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Cited by 408Evolutionary Psychology and Human BehaviorDeception detection and forensic psychologyPhilosophy and Theoretical Science

The elements of a scientific theory of self‐deception

TRIVERS, ROBERT·2000·Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2000.tb06619.x
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Abstract

A bstract:An evolutionary theory of self‐deception‐the active misrepresentation of reality to the conscious mind‐suggests that there may be multiple sources of self‐deception in our own species, with important interactions between them. Self‐deception (along with internal conflict and fragmentation) may serve to improve deception of others; this may include denial of ongoing deception, self‐inflation, ego‐biased social theory, false narratives of intention, and a conscious mind that operates via denial and projection to create a self‐serving world. Self‐deception may also result from internal representations of the voices of significant others, including parents, and may come from internal genetic conflict, the most important for our species arising from differentially imprinted maternal and paternal genes. Selection also favors suppressing negative phenotypic traits. Finally, a positive form of self‐deception may serve to orient the organism favorably toward the future. Self‐deception can be analyzed in groups and is done so here with special attention to its costs.

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Crossref · 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2000.tb06619.x

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  • Public posturing, social manipulations, and interpersonal deceptions needed to convince others of one's integrity will prove far more plausible and persuasive if the individual actually believes in the persona he or she is trying to project.

    “the public posturing, social manipulations, and interpersonal deceptions needed to convince others of one's integrity will prove far more plausible and persuasive if the individual in question actually believes in the persona he or she is trying to project”

    From The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory (2006) · cites this paper as Trivers, 2000

  • People's positive illusions and self-deceptions may be in the service of social deception.

    “people's positive illusions and self-deceptions may be in the service of social deception.”

    From The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory (2006) · cites this paper as Trivers (2000)

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Authors
TRIVERS, R.
Affiliations
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
Corresponding author
TRIVERS, ROBERT
ORCID
TRIVERS, ROBERT
Venue
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2000-04
Volume
907
Issue
1
Pages
114-131
ISSN
  • 0077-8923 (ISSN-L)
  • 1749-6632
DOI
10.1111/j.1749-6632.2000.tb06619.x
OpenAlex
W2104997427
Semantic Scholar
fabb90bf03cfe8ee1ea9dfa6b75e6a02eb4e0f19
Cited by
408
References
42
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 61 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 20
FWCI
7.05
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor, 2125 d)
Locations
  • Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Deception detection and forensic psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
Keywords
self-deception, conscious mind, internal conflict, self-serving bias, projection, denial, parental voice, genomic imprinting, social theory
MeSH terms
Denial, Psychological, Disasters, Ego, Humans, Deception, Psychological Theory, Science, Unconscious, Psychology

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