Female Deception Detection As A Function Of Commitment And Self-Awareness
Abstract
It was been hypothesized that evolutionary factors including self-awareness and commitment are related to deception detection. In this study, 34 female undergraduates were tested for their ability to detect deception via a video paradigm. Females that were not in a committed relationship were significantly better at detecting males ‘‘faking good’’ as compared to committed females. Further, self-awareness was correlated with the ability to detect deception. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that deception may be related to self-awareness and that such a relationship is related to reproductive advantages secured by the ability to deceive.
1. Introduction
The ability to deceive is a valuable strategy, and humans can be considered expert deceivers (DePaulo et al., 2003). Fiedler and Walka (1993) concluded that most people have become so experienced at deception that they have mastered the skill. Even when people are not confident in their lies, they still manage to deceive others (Vrij, Edward, & Bull, 2001).