Risky Business or Managed Event? Perceptions of Power and Deception in the Workplace

ABSTRACT The workplace poses unique challenges for liars, especially for deception between supervisors and subordinates. To that end, the current study examined deception in the workplace between supervisors and subordinates to explore perceptions of deception and the relationship between power and deception. Participants were recruited from organizations and universities and reported their perceptions of power in their manager-subordinate relationships, perceptions of deception, and perceptions of the risk involved with a recent lie they told to a supervisor or subordinate. Results indicated that the perceived power difference between supervisors and subordinates was substantial, power impacted perceptions of deception in the workplace and how deceptive messages were crafted, and very few of the reported lies were detected. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed. INTRODUCTION Deception is a part of everyday social interaction. In fact, some scholars argue that deception is a fact of social life rather than an extraordinary or unusual event (Kashy & DePaulo, 1 998). Often deception goes undetected, but if a lie is told to an authority figure the repercussions can be serious. Some researchers argue that manipulative ability is a foundation of social power and the ability to lie successfully is an important skill linked to personal and professional success (DePaulo, LeMay, & Epstein, 1 99 1 ). The motivations and the risks for people deceiving authority figures is likely quite different from the motivations ofthe deceptive authority figures themselves. Thus, the goals ofthe current study were to investigate the link between power and deception, understand how deception occurs in the workplace, and identify the impact of deception on power-laden relationships. Deception Defined Although definitions abound in the literature, the current investigation conceptualized deception as the successful or unsuccessful deliberate attempt, without forewarning, to create in another a belief which the communicator considers to be false (Vrij, 2000). This definition emphasizes that deception is an intentional, strategic act and does not necessarily require the use of words. Although many consider deception to include only outright fabrications or blatant lies, deception can take many forms including concealment, omissions, exaggerations, half-truths, misdirection, and even playfulness such as tricking or bluffing (Buller & Burgoon, 1994). Telling literal truths that are designed to mislead should be considered deception, as well. For example, when President Clinton told the American public that he "did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky" he gave the impression that nothing sexual happened when he meant that they had not had sexual intercourse (Vrij, 2000). Unfortunately, trying to determine what strategy the speaker is using, whether it is omission, fabrication, or deception embedded with truths, requires knowledge of the speaker's intent and his or her existing knowledge. As such, we will follow the example of other scholars and will be using the terms "lying" and "deception" interchangeably through this manuscript (Masip, Garrido, & Herrero, 2004; Vrij, 2008). The reasons for deception depend greatly on the situation and the motives of the deceiver. In a pair of diary studies of lying in everyday life, people admitted telling between 0 and 46 lies a day (DePaulo, Kashy, Kirkendol, Wyer, & Epstein, 1996). DePaulo and colleagues (DePaulo & Bell, 1996; DePaulo & Kashy, 1998; Kashy & DePaulo, 1996) differentiate between self-oriented lies that benefit the deceiver and other-oriented lies that are told for another person's benefit. In addition, Vrij (2000) further elaborated on the motives for deception which include deceiving in order to make a positive impression on others, protecting themselves from disapproval or embarrassment, obtaining an advantage, making others appear better or to benefit others in some way, or protecting a social relationship. …