Self and Other-Perceived Deception Detection Abilities are Highly Correlated but Unassociated with Objective Detection Ability: Examining the Detection Consensus Effect

Abstract Subjective lying rates are often strongly and positively correlated. Called the deception consensus effect, people who lie often tend to believe others lie often, too. The present paper evaluated how this cognitive bias also extends to deception detection. Two studies (Study 1: N = 180 students; Study 2: N = 250 people from the general public) had participants make 10 veracity judgments based on videotaped interviews, and also indicate subjective detection abilities (self and other). Subjective, perceived detection abilities were significantly linked, supporting a detection consensus effect, yet they were unassociated with objective detection accuracy. More overconfident detectors — those whose subjective detection accuracy was greater than their objective detection accuracy — reported telling more white and big lies, cheated more on a behavioral task, and were more ideologically conservative than less overconfident detectors. This evidence supports and extends truth-default theory, highlighting possible (a)symmetries in subjective and objective veracity assessments.