engleski

Is honesty the best policy for everyone? Age and gender differences in everyday lying

Research consistently points to the significant gender and age differences in lying, especially depending on the context, type of lie, and consequences. However, the sizes and directions of those differences are still inconclusive. Thus, the aim of this study was to further investigate gender and age differences in low stake lies (i.e., simple lies with no or minimal consequences for the individual using them) in everyday interactions. It was hypothesized that gender and age differences would be pronounced: (a) in the type of lying (e.g., older respondents and females being more prone to other-oriented lies), and (b) in the self-perception of lying abilities (e.g., younger respondents and males being more convinced in their lying abilities). The study was conducted online on a convenience sample of 158 adults (52% female) aged 18 to 37 (M = 24 ; SD = 4.46). Respondents estimated their 24-hour lying frequency, and the perception of the outcomes of their lying. Also, they assessed their lying ability and behavior in everyday life and their lying tendencies in different everyday social situations. While there was a significant main effect of gender (F(16, 108) = 2.50, p <. 01 ; Wilks' Λ = .73 ; ηp2 = .27), and age (F(16, 108) = 1.76 ; p < .05 ; Wilks' Λ = .79 ; ηp2 = .21), effect of interaction of gender and age was not significant (F(16, 108) = 0.87 ; p > .05 ; Wilks' Λ = .89 ; ηp2 = .11). Analysis of the main effects revealed that men and younger respondents found themselves better at lying (F(1, 123) = 2.85 ; p < .05 ; F(1, 123) = 9.84 ; p < .01 respectively) and found it less difficult to tell a lie (F(1, 123) = 8.14 ; p <. 01 ; F(1, 123) = 5.25 ; p < .05 respectively) than women and older respondents. Women and younger respondents reported a higher tendency for prosocial commission (directly stating something the speaker knows to be false to benefit somebody else) than men and older respondents (F(1, 123) = 9.47 ; p < .01 ; F(1, 123) = 5.31 ; p < .05 respectively), and men were concerned less than women that they will be caught in lying (F(1, 123) = 5.58 ; p < .05). Younger respondents in comparison to older respondents told more lies during 24 hours preceding the survey (F(1, 123) = 5.13 ; p < .05) ; were more prone to overestimate their lying ability compared to others (F(1, 123) = 9.81 ; p < .01) ; had more pronounced duping delight when lying (F(1, 123) = 5.28 ; p < .05) ; and think their lies are harder to be detected by others (F(1, 123) = 6.08 ; p < .05). Taken together, the results of this study further clarify age and gender differences in everyday lying.

everyday lying ; gender ; age

nije evidentirano