Love the Way You Lie: A Review of the Psychology of Lying and Truth-Telling in Individualist and Collectivist Societies

Abstract

A lack of consolidated knowledge of the influence of culture on the psychological processes of deception and honesty currently exists. In an attempt to address this, a comparison study of three separate studies was conducted, all of which explore the cross-cultural differences of lying and truth-telling behaviours and each presenting a new aspect to consider. The first study focuses on cultural differences in perceptions of lying and truth-telling with regards to prosocial behaviours, antisocial behaviours, and modesty; the second study elaborates by examining the influence of behavioural cultural norms; the third study centers on the interaction between culture and lying in the context of the cancer diagnosis of a family member. The conclusions from these three studies are analyzed in relation to both Western individualist and non-Western collectivist cultural standards. They are moreover used to evaluate the occurrence of lying and truth-telling in real-life contexts by means of an observational analysis of my group of friends and an examination of Lulu Wang’s film, “The Farewell” (2019). The overall findings from the literature and real-world applications fortify the existence of the effect of culture on lying and truth-telling behaviours. As deception and honesty encompass a significant part of daily life, the confirmation of cross-cultural variations presents the opportunity for a deeper understanding of diverse cultures and the individuals who belong to them.