The Effects of Competitive Situations and Reward Motivation on Self-Deception: Evidence From Eye Movements

Fan Wei; Yang Ying; Dong Yanqiu; Zhang Wenjie

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240219

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Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2024, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (2) : 411-423. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240219

Social, Personality & Organizational Psychology

The Effects of Competitive Situations and Reward Motivation on Self-Deception: Evidence From Eye Movements

Fan Wei^1,2, Yang Ying^1,2, Dong Yanqiu^1,2, Zhang Wenjie^2,3

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Abstract

Self-deception permeates social communication in domains such as finance, medicine, politics, and religion. It is intricately connected to human self-perception and emotional well-being. Self-deception occurs when one convinces oneself of an opinion that contradicts their existing beliefs, persisting in a positive belief despite of evidence to the contrary. When individuals encounter interpersonal competition, time constraints, or the potential for increased benefits, they tend to focus on their own abilities using cognitive strategies (e.g., self-suggestion and self-deception). This approach enhances motivation and performance andleads to success in competitive situations. Self-deception can stem from internal motivations, such as the pursuit of achievement, power, aesthetics, and personal growth. It can also arise from external motivations, including monetary gains, basic needs, reputation, and challenging circumstances. Previous studies examining the impact of motivation on self-deception did not incorporate any social context. However, according to the Social Influence Theory, individuals' survival within society is inevitably shaped by the influence of others. When a monetary reward is placed within a competitive backdrop, it is likely to exert a greater influence on individuals' tendencies towards self-deception.
This study examined the impact of reward motivation and competitive situations on self-deception. Experiment 1a investigated the influence of self-deception using the prospective paradigm. The findings revealed that participants in the answer prompt group exhibited higher scores in the first stage and higher predicted scores in the second stage (self-deception) compared to those in the no-answer prompt group. Experiment 1b investigated the impact of reward motivation on self-deception. The results indicated that participants in the motivation group had lower prediction scores in the second stage, indicating a decrease in self-deception, when compared to the group without motivation. Experiment 2 examined the impact of reward motivation and competitive situations on self-deception. The results indicated when reward motivation is induced, the competitive group exhibited higher predicted scores compared to the non-competitive group. However, in the absence of reward motivation, there was no significant difference in predicted scores between the competitive and non-competitive group. The competitive situation weakened the inhibitory effect of reward motivation on self-deception, but the synergistic effect of reward motivation and competitive situation increased self-deception. Experiment 3 employed the eye movement technology to investigate the visual cognitive mechanism underlying the impact of reward motivation and competitive situations on self-deception. Compared to participants who were only primed with reward motivation or a competitive situation, the reward-competition group exhibited shorter average fixation times in the True and False interest areas.
In conclusion, these findings indicate that financial incentives inducing reward motivation can decrease self-deception, but the presence of a competitive situation can counteract the reduction in self-deception caused by reward motivation. These results contribute to the enrichment and development of the theoretical model of self-deception through the lens of visual cognition mechanisms. By examining self-deception from the perspective of motivation, considering the conditions and effects of reward motivation and competitive situations on self-deception, this study offers valuable insights for further exploring the nature of self-deception, drawing from the self-service bias theory and motivation theory. Contrary to dominant perspectives suggesting that monetary rewards lead to increased self-deception, our study demonstrates that it is not the mere presence of money but rather the motivation to acquire monetary rewards that influences the occurrence of self-deception. We found that the closer individuals' predicted test 2 scores were to their actual performance level, indicating reduced self-deception. Additionally, our findings underscore the importance of considering the competitive situation as a variable, as it weakens the inhibitory effect of reward motivation on self-deception.

Key words

self-deception / reward motivation / competitive situation / prospective paradigm / eye movement

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Fan Wei, Yang Ying, Dong Yanqiu, Zhang Wenjie. The Effects of Competitive Situations and Reward Motivation on Self-Deception: Evidence From Eye Movements[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2024, 47(2): 411-423 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240219

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