Abstract
Emotions can change individuals’ perceptions of social distance and, consequently, their deceptive behavior. Anger is a highly destructive emotion; however, its effects on social distance and deception are unclear. This study adopted a 2 (emotion: anger, neutral) × 3 (social distance: friend, stranger, acquaintance) × 2 (task type: baseline, win–win deception) mixed experimental design to investigate the effects of anger on deceptive behavior when facing others at different social distances. The results showed that individuals in a neutral emotional state tended to engage in deceptive behaviors that benefited both parties when facing strangers, friends, and acquaintances, implying mutual gain. However, in a negative emotional state (i.e., anger), individuals showed a reduced tendency to benefit themselves. The study discovered a phenomenon termed the “kill the familiar effect.” When individuals are in a state of anger, they make decisions that are more harmful to the interests of acquaintances compared with those of strangers or friends. This suggests that anger results in a heavier cognitive load, and uncertainty about acquaintance relationships moderates the cognitive processes in the deception decisions of angry individuals. This study’s results regarding the effects of emotions on deceptive behavior have practical implications for various interpersonal interactions, conflict resolution strategies, and decision-making processes. The study is limited by its focus on a specific set of emotions and social distances; thus, further research in this area is warranted.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in [Figshare] at [https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/24ZNH].
References
Aron, A., Aron, E. N., & Smollan, D. (1992). Inclusion of other in the self scale and the structure of interpersonal closeness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(4), 596–612. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.63.4.596.
Bornemann, B., Kok, B. E., Böckler, A., & Singer, T. (2016). Helping from the heart: Voluntary upregulation of heart rate variability predicts altruistic behavior. Biological Psychology, 119, 54–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.07.004.
Bradley, M. M., & Lang, P. J. (1994). Measuring emotion: The self-assessment manikin and the semantic differential. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 25(1), 49–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7916(94)90063-9.
Brewer, D., Doughtie, E. B., & Lubin, B. (1980). Induction of mood and mood shift. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 36(1), 215–226.
Carter, N. L., & Weber, J. M. (2010). Not pollyannas: Higher generalized trust predicts lie detection ability. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 1, 274–279. https://doi.org/10.1177/194855060936026.
Chen, Y., Lu, J., Wang, Y., Feng, Z., & Yuan, B. (2017). Social distance influences the outcome evaluation of cooperation and conflict: Evidence from event-related potentials. Neuroscience Letters, 647, 78–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2017.03.018.
Cunningham, J. B., & McCrum-Gardner, E. (2007). Power, effect and sample size using GPower: Practical issues for researchers and members of research ethics committees. Evidence Based Midwifery, 5(4), 132–136.
De Paulo, B. M., Lindsay, J. J., Malone, B. E., Muhlenbruck, L., Charlton, K., & Cooper, H. (2003). Cues to deception. Psychological Bulletin, 129(1), 74–118. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.1.74.
Dunn, E. W., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2005). Feeling and believing: The influence of emotion on trust. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(5), 736–748. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.88.5.736.
Erat, S., & Gneezy, U. (2012). White lies. Management Science, 58(4), 723–733. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1110.1449.
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A. G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods Instruments & Computers, 39(2), 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193146.
Garrett, N., Lazzaro, S. C., Ariely, D., & Sharot, T. (2016). The brain adapts to dishonesty. Nature Neuroscience, 19(12), 1727–1732. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4426.
Gaspar, J. P., Methasani, R., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2021). Emotional intelligence and deception: A theoretical model and propositions. Journal of Business Ethics, 177(3), 567–584. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04738-y.
Gino, F., & Pierce, L. (2009). Dishonesty in the name of equity. Psychological Science, 20(9), 1153–1160. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02421.x.
Gylfason, H. F., Arnardottir, A. A., & Kristinsson, K. (2013). More on gender differences in lying. Economics Letters, 119(1), 94–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2013.01.027.
Hao, N., Qiao, X., Cheng, R., Lu, K., Tang, M. Y., & Runco, M. A. (2020). Approach motivational orientation enhances malevolent creativity. Acta Psychologica, 203, 102985. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2019.102985.
Hareli, S., & Rafaeli, A. (2008). Emotion cycles: On the social influence of emotion in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 28, 35–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2008.04.007.
Hermann, D., & Ostermaier, A. (2018). Be close to me and I will be honest: How social distance influences honesty. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3131732.
Hu, X. J. (2005). Face: The Chinese power game. Decision-making and Information, 7, 162–166.
Hu, X., Pornpattananangkul, N., & Nusslock, R. (2015). Executive control- and reward-related neural processes associated with the opportunity to engage in voluntary dishonest moral decision making. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-015-0336-9
Kajackaite, A., & Gneezy, U. (2017). Incentives and cheating. Games and Economic Behavior, 102, 433–444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geb.2017.01.015.
Lerner, J. S., & Keltner, D. (2001). Fear, anger, and risk. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(1), 146–159. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.81.1.146.
Lerner, J. S., Gonzalez, R. M., Small, D. A., & Fischhoff, B. (2003). Effects of fear and anger on perceived risks of terrorism: A national field experiment. Psychological Science, 14(2), 144–150. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.01433.
Li, X., Li, X., Chen, S., Zhu, J., Wang, H., Tian, Y., & Yu, Y. (2020). Effect of emotional enhancement of memory on recollection process in young adults: The influence factors and neural mechanisms. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 14, 119–129. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-018-9975-0.
Liang, J., Ruan, Q. N., Fu, K. K., Chen, Y. H., & Yan, W. J. (2021). The effect of task-irrelevant emotional valence on limited attentional resources during deception: An ERPs study. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 15, 698877. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.698877.
Lu, J. Z., Liao, C., Guan, Q., Luo, Y. J., & Cui, F. (2019). Deceptive behaviors under the altruistic and egoistic motivations: An ERP investigation. Chinese Psychological Science, 42(04), 905–912. https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20190420.
Metcalfe, J., & Mischel, W. (1999). A hot/cool-system analysis of delay of gratification: Dynamics of willpower. Psychological Review, I06, 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.3.
Methasani, R., Gaspar, J. P., & Barry, B. (2017). Feeling and deceiving: A review and theoretical model of emotions and deception in negotiation. Negotiation & Conflict Management Research, 10(1750–4708), 158–178. https://doi.org/10.1111/ncmr.12095.
Motro, D., Ordóñez, L. D., Pittarello, A., & Welsh, D. T. (2018). Investigating the effects of anger and guilt on unethical behaviour: A dual-process approach. Journal of Business Ethics, 152, 133–148. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3337-x.
Ostaszewski, P., & Osiński, J. T. (2015). Social discounting of monetary rewards. European Psychologist, 16(3), 220–226. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000054.
Pennycook, G., de Neys, W., Evans, J., St., B. T., Stanovich, K. E., & Thompson, V. A. (2018). The mythical dual-process typology. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 22(8), 667–668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2018.04.008.
Qi, D., Zhao, J. X., Hu, Y., Wu, X. Q., & Yuan, B. (2023). The effect of social distance on altruistic deception. Psychological Techniques and Applications, 04, 203–211. https://doi.org/10.16842/j.cnki.issn2095-5588.2023.04.002.
Ramachandran, V. S., & Hirstein, W. (1997). Three laws of qualia: What neurology tells us about the biological functions of consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 4, 429–458.
Ren, M., Zhong, B., Fan, W., Dai, H., Yang, B., Zhang, W., Yin, Z., Liu, J., Li, J., & Zhan, Y. (2018). The influence of self-control and social status on self-deception. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1256. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01256.
Rotter, J. B. (1967). A new scale for the measurement of interpersonal trust. Journal of Personality, 33, 651–665. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1967.tb01454.x.
Seiffert-Brockmann, J., & Thummes, K. (2017). Self-deception in public relations. A psychological and sociological approach to the challenge of conflicting expectations. Public Relations Review, 43(1), 133–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2016.12.006.
Starek, J. E., & Keating, C. F. (1991). Self-deception and its relationship to success in competition. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 12, 145–155. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15324834basp1202_2.
Swol, L. M. V., Malhotra, D., & Braun, M. T. (2012). Deception and its detection: Effects of monetary incentives and personal relationship history. Communication Research, 70(2), 1804–1813. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650210396868.
Van Boven, L., Kane, J., McGraw, A. P., & Dale, J. (2010). Feeling close: Emotional intensity reduces perceived psychological distance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(6), 872–885. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1531661.
Van der Leer, L., & McKay, R. (2017). The optimist within? Selective sampling and self-deception. Consciousness and Cognition, 50, 23–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2016.07.005.
Van Dillen, L. F., & Koole, S. L. (2007). Clearing the mind: A working memory model of distraction from negative mood. Emotion, 7(4), 715–723. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.7.4.715.
Wang, C. S., Leung, K. Y., See, Y., & Xiang, Y. G. (2011). The effects of culture and friendship on rewarding honesty and punishing deception. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47(6), 1295–1299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.04.011.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063–1070. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063.
Wiltermuth, S. S. (2011). Cheating more when the spoils are split. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 115(2), 157–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2010.10.001.
Yip, J. A., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2015). Trust promotes unethical behavior: Excessive trust, opportunistic exploitation, and strategic exploitation. Current Opinion in Psychology, 6, 216–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.09.017.
Yip, J. A., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2016). Mad and misleading: Incidental anger promotes deception. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 137, 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.09.006.
Yuan, X. J., & Guo, S. P. (2017). Differential mode of association in Chinese interpersonal affection: Evidence from Extrinsic Affective Simon Task (EAST). Chinese Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20170322
Zhang, K., Goetz, T., Chen, F., & Sverdlik, A. (2020). The differential effects of anger on trust: A cross-cultural comparison of the effects of gender and social distance. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 597436. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.597436.
Zhang, Y. L., Xiao, X., Li, T. Q. B., J., & Zhong, Y. P. (2022). Influence of reputational concern and social distance on moral decision-making under the harmful dilemma: Evidence from behavioral and ERPs study. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 54(6), 613–627. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2022.00613.
Zhong, Y., Yang, Z., & Fan, W. (2015). The effects of self-other overlap on helping behavior: Moderating of perspective taking. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 47(8), 1050–1057. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2015.01050.
Funding
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant Number 32160202, 3236070111]; Gansu University Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programme Training Project, China [Grant Number S202311406020]; Gansu University of Political Science and Law Graduate Student Research and Innovation Program “The Role of Self-Related Information in Deception Detection”[2024020]; Northwest Normal University 2023 Graduate Research Grant Program [2023KYZZ—S036].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Conceptualization, CH and WL; Methodology, PX and CH; Software, PX and AZ, Formal Analysis, CH, Resources, AZ; Data Curation, PX; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, PX, CH, and AZ; Writing—Review & Editing, AZ, Writing—Revision, CH, Supervision, CH; Project Administration, PX; Funding Acquisition, CH.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Ethical approval
Before the experiment, all participants gave informed written consent in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki), and the study protocol was approved by the Ethics Board of Northwest Normal University (ERB No. 2023078, dated on 07/08/2023).
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Huang, CZ., Xie, P., Liang, WS. et al. “Kill the familiar effect”: the impact of anger on deceptive behavior. Curr Psychol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05969-8
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05969-8