International Journal of Language & Literature

Difficulty in Generating Truthful and Deceptive Messages : a Case Study of Polish and English
Anna Kuzio

Abstract
In this study the intricacy involved in producing truthful and deceptive messages in response to a hypothetical infidelity scenario is analyzed. This research aims at exploring McCornack’s claim (1997) that from a message production perspective, it is more cognitively taxing to create truthful messages in response to a multiple goal scenario than it is to create deceptive messages since the truth ought to be “packaged” to address face and relational concerns. A sample of 100 responded to a hypothetical infidelity scenario in which they were told they had contracted an STD from cheating with a earlier partner and currently their goal was to get their recent partner to get tested for the STD. They were prompted either to be as honest as possible, to be less than honest if they had to, or they received no prompt concerning honesty. Results revealed that deceptive messages were easier to create than honest messages in response to this scenario.

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