Measuring Deception: A Look at Antecedents to Deceptive Intent

Abstract A Deceptive Belief Inventory scale is developed and validated using 10 first-order factors to represent 3 second-order constructs (deception confidence, duping delight, and guiltless deception). A new theoretical model describing how deception confidence, duping delight, and guiltless deception may influence a person’s intent to deceive others is also tested. Traditional deceptive communication research has focused on situation-specific factors surrounding deception. This study focuses on understanding and assessing a person’s propensity to deceive others. The findings of this study can be used to better understand the factors that may influence a person’s reported propensity to deceive and ultimately be used to improve security procedures designed to protect critical information systems.