“Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies”;: Situational exigencies for interpersonal deception

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Abstract
Seventy‐five subjects recorded all instances of interpersonal deception over a three week period. The 940 acts of deception were coded according to type and frequency, motivation, and characteristics of recipients. Seven types emerged with lies accounting for 81% of all deceptive acts recorded. The frequency of deception was 4.2 acts of deception per subject per week, substantially less than in previous studies. The sixteen motivation categories revealed important differences from patterns identified in earlier studies. A cross tabulation of motivation categories and recipient categories revealed statistically significant patterns. The study also identified five situational exigencies affecting how deception is used as a problem‐solving strategy.

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