Uncovering beliefs about deceptive communication

This study consists of four phases of a research program exploring beliefs that have some bearing on the choices people make when considering deception. The authors argue that understanding why people engage in deception is partially dependent on their deception-related beliefs. The initial stage of this research was inductively driven in order to identify themes of deception that could be verified in subsequent phases of this program. The validation of these factors of deception was attempted through multiple waves of self-report surveys. The five influences tested in phases three and four were acceptance of deception, ethics, motives, intentionality, and upbringing. A series of factor analyses revealed that factors labeled “intentionality,” “deception is wrong,” “acceptance of deception,” and “upbringing” emerged as constructs of deceptive communication. The knowledge gained from this study suggests implications for initiating further work that could shed light on beliefs that most significantly underlying deceptive communication.