How can deception be used for good?

Deception can only be used when there are no reasonably effective, alternative methods available to achieve the goals of the research. Deception can only be used with study components that involve minimal risks (as determined by the IRB). Whenever possible, researchers must debrief subjects about the deception.

Can deception be positive?

While lying to oneself is generally perceived as harmful, some experts argue that certain kinds of self-deception—like believing one can accomplish a difficult goal even if evidence exists to the contrary—can have a positive effect on overall well-being.

How is deception used in everyday life?

Deception can be used to avoid criticism or to avoid certain feelings, such as guilt for telling the truth to another person (DePaulo et al., 1996). Everyday people deceive at least once during two social interactions (DePaulo & Kashy, 1998).

What are the benefits of self-deception?

Overestimating yourself — having positive illusions about what you can do and how well you’ll do — is more common and healthy than most people think. Studies show that emotionally healthy people often interpret reality in a self-enhancing way to pursue dreams and to protect themselves from uncomfortable truths.

How do psychologists use deception?

Deception allows researchers to obtain information they would normally be unable to find in a natural setting. For example, an experiment could create an “emergency” situation using confederates that allows researchers to measure people’s reactions to that certain circumstance.

When can we use deception in psychological research?

Deception in psychological research is often stated as acceptable only when all of the following conditions are met: 1) no other nondeceptive method exists to study the phenomenon of interest; 2) the study makes significant contributions to scientific knowledge; 3) the deception is not expected to cause significant …

How does deception affect society?

Although it is widely recognized that deception can have an adverse effect on social cohesion, and hence might lead to the fragmentation of social networks, our results suggest that in communities dominated by honest individuals, dishonest agents can sometimes act as weak links and serve as communication paths between …

How does self-deception affect others?

Previous studies have shown that interpersonal self-deception is that people will put real information into unconscious, while consciously providing false information to others and self (Trivers, 2000; von Hippel and Trivers, 2011), and previous study has shown that ICM can reduce the cognitive load (Lu and Chang, 2014 …

Is deception ever considered ethical?

In psychology research, deception is a highly debatable ethical issue. Others believe deception is necessary because it prevents participants from behaving in an unnatural way; it is important that participants behave the way they normally would when not being observed or studied.