Accurately detecting students’ lies regarding relational aggression by correctional instructions

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of correctional instructions when detecting lies about relational aggression. Based on models from the field of social psychology, we predict that correctional instruction will lead to a less pronounced lie bias and to more accurate lie detection. Seventy-five teachers received videotapes of students’ true denial messages (e.g., students were innocent) and untrue denial messages (students were involved in relational aggression). A random half of the teachers were either given no further instructions or were told not to use stereotypical non-verbal cues when forming judgements (correctional instruction condition). As predicted, teachers in the correctional instruction condition were slightly better at detecting true than invented stories.

Keywords:

• teachers
• lies
• experience level

Notes

1. In line with most of the research on the ability of people without special training to detect deception, we did not code the objective cues in our messages (see Bond & DePaulo, 2006; Reinhard, 2010). This was because we only had eight truthful and eight deceptive messages. Given the small effect sizes of objective cues of deception, a higher number of messages would be needed to detect actual differences between true and deceptive statements (see Reinhard, Dickhäuser, et al., 2011).

2. Given that the teacher sample is rather small, we decided to apply a less conservative α-level. In cases, where the p-value is below .10, we report the exact p-level and the effect size to allow to evaluate the statistical as well as practical significance.

3. The phenomenon that individuals sometimes do not want to know the truth is labelled the ostrich-effect by Vrij, because ostriches are assumed to bury their heads in the sand in the face of danger.