Individual differences in persistence in lying and experiences while deceiving

The present study examines individual differences in persistence in lying, feeling uncomfortable when lying, and finding lying a difficult task. We hypothesized that being manipulative, being teen on making a good impression on others, being good at con trolling verbal and nonverbal communication, and having an active social life would be positively related to persistence in lying, and negatively related to feeling uncomfortable when lying and finding it difficult to lie. We also hypothesized that being reserved in social contacts would be negatively related to persistence in lying and positively related to feeling uncomfortable when lying and finding it difficult to lie. A total of 38 college students were thoroughly interviewed by a police detective about the course they study. They were all asked to pretend that they were studying psychology. The number of questions they answered before admitting to not studying psychology was taken as a measurement of persistence in lying. Feeling uncomfortable when lying and finding it difficult to lie were measured by means of a questionnaire. The findings support most of the hypotheses. Only the expected relationship between having an active social life or being reserved in social contacts and the dependent variables received little support.