R. Kelly Aune

The effect of probing on deceivers and truthtellers

This study examined the effect of probing for additional information on the accuracy of deception detection. One hundred forty-eight experimental interactions were analyzed to see whether deceivers and truthtellers behave differently when probed and whether probing improved deception detection. Probing produced a number of changes in nonverbal behavior, several of which differed between deceivers and truthtellers. Probing may have communicated suspicion or uncertainty; therefore, deceptive sources were motivated to control their nonverbal demeanor to mask deception-related cues and appear truthful. Probing did not improve detection. Instead, probing receivers considered all sources more truthful. It is suggested that suspiciousness and prior knowledge may affect probings efficacy.

Cultural differences in deception: Motivations to deceive in Samoans and North Americans

Abstract The present study examined variance in motivations for deception arising from cultural differences inherent in collectivistic and individualistic cultures. Data collected in North America and American Samoa showed that the more collectivistic Samoan participants indicated they would be more likely to attempt to deceive another when the deception was related to group or family concerns. In addition, Samoans were much more likely to attempt deception for authority-based concerns. U.S. Americans indicated they would be more likely to lie to protect their privacy or to protect the feelings of the target person. Other possible culture-based differences were noted. Suggestions for future research concerns were discussed.

The Experience, Expression, and Perceived Appropriateness of Emotions Across Levels of Relationship Development

Emotion experience and expression in romantic relationships were investigated. We predicted (a) a curvilinear relationship between level of relationship development and intensity of emotion experience, (b) a curvilinear relationship between level of relationship development and intensity of emotion expression, and (c) a linear relationship between level of relationship development and perceived appropriateness of emotion expression. Two hundred one student and community respondents completed an emotion survey assessing a positive and negative emotion incident they had experienced, the intensity of experience, expression, and degree of appropriateness. Level of relationship development was operationalized by length of relationship. Confirmation for the first two hypotheses was found for negative emotions only. Perceived appropriateness of emotion expression did not vary across levels of relationship development for either negative or positive emotions.

The Influence of Culture, Gender, and Relational Status on Appearance Management

The appearance management behavior of 253 African-American, Caucasian-American, and Asian-American subjects was assessed in a field study. Consistent with prior research, appearance management was found to vary according to gender and relational status. A main effect for culture was found, and culture was found to interact with both gender and relational status. African-American men engaged the longest in appearance management among the men, whereas African-American women engaged least among the women. Asian-Americans showed little difference in their dating and non dating appearance management relative to Caucmsian-Americans, who showed greater difference between the two conditions. Differences between dating and non dating appearance management were more complex for African-Americans: The women showed the most difference of all culture types between dating and non dating appearance management, whereas their male counterparts showed practically no difference. Appearance management variance across cultures, social situations, and relational levels is attributed to cultural differences in general impression management and perceptions of social situations.

The Empirical Development of the Normative Message Processing Scale.

The empirical development of a Normative Message Processing Scale (NMPS) is presented. An argument is made for the need to develop an instrument that distinguishes between the tendency to engage in message processing that is selective, effortful, and highly deliberate and message processing that is unselective, low effort, and nondeliberate. Because self reported differences in exerted cognitive effort may indicate both quantitative and qualitative differences in message processing, effort‐based instruments do not allow specific predictions regarding the processing habits of low effort individuals. Understanding and measuring the processing characteristics of high and low effort individuals may explain observed differences in performances between individuals with a high or low need for cognition and between individuals induced to perform in a mindful or mindless manner. Five studies are presented, reporting on the development, conceptual validation, and behavioral validation of the NMPS. In addition, the ...

Relational messages associated with persona‐sharing

This study investigated the assumption that conversations incorporating persona‐sharing would be associated with changes in perceptions of relational messages. Two‐hundred and one participants watched videotapes of male interactants either engaging or not engaging in conversation incorporating persona‐sharing. Results showed that persona‐sharing was associated with increased perceptions of immediacy, intimacy / similarity, and dominance. When an interactant was excluded from persona‐sharing conversation, perceived relational messages directed toward him were seen as less immediate, less intimate, and less dominant relative to being excluded from non‐persona‐sharing conversation.