The evolution and psychology of self-deception
William von Hippel and Robert Trivers argue that self-deception evolved to make interpersonal deception more effective. By hiding the truth from the self, a person hides the cues that could reveal a conscious lie, lowers the cognitive load of lying and can limit retribution if the lie is found out. They propose that the self can be both deceiver and deceived through dissociations among conscious and unconscious memories, conscious and unconscious attitudes, and automatic and controlled processes. The article surveys types of self-deception, its interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects and the levels of consciousness at which it operates, contrasts the evolutionary approach with current psychological theories and considers the costs of self-deception.
William von Hippel and Robert Trivers argue that self-deception evolved to make interpersonal deception more effective. By hiding the truth from the self, a person hides the cues that could reveal a conscious lie, lowers the cognitive load of lying and can limit retribution if the lie is found out. They propose that the self can be both deceiver and deceived through dissociations among conscious and unconscious memories, conscious and unconscious attitudes, and automatic and controlled processes. The article surveys types of self-deception, its interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects and the levels of consciousness at which it operates, contrasts the evolutionary approach with current psychological theories and considers the costs of self-deception.
Written from the abstract read 2026-10-26 via the publisher or RePEc record.
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von Hippel, W., & Trivers, R. (2011). The evolution and psychology of self-deception. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 34(1), 1-16. doi:10.1017/S0140525X10001354