EXAMINATIONS OF THE DECEPTION ATTRIBUTION PROCESS OF FRIENDS AND INTIMATES
Abstract
This dissertation reports two studies which explored the deception attribution process of friends and intimates. Study one investigated observer accuracy in judging factual and emotional deceptions from friends and intimates. Study two sought to identify the nonverbal, nonvocal cues that subjects in study one used to distinguish truth from deception. In study one intimates were generally more accurate than were friends at detecting both factual and emotional deceptions. Women were not significantly more accurate than were men at detecting deception. A significant sex relationship interaction was observed. Female spouses were significantly more accurate at judging the truthfulness of their intimate partners than were male spouses. Judgmental accuracy was not influenced significantly by the type of deception (i.e., factual or emotional) observers evaluated. The observed relationships in judgmental accuracy could not be explained in terms of subjects' self-monitoring abilities, nor was judgmental accuracy significantly correlated with intimates' reports of marital quality. When given an opportunity to re-evaluate their intimate other's truthfulness from videotapes made of their interviews, both male and female subjects were significantly more accurate judging the truthfulness of emotional messages than they were in judging the truthfulness of factual messages. Regression analyses performed in study two produced two significant models. Truthfulness ratings concerning both factual and emotional information were significantly related to communicator gestural behavior. For both factual and emotional messages a decrease in gestural behavior (duration) was associated observers' evaluations of deception. Gestural duration accounted for 6% of the variance in observers' factual evaluations and 7% of the variance in observers' emotional evaluations. Frequency and duration of eye gaze, duration of adaptors, frequency of head nods, duration of leg movements, duration of smiles, and changes in posture were not significant predictors of observers' truthfulness evaluations. Discussion of the dissertation studies focused on the contextual elements that may influence both the performance and perception of deception.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Social psychology
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