A Psychometric Investigation into the Structure of Deception Strategy Use

This paper uses a data-driven approach to identify the psychological factors that underlie the array of strategies that people use to hide their deceit. Two hundred and nine participants told two lies and two truths and then completed a self-report scale that elicited their experiences when deceiving. A factor analysis of responses produced four factors, three of which were strategic in nature: Nonverbal behaviour control, which relates to attempts to monitor and control nonverbal behaviour when lying; Detail, which relates to attempts to produce detailed, engaging lies; Cognitive difficulty, which relates to the cognitive difficulties experienced when lying and their strategic consequences; and Anxiety, which relates to the negative emotions experienced when deceiving. The results further our understanding of the psychological processes that underpin deception and suggest several potentially fruitful avenues for future research.