THE KERNEL OF TRUTH IN JUDGMENTS OF DECEPTIVENESS

We investigated the relation between appearance-based impressions of h onesty and individuals' willingness to engage in deceptive behaviors. The data reveal that people who were thought to look dishonest were mo re likely to volunteer to participate in research that was described a s requiring deception on their part than were individuals who were per ceived to look honest. The data are consistent with the predictions of a self-fulfilling prophecy model of social behavior, as well as recen t research that documents a kernel of truth in appearance-based impres sions. The results further suggest that naive judgments of deception a re more accurate than has been supposed.