Ego Depletion and Deception: The Protective Role of Empathy in Self-Serving and Altruistic Forms of Deception

Abstract

Deception is the intentional action of individuals to manipulate others into holding false beliefs, and can take both altruistic and self-serving forms. Drawing on the motivational–attentional shift perspectives, the current research examined how ego depletion influences individuals’ propensity to deception and whether empathy moderates this relationship. In Experiment 1, ego depletion was manipulated through the letter “e” task, and deception was assessed using a spot-the-difference paradigm. Results indicated that individuals experiencing high ego depletion engaged in altruistic deception to a significantly lesser extent and exhibited a greater tendency toward self-serving deception than those in the low ego depletion group. Experiment 2 extended this work by inducing empathy through video priming. The findings revealed significant main effects of ego depletion and empathy on the propensity for deception. Notably, empathy moderated the relationship: under control conditions, ego depletion increased self-serving deception, whereas under empathy induction, this effect was attenuated, and altruistic motives were preserved. These results enhance the theoretical understanding of deception by differentiating its altruistic and self-serving forms. Furthermore, they underscore the practical potential of empathy-based interventions to buffer unethical behavior in depletion contexts.