Abstract

Many beliefs about deceptive communication – like liars avoid eye contact – are popular but inaccurate. To
better understand the transmission of both accurate and false cues to deception, we examined the perceived
source of deception beliefs. Two exploratory studies revealed six categories of belief sources such as observed
behavior, mass media, and social networks, derived from 19 categories of deception beliefs. Reported beliefs
loaded onto three primary factors suggesting a simpler schema for detecting deception. Both studies revealed
that most people recalled learning about cues to deception from observing others’ behavior, however, inaccurate
beliefs were more likely to be perpetuated by credible sources.

 

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