Personality type and the successful liar
- WCU Author/Contributor (non-WCU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Alicia Nicole Isenberg (Creator)
- Institution
- Western Carolina University (WCU )
- Web Site: http://library.wcu.edu/
- Advisor
- L. Alvin Malesky, Jr.
Abstract: Deception is a heavily researched and highly contentious area in the field of modern
psychology. A large emphasis has been placed on deception detection, but little is
known about the individual differences of a successful liar. Machiavellianism and
psychopathy are two traits commonly associated with deceptive behavior (Vrij, 2009).
Past research has demonstrated that individuals scoring high on Machiavelliansim were
harder to judge if they were telling the truth and ultimately more successful at telling
believable lies (Geis & Moon, 1981). These traits pertain to abnormal behavior but lying
is part of everyone’s life. Therefore, it is important to examine if normal personality
traits influence successful lying. Machiavellianism is not specifically included in the
FFM but research has demonstrated significant negative correlations with the
Agreeableness and Conscientiousness domains of the FFM (Vrij, 2009). The purpose of
the present study was to investigate the relationship between personality and the ability to
tell a successful lie. The M5-120, which is based on the FFM of personality, was used to
gather information on the participants’ personality. Pearson correlations were used to
examine the relationship between personality and successful lying. Findings revealed a
significant relationship between successful lying and the Agreeableness domain. Specifically, the modesty and sympathy facets of the Agreeableness domain were
significantly correlated with successful lying. The relationship between successful lying
and the artistic interests facet of the Openness to Experience domain was also revealed to
be significant. An independent t-test revealed no significant relationship between
successful lying and gender. This study suggests that personality may play a role in the
ability to successfully lie but additional research is needed to confirm this relationship.
Personality type and the successful liar
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Created on 11/1/2011
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2011
- Keywords
- deception, liar, lies, personality
- Subjects
- Truthfulness and falsehood -- Psychological aspects
- Deception -- Psychological aspects