TITLE:
The Distrusted Truth: Examination of Challenged Perceptions and Expectations
AUTHORS:
Eitan Elaad
KEYWORDS:
Telling the Truth, Deception, Trust, Hurt Feelings, Interrogation
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.6 No.5,
April
9,
2015
ABSTRACT: Three
experiments were designed to investigate various aspects of the distrusted
truth. In the first experiment, 60 undergraduate students were asked to
self-assess their abilities to tell and detect lies, tell truths and trust
others. The truth-telling ability was self-assessed higher than all four
abilities. Participants further evaluated the importance of the four abilities.
The ability to tell the truth convincingly was evaluated as very important. In
the second experiment 80 undergraduate students reported that their feelings
would be severely hurt if other people question their truthful messages. The
third experiment put these attitudes to a test when 60 undergraduate students
took part in a truth telling task in which the four judges presumed deception.
After each session participants received either a confirming feedback
indicating that they were convincing when they told the truth, a challenging
feedback indicating that they failed to convince, or no feedback. It turned out
that feedback did not affect participants’ subsequent self-assessed truth
telling ability. However, predicted success in delivering convincing truths
declined when the challenging feedback was introduced. Results were discussed
with reference to situations where the perceived ability to tell the truth
convincingly may be challenged.