Exam Readings for Comm330 Test 2 Pages 327 332 Deception distrust Type of hurtful message Major relational transgression that often leads to feelings of betrayal and o Ex Ava keeping one night stand a secret double betrayal Violates both relational and conversational rules and is often considered to be a negative violation of expectancies McCornack Expecting people to be truthful is a basic feature of conversation If people didn t expect that most conversations are truthful talking to others would simply be too difficult and unproductive Highly likely that you or someone you know will engage in some form of deception everyday Some degree of lying exaggeration or intentional concealment of information characterized the other two thirds of conversations Types of Deception or omit the truth Deception includes all communications or omissions that serve to distort Buller and Burgoon Deception is intentionally managing verbal or nonverbal messages so that a receiver will believe or understand something in a way that the send knows is false Deception has occurred when people intentionally mislead others or conceal or misrepresent the truth 5 primary types of deception o 1 Lies aka falsifications or fabrications Making up or giving information that is opposite of the truth aka evasion Making an indirect ambiguous or contradictory statement aka omission Omitting information one knows is important or relevant to a given context o 2 Equivocations o 3 Concealments o 4 Exaggerations aka overstatement Stretching the truth a little often to make oneself look better or to spice up a story Opposite of understatements o 5 Understatements aka minimization Downplaying aspects of the truth Opposite of exaggerations Motives for Deception Three major motivations for deception in close relationships o 1 Relational partners have partner focused motives Using deception to avoid hurting partner maintain self esteem avoid worrying partner protect partners relationship with 3rd party Seen as socially polite and relationally beneficial Altruistic Benefit someone else rather than the receiver More likely in close relationships with high levels of interdependence o 2 Deceive due to self focused motives Wanting to enhance or protect self image or shield themselves of embarrassment etc Much more significant transgression than partner focused because deceiver is acting for selfish reasons Different across cultures More guilt and shame when for selfish reasons o 3 Relationship focused motives for deceiving partner Wants to limit relational harm by avoiding conflict relational trauma or any unpleasant experience o Sometimes all conflict key is whether their primary motive is to protect themselves the other person or the relationship o Deception considered most acceptable and least guilt provoking when motivated out of concern for others opposite when use it to affiliate with someone benefit someone else protect their privacy or avoid conflict Box 13 2 People from collectivist cultures generally view deception as more acceptable than do people from individualistic cultures like the U S Deception Detection Day to day conversations about minor issues deception occurs without one partner suspecting anything Detection difficult because there are no completely reliable indicators of deception Speech hesitations and body shifts could just be anxiety Most reliable method to detect deception is to compare their current behavior with their normal behavior o Not a foolproof method of detecting deception Research suggests people prefer to engage in deception in face to face rather than computer medicated because they can monitor reactions better Ability to detect deception does not increase as you get closer in relationships People in close relationships experience both advantages and disadvantages when it comes to detecting deception Advantages of Relational Closeness o Behavioral Familiarity Advantage Knowledge of partners normal communication style o Informational Familiarity Relational partner advantage you know certain information about relational partner so your partner can t lie to you about information Disadvantages of Relational Closeness o 1 People have a truth bias People expect others to be honest so they enter conversations without suspicion and do not look for deception o Especially strong within close relationships and people we like o Socially attractive people are seen as less deceptive o Truth bias makes people overly confident in the truthfulness of each other s statements miss deception that occurs o Relationship interdependence associated with a strong truth bias and lower accuracy in detecting deception o 2 Behavioral Control People try to control their nervous or guilty behaviors to appear friendly or truthful o Regardless of who we interact with we always want to come off as honest o May be a particularly true for close relational partners o When people deceive friends and family less anxious and more friendly then when deceiving strangers o Try harder to look truthful when deceiving relational o Romantic partners may not have to try as hard to hide partners guilty feelings Effects of Deception on Relationships o Deception can help people develop and maintain relationships but also lead to conflict appropriate o Partner focused deception is often regarded as acceptable and o Two ways deception is associated with the development and maintenance of relationships o 1 Deception may help couples avoid arguments promoting relational harmony o 2 Deception allows people to downplay their faults and accentuate their virtues which may help them develop and maintain relationships o People use deception to emphasize their positive qualities and minimize their negative qualities o People are most likely to lie when initiating dates with potential partners who are very physically attractive o People who use deception frequently in their relationships report lower levels of commitment intimacy and closeness o Deception is a leading cause of conflict and relationship breakup o Some deception is harmful to a persons relationships and health Chapter 2 besides pages 25 38 Communicating Identity to Others o 3 ways people use communication to present themselves in a positive light o 1 Self presentation image of self o 2 Goffman s dramaturgical approach o 3 Brown and Levinson s politeness theory Corrective Facework General Issues in Self Presentation Is Self Presentation Hypocritical Manipulative or Deceptive o Self