Managing the outcomes of discovered deception

This study analyzed strategies individuals use to manage the discovery of deception in a relationship. A sample of 210 participants completed questionnaires detailing their use of repair strategies subsequent to deception. Findings showed that the use of repair strategies differed across relational types and that the use of prosocial relational repair strategies was positively correlated with the target's increase in trust for the deceiver, the target's expressions of affection for the deceiver, and relational intimacy. Relational satisfaction was positively correlated with the tendency to use prosocial strategies. The deceiver's message selection was partially constrained by perceptions of the target's attributions concerning the relational significance of the deception; prosocial strategies were correlated with the deceiver's belief that the target attributed relational significance to the deceptive act.