Female deception detection as a function of commitment and self-awareness

It was been hypothesized that evolutionary factors including self-awareness and commitment are related to deception detection. In this study, 34 female undergraduates were tested for their ability to detect deception via a video paradigm. Females that were not in a committed relationship were significantly better at detecting males “faking good” as compared to committed females. Further, self-awareness was correlated with the ability to detect deception. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that deception may be related to self-awareness and that such a relationship is related to reproductive advantages secured by the ability to deceive.