ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B

Acta Psychologica Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 57 ›› Issue (9): 1622-1637.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2025.1622

• Reports of Empirical Studies • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The influence of social reward and punishment on deception

YUAN Bo(), ZHAO Jingshi, QI Dan, ZHAO Tong, HU Jiaqi   

  1. Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
  • Published:2025-09-25 Online:2025-06-26
  • Contact: YUAN Bo E-mail:yuanbopsy@gmail.com

Abstract:

Deception is a complex behavior involving the dissemination of misleading information or the intentional omission of relevant details, conveyed verbally and nonverbally. Although extensive research has explored strategies to mitigate deception, rewards and punishments have consistently emerged as key deterrents. Prior studies have predominantly focused on tangible incentives, such as monetary or token-based rewards and punishments. However, given that deception frequently occurs in interpersonal contexts, social rewards and punishments—eliciting positive or negative emotional responses—may also influence deceptive behavior. Despite this, their precise impact remains unclear.

To address this gap, the present study employed three experiments to examine the interplay between social rewards, social punishments, and deception, while also investigating the underlying mediating and moderating mechanisms. Experiment 1 engaged 30 participants in a signaling game (also known as the sender-receiver game) to assess whether social rewards and punishments influence deception in a manner similarly to monetary incentives. Experiment 2, involving 60 participants, extended this investigation by incorporating an adapted reputation concern scale to explore reputation concern as a potential mediator. Experiment 3 examined the moderating role of social value orientation (SVO). Participants with different SVOs, identified using the SVO Slider Measure, were recruited to determine whether social value orientation moderates the effects of social rewards and punishments on deception.

Findings from Experiment 1 demonstrated that social rewards and punishments, akin to monetary incentives, reduced deceptive behaviors, with social punishments proving more effective than social rewards. Drift-diffusion modeling (DDM) analysis revealed that, under conditions of social and monetary rewards and punishments, the drift rate (ν) was significantly lower compared to the condition without incentives, indicating that both forms of incentives promote evidence accumulation favoring non-deceptive behavior. Experiment 2 established reputation concern as a mediator in the relationship between social incentives and deception: Social incentives heightened reputation concerns, thereby reducing deception, whereas monetary incentives did not elicit this effect. Experiment 3 identified social value orientation as a moderator: Individuals with a pro-social orientation exhibited heightened reputation concerns in response to social incentives, leading to reduced deception, whereas this effect was absent among pro-self individuals.

Overall, the study confirms that social rewards and punishments effectively reduce deceptive behavior. By elucidating the psychological mechanisms involved and broadening the empirical understanding of social incentives, these findings offer valuable insights into mitigating deception in interpersonal interactions. Future research could further explore the moderating effects of different social contexts or individual differences to more comprehensively delineate the boundary conditions under which social rewards and punishments influence deceptive behavior.

Key words: social reward and punishment, deception, reputation concern, social value orientation, Drift-Diffusion Modeling