Ch. 12 Forms of Deception

Deception can be a negative aspect throughout communication. Deception is the knowing and intentional transmission of information to create a false belief. This usually happens within a relationship and can lead to betrayal and even distrust with the friend or significant other. There are four different forms of deception that people may use. The first way that a person may decieve you is a lie through falsification. Falsification is the use of presenting false information as though it were true. My friend and I went to a movie and she thought it was the best movie she has ever seen. She asked me what I thought about it and I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I told her I loved it even though I didn't really care for it. The second form of deception is the use of exaggeration. Exaggeration is when a person overstates the facts. When at a job interview and your future employer asks you about your qualifications, you may embelish your strengths. You are telling the truth when you say what you are good at, but you may make them sound better than they actually are. The third form of deception is by omission. Omission is when a person leaves out important information to create a different impression. People in sales and advertising can be very deceptive by using this technique. The final type of deception is equivocation. Equivocation involves giving very short and vague answers that don't give a lot of information and create a false identity. You go to a movie and then your friend asks you how the movie was. You reply by saying "the newspaper gave it a good rating," but you really didn't like it. Your friend takes it as it was a good movie, but that was never clearly said. Deception can be found in are everyday communication in many different forms.