This thesis explores the proposal that there is a close link between counterfactual thinking and lying. Although both require the imagination of alternatives to reality, research has yet to establish a direct link. In the first seven studies the relationship between counterfactuals and lies is directly investigated using novel scenario-based and behavioural tasks. In a further four studies we also investigate the role of affect and executive functions as explanatory mechanisms. Results show that individuals with a tendency to think counterfactually are more likely to generate potential lies and to be more successful when lying in front of others (Study 1 and 6). Furthermore, we also show that counterfactual availability influences people’s tendency to come up with lies (Studies 2, and 3) and the extent to which they expect others to lie (Studies 4, and 5). We also find that the saliency of counterfactual alternatives can affect people’s moral standards by motivating them to lie (Study 7). Based on these results we argue that counterfactuals motivate lying by providing information about how things could have been different. We however also investigate alternative explanations. In Studies 8, 9 and 10 we seek to understand whether counterfactually derived affect might also underlie the relationship, but find no such link. Additionally, in Study 11 we investigate the relationship in Parkinson’s disease participants in order to understand if executive function might be an underlying mechanism. We do not find this to be the case and we show that PD patients are able to engage in counterfactual thinking and also lie. The findings in this thesis are the first to provide a direct link between counterfactual thoughts and lies. Overall, we show how counterfactuals can help us mislead others and we reveal that counterfactual thinking is an important cognitive process in deception.

When making decisions, individuals rarely possess all the facts. This can be forgiven in a world where action is time sensitive; life rarely affords the luxury of comprehending all the nuances of an environment. However, individuals do not just ignore valuable information when it is costly to acquire, individuals often ignore veridical information even when it is freely available. Instead of employing an accurate understanding of a situation, individuals frequently make decisions with the aid of ignorance and misunderstanding. This dissertation attempts to examine why. I argue against the notion that such behaviour is always caused by cognitive limitations. Instead, I demonstrate that ignoring veridical information can be advantageous in a variety of contexts. Throughout this work, I examine several settings where research has shown that individuals consistently ignore freely available information. Using a combination of formal analysis and simulations, I demonstrate that such behaviour can be advantageous. Lacking veridical knowledge can be functional in order to navigate cooperative societies (Chapter 3), unpredictable environments (Chapter 4), investment markets (Chapter 5-7), and inefficient institutions (Chapter 8). Not only does this work contribute to explaining previously confusing human behaviour, it offers insight into the potential advantages of self-deception (Chapter 2).

Who lies in negotiations—and when and why? While research has considered many factors, an important and understudied determinant is people’s expectancies about others. I argue that negotiators’ expectations about other people can help predict their own deceptive behavior. Chapter I explores how projection and pessimism shape deceptive behavior. Studies 1a-1d investigated negotiators’ expectancies and found evidence of projection and of rampant pessimism; negotiators consistently overestimated the percentage of other people who shared their own beliefs and the percentage of people who thought deception was appropriate in negotiations. Study 2 found that expectancies about others’ ethical standards predicted the degree to which negotiators were misleading or dishonest in negotiations. Study 3 manipulated expectancies and found that a higher perceived prevalence of gamers led to more misleading or dishonest behavior. Negotiators’ decisions to engage in deception were heavily influenced by an exaggerated pessimism about others’ ethical standards. In supplementary analyses, Chapter I also briefly addresses how expectancies about a specific counterpart’s level of deception shape deceptive behavior. Finally, Chapter II investigates how stereotypes shape deceptive behavior in negotiations, using the stereotype content model, which suggests that social groups are judged on two primary dimensions of warmth and competence. Study 1 provided evidence that deceptive negotiators are perceived to possess less warmth and greater competence than truthful negotiators. Study 2 showed that people from cold competent groups are perceived as more deceptive than people from warm incompetent groups. Study 3 tested actual behavior and demonstrated that manipulating the social category membership of a counterpart affected deception in a negotiation situation. Expectancies play a critical and understudied role in influencing a negotiator’s decision to be deceptive.

This dissertation is a study of Plutarch's portrayal of military leadership in his Parallel Lives. I investigate Plutarch's use of extended military narrative to provide examples of good generalship for his readers, his conception of the importance and dangers of a military education, his attitude toward the moral use of deception in warfare, and the importance of synkrisis to the reader's final assessment of a general's military ability. I conclude with a case study of the Pyrrhus-Marius, in which I examine how Plutarch uses military narrative throughout the pair to compare the generalship of the two men. I demonstrate that Plutarch's conception of generalship in the Parallel Lives is nuanced, consistent, and often significant to the interpretation of a pair. Plutarch constructs his military narratives in such a way as to identify specific acts of generalship through which the military leaders among his readership could evaluate and improve their own generalship. Plutarch's treatment of the morality of generalship is consistent with his views on education and character; while he accepts the necessity and appreciates the effectiveness of military deception, he also recognizes its limitations and holds up for criticism those generals who do not use it appropriately. I also examine the importance of the formal synkrisis at the end of each pair of Lives to the structural integrity of the Plutarchan book and the evaluation of military leadership in each pair. These concluding synkriseis demonstrate that Plutarch had a consistent set of criteria for evaluating the generalship of his subjects, and encourage the reader to make similar judgments on military ability themselves. This process of evaluation and comparison of military leadership is particularly important to my reading of the Pyrrhus-Marius, as comparing the military careers of its subjects allows for a more complete reading of the pair than is otherwise possible.

False confessions and unproductive criminal investigations have resulted in misidentification of verbal and nonverbal deceptive cues. Further, the association of deceptive behavioral responses has not been confirmed based upon quantifiable graphological discrepancies. Guided by the 4-factor model for deceptive behavior, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between psycholinguistic cues and graphological spacing discrepancies. Handwriting samples were gathered from a stratified group of college students and law enforcement officers in rural Illinois and Tennessee (n = 113). The research was designed to determine whether graphological spacing discrepancies were evident in left margin indentions, word spacing, and sentence spacing. Two-way analyses of variance by ranks were conducted, combining these spacing discrepancies in a way to maximize the differences between the groups of truthful and deceptive statements. Through multiple regression analyses, the contributing variances were explained, as seen from participants' multiple psychological inventory scores and total spacing variances. Two-way analyses of variance were also conducted with the intent of discovering whether an interaction effect occurred, between deception-induced cognitive load and spontaneous or memory-related influences on graphological traits. Results were confirmed for statistically significant differences between truthful and deceptive sentences, containing spacing variances. Implications for positive social change include fewer false confessions during police investigations and interrogation reports with empirically based findings.

O presente trabalho foi realizado em duas áreas situadas no Estreito de Bransfield, Antártida. A primeira, a Ilha Deception, sul das ilhas Shetland do Sul, é um vulcão ativo, cuja última erupção foi registrada no ano de 1970, e que está sob constante atividade hidrotermal. A segunda área, Three Sisters, é um monte de origem vulcânica onde foi detectada atividade hidrotermal por meio de anomalias composicionais na coluna d\'água, porém não se sabe se esses eventos são contínuos ou efêmeros. As regiões com atividade hidrotermal oferecem condições ambientais únicas, que favorecem o surgimento de habitats com características químicas e físicas ímpares e extremas, e resposta imediata da fauna. A capacidade dos foraminíferos em adaptar-se prontamente, a mudanças ocasionadas por variação de fatores ambientais, e recolonizar o ambiente após mudanças bruscas e catastróficas, são de grande importância para o entendimento das condições ecológicas tanto atuais como pretéritas. Dentro desse contexto, realizou-se estudo granulométrico e geoquímico dos sedimentos, por ICP-MS em Deception e ICP-OES em Three Sisters, para averiguar se há indícios de atividade hidrotermal. As espécies de foraminíferos foram identificadas e correlacionadas com a composição geoquímica e textura dos sedimentos, bem como com os parâmetros físico- químicos da interface água-sedimento, com o uso de abordagens estatísticas. Foi realizada contagem de diatomáceas para estimar a produtividade em Deception. Os resultados, em Three Sisters, permitiram concluir que a sedimentação é lenta e contínua, com sedimentos nas frações silte e argila e escasso aporte de nutrientes. As análises geoquímicas dos sedimentos, mostram anomalias positivas de Mn, Pb, P, Sr e As, indicativas de atividade hidrotermal. As densidades de testas de foraminíferos são baixas e as riquezas, relativamente, altas, e algumas espécies apresentam correlação positiva com os metais relacionados ao hidrotermalismo. O predomínio de espécies aglutinantes poderia indicar profundidade de compensação de carbonatos rasa. A sedimentação, em Deception, apresentou padrões sazonais, ligados aos períodos de degelo e runoff na ilha; a dinâmica sedimentar em Deception faz variar, também as características físico- químicas da interface água-sedimento. O aporte de nutrientes é mais intenso no verão austral e condicionado pelo degelo, mas também ocorre a partir dos micronutrientes presentes nos sedimentos e disponibilizados por emissões hidrotermais. Metais como As, Ba, Mn e Mo apresentaram anomalias positivas bastante significativas e confirmaram a atividade hidrotermal na área. As altas densidades de testas de foraminíferos e riquezas baixas, são relacionadas ao alto aporte de nutrientes e às mudanças ambientais sazonais bruscas. As espécies aglutinantes predominam em alguns pontos amostrais, indicando variáveis ambientais e disponibilidade de alimento abaixo ou acima dos níveis críticos para esses organismos; algumas das espécies de foraminíferos foram correlacionadas positivamente com elementos com provável origem hidrotermal. Esses resultados fornecem informações inéditas sobre a composição geoquímica dos sedimentos, em Three Sisters, relacionada a eventos hidrotermais e sua relação com as espécies de foraminíferos. Em Deception, foram detectadas emissões de altas temperaturas em Whaler\'s Bay, sudeste da ilha; relacionaram-se espécies de foraminíferos à composição sedimentar. / This work was carried out in two areas located in the Bransfield Strait, Antarctica. The first one, Deception Island, south of the South Shetland Islands, is an active volcano, under constant hydrothermal activity, whose last eruption was recorded in 1970. The second area, Three Sisters, is a volcanic edifice where hydrothermal activity has been detected by means of compositional anomalies in the water column, but it is not known yet if such activity is continuous or ephemeral. The regions with hydrothermal activity offer unique environmental conditions favoring the emergence of habitats with extreme and changing chemical and physical characteristics, with an immediate fauna response. The ability of foraminifera to adapt promptly and to recolonize the environment after sudden and catastrophic changes is of great importance for the understanding of current and previous ecological conditions. In this context, textural and geochemical analysis of the sediments were performed, by means of ICP-MS in Deception and ICP-OES in Three Sisters, to check for evidences of hydrothermal activity. The foraminiferal species were identified and statistically correlated with the geochemical composition and texture of sediments, and with the physical-chemical parameters of the water-sediment interface as well.Diatoms counting were performed to estimate Deception productivity. The results, in the Three Sisters are, allow us to conclude that sedimentation is slow and continuous, with sediments in the silt and clay fractions and little contribution of nutrients. The geochemical analysis of the sediments indicate positive anomalies of Mn, Pb, P, Sr and As, suggesting hydrothermal activity. The densities of the foraminifera are low and the richness relatively high, with some species presenting a positive correlation with the metals related to the hydrothermalism. The predominance of agglutinated species could indicate shallow depth of carbonate compensation. The sedimentation, in the Deception area, presents seasonal patterns, related to inputs of freshwater from melting sea ice and glaciers in the island; the sedimentary dynamics force a variation in the physical-chemical characteristics of the water-sediment interface. The nutrient intake is more intense in the austral summer and conditioned by the melting ice, but also occurs from the micronutrients present in the sediments released by hydrothermal emissions. Metals such as As, Ba, Mn and Mo showed quite significant positive anomalies and corroborate the hydrothermal activity in the area. The high densities of foraminifera and low richness are related to the high nutrient intake and abrupt seasonal environmental changes. The agglutinated species predominate in some sample points, indicating environmental variables and/or food availability below or above critical levels for these organisms; some of the foraminifera species were positively correlated with elements of probable hydrothermal origin. Our results provide unprecedented information for both areas. For Three Sisters, we establish a relation between the geochemical composition of sediments and hydrothermal events with their implications to foraminifera species. In Deception, high- temperature emissions were detected at Khrooner Lake, southeast of the island, with species of foraminifera correlated to sedimentary composition.

The primary aim of this research was to examine the influence of temporary mood states on factual and interpersonal skepticism. Based on recent affect-cognition theorising and research on credibility judgment, 7 studies predicted that negative moods increase and positive moods decrease skepticism, because of the information-processing consequences of these affective states. First, three studies examined the influence of mood on factual skepticism toward urban myths and legends (Study 1) and novel and familiar general knowledge claims (Studies 2-3). Contrary to predictions, Study 1 found that sad participants were less skeptical than happy participants towards urban legends, possibly due to the negative valence of the claims. Because the feeling of familiarity has been shown to be an important determinant of truth, Studies 2-3 examined the influence of mood and familiarity on skepticism. Consistent with information processing theories of mood, happy participants were more likely than sad participants to give credence to familiar general knowledge claims (Study 2), even when given explicit feedback about their actual truth or falsity during initial exposure to claims (Study 3). The remainder of this thesis extended these findings to interpersonal judgments. Studies 4-5 found that sad participants were more skeptical of the genuineness of facial expressions of emotion compared to happy participants. Studies 6-7 examined whether sad participants might also show greater lie detection accuracy. In Study 6, happy, sad and neutral-mood participants judged the credibility of targets honestly or deceptively describing their emotional reaction to an affectively-laden film, but no evidence was found of mood induced differences in deception detection accuracy. However, in Study 7, sad participants were more skeptical than happy participants about the veracity of videotaped individuals honestly or deceptively denying their involvement in a mock crime (a theft), and showed greater accuracy at discerning lies from truths. This dissertation contributes to the affect-cognition literature by demonstrating that not only may sad moods lead people to be more skeptical, but they may also confer an advantage at detecting deception. The implications of these findings for everyday credibility judgment and for contemporary theories of affect and cognition are considered.

<p>A honeypot is an attractive computer target placed inside a network to lure the attackers into it. There are many advantages of this technology, like, information about attacker's tools and techniques can be fingerprinted, malicious traffic can be diverted away from the real target etc. With the increased activity from the blackhat community day by day, honeypots could be an effective weapon in the</p><p>network security administrator's armor. They have been studied rigorously during the past few years as a part of the security</p><p>industry's drive to combat malicious traffic. While the whitehats are trying to make honeypots stealthier, blackhats are coming up with techniques to identify them (therefore nullifying any</p><p>further use) or worse, use them in their favor. The game is on. The goal of this thesis is to study different architectural issues regarding honeypot deployment, various stages in utilizing honeypots like forensic analysis etc. Other concepts like IDSs and firewalls which are used in conjunction with honeypots are also discussed, because security is about cooperation among different security components. In the security industry, it is customary for whitehats to watch what blackhats are doing and vice versa. So the thesis</p><p>discusses recent techniques to defeat honeypots and risks involved in deploying honeypots. Commercial viability of honeypots and business cases for outsourcing honeypot maintenance are presented. A great interest from the security community about honeypots has propelled the research and resulted in various new and innovative applications of honeypots. Some of these applications, which made an impact, are discussed. Finally, future directions in research in honeypot technology are perused.</p>

<p>Studiens syfte var att undersöka om det sker en social desirability effekt vid självskatting av egenskaper som beskriver manliga och kvinnliga stereotyper när dessa egenskaper framhävs positivt. Studien ämnade ytterligare undersöka om män och kvinnor skiljer sig åt i social desirability. Ett experiment utfördes där försökspersonerna slumpvis fördelades över en kontrollbetingelse och två experimentbetingelser. Den ena experimentbetingelsen tilldelades en kvinnlig manipulation där kvinnliga stereotyper framhävdes positivt medan den andra experimentbetingelsen tilldelades en manlig manipulation där manliga stereotyper framhävdes positivt. Kontrollbetingelsen tilldelades ingen manipulation. Därefter fick försökspersonerna skatta sig själva på påståenden i en enkät som beskrev de könstereotyperna som angivits i de båda manipulationerna. Ingen social desirability effekt uppvisades i resultatet.</p>

While deception is a common strategy in interpersonal communication, most research on interpersonal deception treats the sex as irrelevant in the ability to detect deceptive messages. This study examines the truth and deception detection ability of both male and female receivers when responding to both true and deceptive messages from both male and female speakers. Results suggest that sex may be an important variable in understanding the interpersonal detection probabilities of truth and of lies. An interaction of variables including speakers’ sex, receivers’ sex, and whether the message is truthful or deceptive is found to relate to detection ability. Both women and men were found to be significantly less accurate than chance in judging the veracity of statements made by men, especially when those statements are lies. On the other hand, both women and men were significantly more accurate than chance in judging the veracity of statements made by women, especially when those statements are truthful. This may suggest that men are better deceivers than women, while women seem more transparent in exhibiting feelings about their messages whether being truthful or deceptive. In recalling real life deceptions discovered previously, women reported that they discovered significantly more lies from female sources than from men they knew. This finding may reflect the previous finding that discovering lies told by women is more likely than is discovering lies told by men.