What Women Know that Men don't: Sex Differences in Determining the Truth Behind Deceptive Messages

While a good deal of research has been devoted to studying individual accuracy in detecting deceptiveness, a neglected issue involves the ability of individuals to accurately discern the truth that is obscured by deceptive messages. Methodological considerations have limited the generalizability of previous research findings in this area. Drawing upon a conceptualization of deception as a relational phenomenon, three hypotheses were developed and tested in a sample of 55 premarital romantic dyads. Subjects viewed a series of 12 videotaped segments of their partner who told the truth in half the segments and lied in half the segments. Results indicated that individual accuracy in ascertaining the underlying truth obscured by deception declines as individuals become more intimate. In addition, women were found to be consistently more accurate than men independent of level of relationship development.

[1]  Z. Rubin,et al.  Sexual Intimacy in Dating Relationships , 1977 .

[2]  R. Koestner,et al.  Anchoring in the detection of deception and leakage. , 1984 .

[3]  Malcolm R. Parks,et al.  Communication networks and the development of romantic relationships: An expansion of uncertainty reduction theory. , 1983 .

[4]  B. Depaulo,et al.  Age Changes in the Detection of Deception. , 1982 .

[5]  Z. Rubin.  Measurement of romantic love. , 1970, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[6]  M. Zuckerman.  Verbal and nonverbal communication of deception , 1981 .

[7]  T. Falbo.  The effects of sex and “masculinity” on person- and space-related perception , 1975 .

[8]  M. Knapp,et al.  Telling It Like It Isn't: A Review of Theory and Research on Deceptive Communications. , 1979 .

[9]  Florence Geis,et al.  Machiavellianism and Deception , 1981 .

[10]  Malcolm R. Parks,et al.  Deception Detection and Relationship Development: The Other Side of Trust , 1986 .

[11]  Letitia Anne Peplau,et al.  Loving and leaving: Sex differences in romantic attachments , 1981 .

[12]  Gerald R. Miller,et al.  Invited Article Fudging with Friends and Lying to Lovers: Deceptive Communication in Personal Relationships , 1986 .

[13]  B. Depaulo,et al.  Telling ingratiating lies: effects of target sex and target attractiveness on verbal and nonverbal deceptive success. , 1985, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[14]  Malcolm R. Parks,et al.  Romantic Involvement and Social Network Involvement , 1983 .

[15]  S. Metts,et al.  An Exploratory Investigation of Deception in Close Relationships , 1989 .