Poster presented at the Human Behavior and Evolution Society Meeting (2016), Vancouver, Canada.
We investigated the relationship between hormones, the Dark Triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism), the ability to deceive others, and the ability to detect deception. Video recordings of multiple statements (i.e., either true or lies), self-reported Dark Triad scores, and saliva samples (pre- and post lies) were obtained from male and female undergraduates. An mTurk sample watched the target videos and judged which statement they believed to be a lie. Among raters, higher psychopathy scores were associated with better lie detection abilities. Targets who were higher on the Dark Triad traits were the best liars (regardless of gender), while the female target who was low in the Dark Triad traits was the worst liar. Among women, higher scores for Machiavellianism and psychopathy were related to decreases in Testosterone and Cortisol after having to lie on video, while the pattern was reversed for males. Results are discussed in terms of adaptive benefits of individual difference variation, and the cheater detection hypothesis.
