1. Interpersonal Deception Theory
of David Buller and Judee Burgoon
chapter 7, Em Griffin (4th ed.)

2. Verbal Deceit Three strategies to not telling the truth:
1. Falsification (a lie, creates a fiction)
2. Concealment (part truth, hides a secret)
3. Equivocation (vague, dodges the issue)

3. Getting Away with Deceit
Could you tell if someone is lying to you?
Research suggests we are not too good at detecting deception;
Deception research shows that the nonverbal cues people look to for detection (looking in the eye, hurried speech, and nervous laughter) are not reliable indicators of deception;
A chuckling, fast -talking person who avoids eye contact is just as likely to be telling the truth as someone who displays the socially accepted signs of sincerity;

4. Research Approach
Buller & Burgoon reject the standard experimental approach that has Ss listening or viewing actors act out scripted messages to detect deception;
They think that the fuller context of interpsersonal communication is crucial to the communication event;
Interpersonal Deception Theory is the result of this thinking that context is crucial;

5. Key Propositions in the Interpersonal Deception Theory
What deceivers and respondents think and do varies according to the amount of interactive give-and-take that’s possible in the situation;
What deceivers and respondents think and do varies according to how well they know and like each other;
Deceivers make more strategic moves and leak more nonverbal cues than truth tellers;
With increased interaction, deceivers make more strategic moves and display less leakage;
Deceivers and respondents’ expectation for honesty (truth bias) is positively linked with interactivity and relational warmth; [for more, see pp ]

6. Two Core Ideas 1. Interpersonal Communication is Interactive;
People are constantly adjusting their behavior toward one another in response to feedback;
Interaction rather than individual behavior is at the core of the theory;

7. Two Core Ideas 2. Strategic Deception Demands Mental Effort;
A successful deceiver must manipulate a lot of information;
At some point, the strategic requirements of deception could produce cognitive overload;
Leakage refers to the unconscious nonverbal cues that signal an internal state;
Griffin suggests that we think of a deceptive interaction we have taken part in, either as deceiver or respondent, and compare it to the propositions in Figure 7.1 (pp );

8. Strategic Information Management
Every deceptive act has at least 3 aims:
1. To accomplish a specific task or goal;
2. To establish or maintain a relationship with the respondent;
3. To “save face” or sustain the image of one or both parties;

9. Four Message Characteristics that Reflect Strategic Intent
1. Uncertainty and Vagueness
2. Nonimmediacy, reticence, and withdrawal;
3. Disassociation;
4. Image-and relationship -protecting behavior;

10. Message Characteristic of Strategic Intent
Uncertainty and Vagueness:
Short (lack of detail) and noncommittal answers (“I worked late”; speak in passive and indefinite ways (“It was impossible to get things done before then”];

11. Nonimmediacy, reticence, and withdrawal
The desire to be out of the situation--shows up in nonverbal actions to turn away, sit apart, lean back; silence before answering, frequent pauses; nonimmediacy (symbolically removing yourself from the situation) in words as well, e.g., changing tense from present to past;

12. Disassociation A way of distancing yourself from what you’ve done;
shifting responsibility to others; removing individual choice; shared responsibility; downplay the intensity of unwelcome news (“sometimes”); generally, sever the personal connection between the actor and the act of deception;

13. Image- and relationship-protecting behavior
To mask the cues that leak out despite their best efforts, deceivers try to appear extra sincere;
Deceivers in dialogue tend to nod in agreement when the respondent speaks, avoid interrupting, and smile frequently;

14. Multiple Factors & Deceiver’s Strategic Plan (p. 96)
Plan-based activity increases when :
the situation is highly interactive (prop. 4);
parties know each other well (prop. 8);
the deceiver particularly fears discovery (prop. 6);
the deceiver’s motivation is selfish (prop. 7);
the deceiver has good communication skills (prop. 9);

15. LEAKAGE Why leakage occurs:
intense attempt to control information can produce too slick a performance;
lying causes physiological arousal;
the predominant felt emotions that accompany lying are guilt and anxiety--they are hard to cover;
cognitive overload in attending to so much and some behaviors leak out;

16. Telltale Signs of Leakage (based on 35 leakage studies)
Unintentional nonverbals that usually accompany deception:
Fidgety hand movements;
Increased blinking and enlarged pupils;
Frequent speech errors (grammatical mistakes, repetitions, slips of the tongue];
Increased speech hesitations (awkward pauses, “ahs, ers, ums”);
higher voice pitch;
Increased discrepancies between verbal and nonverbal channels;

17. Respondent’s Dilemma
Truth bias: our expectation that people will tell the truth;
As in CMM theory (which is interpretive), Deception Theory (which is empirical) comes to the conclusion that persons-in conversation co-construct their own social realities. The construction project continues as the deceiver reacts to the respondent’s suspicions.

18. Putting Doubts to Rest: Deceiver Adjustment to Respondent Suspicion
Deceivers are usually more successful at sensing suspicion than respondents are at spotting deception;
As soon as deceivers see signs of doubt, they change their behavior in a way intended to alleviate their partner’s distrust;
They usually reciprocate the mood and manner of the respondent;

19. Putting Doubts to Rest
Reciprocation: A process of adjusting communication behavior to mesh with the other;
If the respondent shows high involvement, so does the deceiver;
If the respondent shows a nonchalant style, so does the deceiver;
Truth tellers react the same way to accusation, often resulting in more suspicion (p. 99);

20. A Final Note (from Griffin’s critique)
When talking with others, I should doubt my ability to detect deception;
Most of us think we are great lie detectors;
This theory , Interpersonal Deception Theory, suggests we are not great lie detectors;