Subjective Cues to Deception/Honesty in a High Stakes Situation: An Exploratory Approach

The low ecological validity of much of the research on deception detection is a limitation recognized by researchers in the field. Consequently, the present studies investigated subjective cues to deception using the real life, high stakes situation of people making public appeals for help with miss...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of psychology 2015-07, Vol.149 (5), p.517-534
Main Authors: Wright Whelan, Clea, Wagstaff, Graham F., Wheatcroft, Jacqueline M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Affect
Aged
Cues
Deceit
Deception
Emotions
high stakes lies
Honesty
Humans
lie detection
Lie Detection - psychology
Lying
Middle Aged
Psychology
Research methods
Social Perception
Social psychology
Social relations
Subjectivity
Young Adult
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Summary:The low ecological validity of much of the research on deception detection is a limitation recognized by researchers in the field. Consequently, the present studies investigated subjective cues to deception using the real life, high stakes situation of people making public appeals for help with missing or murdered relatives. It was expected that cues related to affect would be particularly salient in this context. Study 1 was a qualitative investigation identifying cues to deception reportedly used by people accurate at detecting deception. Studies 2 and 3 were then empirical investigations that mainly employed the cues reported in Study 1. A number of subjective cues were found to discriminate between honest and deceptive appeals, including some previously unidentified cues, and cues likely to be context-specific. Most could be categorized under the themes of authenticity of emotion, and negative and positive affective reactions to the appealer. It is concluded that some cues to deception may emerge only in real life, high stakes situations; however, it is argued that some of these may be influenced by observers' perceptions of the characteristics of offenders, rather than acts of deception per se.
ISSN:0022-3980
1940-1019
DOI:10.1080/00223980.2014.911140