying can be more severe divorce, prison, execution Igor Zakowski/Shutterstock.com

DETECTING DECEPTION On average, people are only about 54% accurate in detecting deception Veracity effect: People are better at spotting the truth than lies Truth bias: People tend to assume others are telling the truth Wrong subjective cue hypothesis: People tend to focus on the wrong cues when detecting deception Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock.com

DETECTING DECEPTION--continued Familiarity bias: doubled edged sword We are familiar with friends, intimates and family member’s behaviors But We may exhibit a truth bias with familiar others Expressing suspicion makes liars try even harder Probing effect: asking questions does not increase accuracy of deception detection Probing heuristic: 3rd parties tend to view probed liars as more honest fizkes/Shutterstock.com

DETECTING DECEPTION--continued Imposing cognitive load: lying requires more mental effort The more mental exertion, the more likely a liar will slip up Telling a story backwards increases cognitive load Strategic use of evidence (SEU): wait to reveal contradictory evidence Don’t play your hand too soon Context sensitive information: take situational/contextual cues into account