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Motivated Interpretations of Deceptive Information.
Sigal Vainapel1, Yaniv Shani1, Shaul Shalvi2
1Coller School of Management, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 6997801, Israel.
Brain Sciences
|March 3, 2021
Summary
People seek less information to justify a friend's dishonesty compared to a stranger's. This research explores how relationship closeness influences the search for explanations of dishonest behavior.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Understanding dishonest behavior is crucial in social interactions.
- People often seek to rationalize or mitigate negative behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether individuals seek information to justify dishonest actions.
- To examine the influence of relationship closeness (friend vs. stranger) on information-seeking behavior regarding dishonesty.
Main Methods:
- Participants evaluated hypothetical scenarios involving a partner's dishonest behavior.
- The partner was described as either a friend or a stranger.
- Information-seeking tendencies and justification assessments were measured.
Main Results:
- Participants were less inclined to seek information justifying a friend's dishonesty compared to a stranger's (Experiment 1).
- When dishonesty was confirmed, participants were less likely to deem a friend's lie as justified than a stranger's (Experiment 2).
Conclusions:
- Individuals are more motivated to find mitigating information for a stranger's dishonest acts than for a friend's.
- Relationship closeness significantly impacts cognitive processes involved in understanding and justifying others' unethical conduct.
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