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

Abstract

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.

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