Interpersonal Deception Theory (David Buller and Judee Burgoon)

1. Interpersonal Deception Theory (David Buller and Judee Burgoon) COM 452 University of Kentucky Summer, 2010

2. In a nutshell… • Communication senders manipulate messages so as to be untruthful, which might cause them apprehension concerning their false communication being detected. • Simultaneously, receivers try to unveil or detect the validity of that information, causing suspicion about whether or not the sender is being deceitful.

3. Strategies of Deception • Falsification – creating a fiction • Concealment – hiding the truth • Equivocation – dodging the issue

4. Aspects of Deceptive Messages • Central deceptive message (usually verbal) • Ancillary message (includes verbal and nonverbal aspects) that usually reveal truthfulness • Inadvertent behaviors (mostly nonverbal) that point out the sender’s deceit through “leakage”

5. IDT as a Theory of Thoughtful Interaction • Interpersonal communication is interactive, so we need to study both sides of that interaction, including each party’s adjustments • 18 axioms • Strategic deception as thoughtful; cognitive overload can cause leakage

6. Manipulating Information • Deceiver must • Accomplish goal • Establish/maintain relationship with respondent • Save face/sustain image • Message characteristics of strategic intent • Uncertainty and vagueness • Nonimmediacy, reticence, and withdrawal • Disassociation • Image-and relationship-protecting

7. Leakage • Unconscious behaviors can signal dishonesty • Zuckerman’s four-factor model explains leakage occurs • Intense effort yields performances that are too slick • Lying causes psychological arousal • Guilt and anxiety emerge • Cognitive behaviors tax the brain, leading to unintentional nonverbal responses

8. What about the respondent? • Truth bias • Suspicion is a mid-range mindset, between truth and falsity • Verbal and nonverbal tactics make listeners wary • Use indirect means to get more information when we doubt speakers

9. Deceiver adjustment • Deceivers notice suspicion better than receivers notice deception (usually) • Deceivers usually model the mood and manner of their targets • “Othello error” – occurs when truth-tellers accused of deception respond in a manner that appears devious

10. Critique: Does it have to be so complicated? • Multiple explanations for what happens during deceptive communication • Other theories are more concise • Lacking in explanatory power? • Strength comes from its practical advice • No mention of the morality of deception