Two studies examined whether some people use more deceptive self-presentation to initiate a dating relationship. Participants reviewed information depicting prospective dates and constructed profiles to be used by the prospects to select a date. In this context, high self-monitoring men and women engaged in more deceptive self-presentation to the person that they desired to date than law self-monitors. Study 2 replicated this finding with a variety of personal dimensions and revealed that high self-monitors hold more favorable attitudes toward using deception in dating initiation and admit altering their self-presentation in an attempt to initiate a date. No sex differences in the amount of deceptive self-presentation were found. These outcomes suggest that high self-monitors behave in a chameleon-like fashion during dating initiation, strategically and deceptively changing their self-presentation in an attempt to appear more desirable to the person they want to date. Motivations for using deception are discussed.
CITATION STYLE
Rowatt, W. C., Cunningham, M. R., & Druen, P. B. (1998). Deception to get a date. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24(11), 1228–1242. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672982411009
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