What is deception in psychology research?

Deception is a methodological technique whereby a participant is not made fully aware of the specific purposes of the study or is misinformed as part of the study. Two main forms of deception may occur in research. The researcher intentionally misinforms the participant about some aspect of the study.

Deception in research provides the opportunity for real reactions to be measured. If people are unaware of the goals of a study you are more likely to get an authentic response from participants, rather than subjects reacting how they believe they are supposed to behave.

Why is deception sometimes used in psychological research? Deception is used when the researcher and the IRB agree that there is no other way to do the study. They agree that using deception is the only way to be able to get a natural reaction from the participants. One example is in the eyewitness study.

There are two major forms of lying

• Concealment & Falsification. There are clear distinctions between these subsets and successful deception can require both to be present.
• Concealment – Leaving out true information. …
• Falsification – Presenting false information as if it were true.